Mounjaro Maintenance Plan UK: How It Works (October 2026)

01 · The core answer

What is a Mounjaro maintenance plan?

A Mounjaro maintenance plan is the stage after titration where you stay on one weekly dose to hold the weight you have lost. Maintenance begins once you and your prescriber agree the dose is doing its job.

The medicine itself does not change. Tirzepatide is a once-weekly injection that activates GIP and GLP-1 receptors, helping you feel fuller sooner and less hungry between meals.¹ Maintenance simply means keeping that appetite support going while your habits settle.

There is no fixed maintenance dose that suits everyone. Your prescriber looks at your weight trend, appetite and side effects, then agrees the strength you stay on. That review is part of ongoing care, and our Mounjaro maintenance pharmacy page explains how it works with us.

02 · Decision 1

Which dose do you maintain on?

You maintain on a weekly dose agreed with your prescriber that keeps your appetite and weight under control with side effects you can live with. In SURMOUNT-1, the trial studied 5mg, 10mg and 15mg, with average losses that rose with the dose over 72 weeks.² The 7.5mg and 12.5mg pens are also licensed strengths.¹

Some people stay on the dose that got them to goal. Others step back to a lower licensed strength. Both are decisions for your prescriber, not something to do yourself with a spare pen.

Whichever row you are in, a regular review beats guessing. The related guide maintenance after Mounjaro covers the later stages in more depth.

03 · Decision 2

What should you do next?

Your next step depends on where you are. If you are already on treatment, book a review and ask what your maintenance dose should be. If you are weighing up treatment, you can start with a free online consultation reviewed by a GPhC-registered prescriber through our weight loss clinic.

You can also view the Mounjaro pen prices and consultation page, where the current doses and stock are shown; all six doses are in stock.

04 · Why maintenance matters

Why maintenance matters: what happens if you stop

Maintenance matters because Mounjaro manages weight; it does not cure the biology behind it. In SURMOUNT-4, people who stopped tirzepatide after 36 weeks regained on average 14% of body weight over the following year, while those who continued treatment lost a further 5.5% on average.¹⁴

Stopping is a decision to plan, not drift into.

Tirzepatide has a half-life of about five days, so after a final dose it takes roughly 4–5 weeks to clear the system — there is no way to speed this up, and nothing needs doing while it clears.¹ Appetite changes often appear gradually in the weeks after that, which is why having habits in place beforehand helps.

Stopping should always be planned with your prescriber, with diet and activity habits ready to carry the load.¹⁴

05 · Stretching and fortnightly dosing

Once-weekly dosing during maintenance

Mounjaro is licensed as a once-weekly medicine; its blood levels are designed around a 7-day cycle.

06 · Diet and activity habits

Diet and activity habits that carry maintenance

Habits are the part of a maintenance plan you control directly, and they are part of the licence. Mounjaro is used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.¹

Increased physical activity is part of the licence, not an optional extra. Nothing special is required: the evidence-backed pattern is regular moderate activity (such as brisk walking) plus resistance work for muscle. Start where you are and build; on injection days with early side effects, lighter movement still counts. Exercise also protects against regain if you later stop treatment.

On the diet side, the medicine makes you feel fuller sooner, which makes smaller portions easier. Use that window to build routines you can sustain without the medicine: regular meals, protein at each meal, and planned treats rather than rules you will break.

Tracking helps. Our free GLPTrackr companion app lets you log doses and progress on iOS or Android, which gives your prescriber something concrete to review.

07 · Side effects and dose reviews

Side effects and why dose reviews matter

Side effects are one reason people change dose during maintenance. In SURMOUNT-1, 4.3% of people on 5mg, 7.1% on 10mg and 6.2% on 15mg stopped treatment because of side effects, compared with 2.6% on placebo.²

If a dose is not suiting you, tell your prescriber rather than skipping or stretching injections. A lower licensed weekly strength may be a better fit. The patient information leaflet lists the known side effects, and you can report anything new through the Yellow Card scheme.¹³¹⁹

With us, ongoing monthly reviews, dose-titration and follow-up assessments are carried out by the prescribing team, with side-effect support. Repeat orders re-check suitability, and nothing is shipped automatically.

08 · Cost of staying on treatment

What does maintenance cost?

Maintenance costs the monthly price of whichever strength you settle on. At the standard price a 5mg pen is £189.99, a 7.5mg pen is £244.99, a 10mg pen is £274.99 and a 12.5mg pen is £289.99, while a 15mg pen is £299.99. Each pen lasts four weeks.

A first year costs £2,399.88 if you stay on 5mg after your 2.5mg starting pen, up to £3,279.88 if you step up through every dose to 15mg. These are standard prices; a new customer's first order is £40 less with code FIRST40, and every later order is £25 off the standard price (code DOSE25).

Across the UK pharmacies we track, the gap between providers for the same dose ranges from £20 to £36.03 (checked 25 October 2026), so the dose you maintain on and where you buy both affect the yearly total. Our Mounjaro maintenance dose monthly cost guide covers this in detail, and you can compare options in Mounjaro maintenance providers.

There are no subscriptions, and Klarna and pay-monthly options are available. Consultation is free, and the price shown is the price paid.

09 · NHS and private routes

NHS and private routes to maintenance

Mounjaro is available on the NHS, but access is being phased in over several years. NICE recommends it for adults with a BMI of at least 35 plus at least one weight-related condition, and the NHS primary-care rollout began in June 2025 with the highest-need groups first (initially BMI 40+ with four or more qualifying conditions).⁴⁵ Full rollout is expected to take years, which is why many people who meet the licensed criteria choose regulated private treatment rather than waiting.

If you are already on treatment elsewhere and want to continue, a prescriber will review your history before supplying. Our guide to the best pharmacy for Mounjaro maintenance sets out what to look for, and the Mounjaro plan page covers the wider treatment path.

Whichever route you use, check the pharmacy is registered. We are GPhC-registered (9012878), supplied through official LillyDirect supply with genuine KwikPens.

10 · Storage and practicalities

Storage and practical points during maintenance

Keep unopened pens in the fridge at 2–8°C until first use, and they keep until the printed expiry date.¹³ Once in use, a KwikPen can be kept out of the fridge for up to 30 days (not above 30°C).¹ Follow the pen's instructions for injecting, and use the sharps bin supplied.

Orders ship with free next-day tracked delivery in temperature-controlled packaging, with same-day dispatch when ordered by 3pm. Saturday delivery is £14.99.

If you take oral contraception, Mounjaro slows stomach emptying, which can reduce how well the pill is absorbed. The SmPC advises switching to a non-oral method, or adding a barrier method (such as condoms), for 4 weeks after starting Mounjaro and for 4 weeks after each dose increase.¹ Our note on Mounjaro and Plan B covers a related question.

11 · Serious side effects

Serious side effects: when to get help straight away

Serious side effects are uncommon but need urgent attention. Seek immediate medical help for: severe, persistent stomach pain that may spread to your back, with or without vomiting (possible pancreatitis); pain in the upper right abdomen, fever or yellowing of skin/eyes (possible gallbladder problems); or signs of a severe allergic reaction such as swelling of the face or throat and difficulty breathing. If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea alongside Mounjaro, watch for low blood sugar (shakiness, sweating, confusion) — your prescriber may need to adjust those medicines.¹