Start, step, hold, repeat
A full retatrutide dose schedule has three phases: a starting phase at the lowest tested dose, a series of step-ups spaced roughly a month apart, and a maintenance phase where the dose stays fixed. Most published schedules run 12 to 16 weeks before reaching a maintenance level, though the exact length depends on how many steps are used and how high the target dose is.
What sets the end point
There’s no single “correct” maintenance dose. Trial arms tested doses from 4mg up to 12mg, and the highest doses weren’t uniformly better tolerated or more effective for everyone in the data. The maintenance dose that ends up being used is usually the lowest one that keeps working without side effects that don’t settle.
A representative schedule
| Phase | Weeks | Typical dose |
|---|---|---|
| Start | 1-4 | 2mg |
| Step 1 | 5-8 | 4mg |
| Step 2 | 9-12 | 8mg |
| Maintenance | 13+ | 8-12mg |
Some schedules add an extra step between 8mg and 12mg rather than jumping straight there, particularly if side effects at 8mg haven’t fully settled by week 12.
Adjusting the schedule
Holding a step for longer than four weeks before moving up is a commonly reported adjustment when side effects are still noticeable. This isn’t a deviation from “the” schedule so much as one of the two variables (step size, hold length) most people already adjust based on their own response.
Sourcing a schedule you can trust
Any dosing chart attached to a UK listing should be checked against the vial’s own COA and against publicly reported trial ranges, not treated as gospel just because it came printed on nice paper.