Split-Dosing GLP-1 Peptides: An Introduction
Split dosing refers to dividing a single GLP-1 weight loss peptide dose into multiple doses. For example, a patient taking 2.5 mg of tirzepatide per week might split that dose into 1.25 mg on Monday and 1.25 mg on Thursday.
Similar to microdosing GLP-1s, split-dosing is sometimes done to:
- Reduce potential side effects like nausea
- Help with hunger that comes back after a few days
- Maintain more consistent blood levels of the peptide
There isn’t much research evidence backing split dosing at this time. However, some doctors and compounding pharmacies recommend split-dosing if a patient can’t handle the side effects.
What usually ends up happening is: a patient tries their prescribed GLP-1 dosage and either experiences strong side effects or finds that the effects wane too quickly (faster than one week). So their doctor recommends splitting into two or more doses per week and see if that works better.
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Downsides of Split Dosing GLP-1s
The potential downsides or risks of split dosing are:
- Increased injection site reactions
- Harder to dose, because of having to measure and split up the dose carefully
- Potential disagreements with doctors
Example Split Dosing Protocols
Semaglutide is sometimes split into two doses to make its side effects more manageable. Another reason to split it is because the hunger might come back 3-4 days after a dose rather than the full 6-7 days. Tirzepatide is also sometimes split into two doses for similar reasons.
Bottom Line
Some people successfully split doses GLP-1 peptides like semaglutide to reduce side effects and hunger that return after several days. The simplest split-dose protocol is to divide a weekly injection into two that are three days apart, like one Monday and one Thursday.
