“Microdosing” GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic is gaining attention on social media, but doctors say it may not be safe.

Users on Facebook and Reddit are sharing anecdotes of losing weight using a fraction of the FDA-approved dosage of Wegovy or Zepbound. Some say that smaller doses can reduce side effects—such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting—while maintaining their weight loss at a lower cost. Others claim that microdosing can help people who only want to lose a few pounds or curb food cravings.

There is no official clinical guidance for microdosing GLP-1 drugs, and its safety and effectiveness have not been studied.

“There are no published studies assessing the effects of GLP-1-based medication microdosing,” Daniela Hurtado, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, told Verywell.

Does Microdosing Ozempic Help With Weight Loss?

The starting dose of semaglutide (sold as Wegovy or Ozempic) is 0.25 mg, while tirzepatide (sold as Zepbound or Mounjaro) starts at 2.5 mg.

Patients are prescribed the starting dose and, after four weeks, are switched to double the starting dose. If that dosage is insufficient, the dosage is increased every four weeks until reaching a suitable dosage, assuming the patient can tolerate the side effects.

In Hurtado’s clinical practice, she has observed that some people can have significant weight loss at the starting doses. However, this strong response is unusual.

For patients who experience intolerance to standard dosages, Hurtado said she’s tried to use lower doses, at 0.125 mg semaglutide and 1.25 mg tirzepatide.

“While this approach has sometimes reduced side effects, it has not consistently yielded significant clinical improvements in terms of weight loss,” she said.

Online users said they’ve experimented with microdosing semaglutide ranging from 0.05 mg to 0.125 mg. But it’s unclear if these microdoses are effective for weight loss.

Is Microdosing Ozempic Risky?

Not losing enough weight—whether for personal goals or medical necessity—is just one concern with microdosing GLP-1s, said Peminda Cabandugama, MD, a physician who specializes in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at the Cleveland Clinic and chair of the Clinical Practice Section of the Obesity Society.

Some people turned to microdosing initially because of GLP-1 shortages, Cabandumanga said, and they had to take smaller doses to make their supply last longer.

Those shortages have allowed compounding pharmacies to produce and sell their own versions of GLP-1 drugs. Microdosing is easiest to do with compounded GLP-1s because online pharmacies usually sell them in vials, and patients can fill a syringe themselves, Cabandumanga explained. However, these compounded drugs could contain unapproved ingredients or carry risks of contamination.

The FDA recently announced that shortages of semaglutide and tirzepatide have been resolved, and compounding pharmacies will have to stop producing the drugs soon. Eli Lilly, the drugmaker of tirzapetide, now sells single-dose vials in a direct-to-consumer program.

Another problem with microdosing from vials is that the patients may reuse needles, which can pose a risk of infection or contamination, said Mansoor Amiji, PhD, RPh, a professor of chemical engineering and pharmaceutical sciences at Northeastern University.

Some online videos also show people how many clicks to use on an autoinjector pen in order to get a microdose. “But mistakes are easy to make, which could give people too little or too much of the drug,” Amiji said.

People who stretch out their autoinjector doses also run the risk of going beyond the expiration date, which is 56 days.

“We don’t know what happens to the safety and stability of the drugs after that time period, you may not get any benefit whatsoever,” Amiji said. 

Beverly Tchang, MD, an obesity specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, is an advocate for tailoring GLP-1 dosages to individual needs. She said microdosing should be studied to capture people’s experiences and needs so a safe strategy can be recommended.

“I am firmly neutral on microdosing because even though there is little evidence, I think it is counterproductive to come out against it since we know it is happening in the broad population, with or without medical supervision,” Tchang said.