For the weekly shots, a GLP-1 stays in your system for weeks after the last dose. The Ozempic label says semaglutide "will be present in the circulation for about 5 weeks after the last dose,"3 and the Wegovy label says "about 5 to 7 weeks."1 Zepbound's tirzepatide has a shorter half-life, about 5 to 6 days.5 The daily pill Foundayo is the quick one: about 29 to 49 hours.7
- Ozempic, Wegovy (semaglutide): about 5 to 7 weeks after the last dose, per the labels.13
- Zepbound, Mounjaro (tirzepatide): about 25 to 30 days, by our arithmetic from the label's half-life.5
- Foundayo (orforglipron, a daily pill): about 6 to 10 days, by the same arithmetic.7
"In your system" and "still working" are not the same thing, and the labels do not draw that line for you. What follows is only what each label measures: how fast the body clears the drug.
Half-life by drug, from the label
A half-life is the time it takes for the amount of drug in the blood to fall by half. The table puts each label's figure next to a simple multiplication of ours. Five half-lives is a common way to estimate when a drug is mostly gone; it is arithmetic, not a label statement, so treat it as a guide to the order of magnitude.
| Drug | Half-life per the label | What the label says about time in the body | Five half-lives (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ozempic (semaglutide) | about 1 week3 | Present in the circulation for about 5 weeks after the last dose3 | about 5 weeks |
| Wegovy (semaglutide) | about 1 week1 | About 5 to 7 weeks after the last dose, pen or pill1 | about 5 weeks |
| Zepbound (tirzepatide) | about 5 to 6 days5 | No time in the body stated; the overdosage section cites a half-life of about 5 days6 | about 25 to 30 days |
| Foundayo (orforglipron) | about 29 to 49 hours7 | No time in the body stated | about 6 to 10 days |
Two things stand out. First, the two semaglutide labels word the window differently (5 weeks, and 5 to 7 weeks) because they are different products with different top doses, so quote the label for the product you are on. Second, a tirzepatide label does not give a "present for X weeks" sentence the way the semaglutide labels do, so the 25 to 30 days is our multiplication and nothing more.
Semaglutide: Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus and the pills
Semaglutide's half-life is about one week, and the labels build their guidance on it. The Ozempic and Wegovy injections both cite it, and the oral semaglutide label (Ozempic tablets and Rybelsus) cites the same "long half-life of semaglutide of approximately 1 week" when it discusses what to expect after an overdose.9 The Wegovy label's 5 to 7 weeks covers the pen, the high-dose pen and the pill in one sentence.1
If you take compounded semaglutide, the molecule is the same, so the half-life is the same, but the label figures above are for the FDA-approved products. Compounded versions are not approved products and have no label. Here is what that means.
Tirzepatide: Zepbound and Mounjaro
The Zepbound label puts tirzepatide's elimination half-life at about 5 to 6 days.5 Elsewhere the same label refers to a half-life of "approximately 5 days" when it discusses watching someone after an overdose.6 Both are in the same range, and either way tirzepatide leaves faster than semaglutide on these numbers: about 25 to 30 days by our five-half-life multiplication, against about 5 weeks for semaglutide.
Foundayo: the daily pill clears in days
Foundayo's label gives an elimination half-life of about 29 to 49 hours after an oral dose.7 That is a day and a bit to two days per half-life, so five half-lives is roughly a week or a little more by our arithmetic. For how Foundayo compares with the Wegovy pill, see Foundayo vs the Wegovy pill.
Half-life tells you how fast the drug is cleared, not how fast you will feel different. Appetite, weight and side effects after stopping follow their own timeline. See what happens when you stop, and ask your prescriber before changing or pausing a dose.
Why the labels talk about this for pregnancy
The long semaglutide half-life is the reason two labels give an advance window for pregnancy. The Wegovy label says to discontinue "at least 2 months before they plan to become pregnant to account for the long half-life of semaglutide."2 The Ozempic label says "at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy due to the long washout period for semaglutide."4 Two months is a little longer than the 5 to 7 weeks the Wegovy label gives for time in the circulation.
The Zepbound label has no equivalent pre-pregnancy window in the sections we read. Foundayo's label says to discontinue it once a pregnancy is recognized.8 Any plan about timing belongs to you and your prescriber, not to a number on this page.
Before surgery or a procedure
The same long half-life is why procedure teams ask about weekly GLP-1 shots in advance, and the guidance has changed more than once. We keep that in one place so it stays accurate: GLP-1 before surgery or a procedure.
If you are choosing a program
If you are comparing programs, today's cheapest GLP-1 on our board is $41 a month. The board ranks only what each program charges, nothing else:
The short version
Semaglutide stays about 5 to 7 weeks, tirzepatide's half-life is about 5 to 6 days, and Foundayo's is about 29 to 49 hours, all as printed in each FDA label.1357 The weekly drugs are measured in weeks, the daily pill in days, and your prescriber can tell you what that means for your plans.