What doses does Foundayo come in?
Foundayo is authorised in six tablet strengths: 0.8mg, 2.5mg, 5.5mg, 9mg, 14.5mg, and 17.2mg.[1]
The important distinction is between a dose level and a dose target. The UK instructions set out how quickly the dose may be increased; they do not say that everyone should progress automatically to the highest strength.
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Dose
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What the UK leaflet says
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Earliest possible next increase
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0.8mg once daily
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Starting dose
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After 30 days, your doctor should increase the dose to 2.5mg
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2.5mg once daily
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Second dose level
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After at least 30 days, your doctor can increase to 5.5mg
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5.5mg once daily
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Further dose level
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After at least 30 days, your doctor may increase to 9mg if needed
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9mg once daily
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Further dose level
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After at least 30 days, your doctor may increase to 14.5mg if needed
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14.5mg once daily
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Further dose level
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After at least 30 days, your doctor may increase to 17.2mg if needed
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17.2mg once daily
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Maximum authorised daily dose
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No higher Foundayo dose is authorised
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The leaflet also says not to change your dose unless your doctor tells you to.[1]
Does everyone need to reach 17.2mg?
No. The current UK patient information identifies 17.2mg as the maximum daily dose. It does not say that every person should reach it.[1]
That matters because a dosing chart can easily be misread as a six-step timetable. It is not. After the early dose levels, the wording becomes conditional: a higher dose may be used if needed, after the minimum time at the current dose, and only on your doctor’s instruction.[1]
A higher number is therefore not an automatic sign that treatment is going better. Equally, staying on a lower dose or moving up because weight loss has slowed is not something to decide from an online chart. Dose selection is an individual prescribing decision.
Foundayo maintenance dosing
The current UK Patient Information Leaflet does not identify one universal ‘maintenance dose’. It describes a starting dose of 0.8mg, an increase to 2.5mg, a possible increase to 5.5mg after at least another 30 days, and then possible increases through 9mg, 14.5mg, and 17.2mg if needed.[1]
You may see 5.5mg described online as the first maintenance dose, or 5.5–17.2mg described as a maintenance range. That terminology is not used in the current UK leaflet.
The useful answer is simpler: the dose you remain on is determined by your prescriber. The approved UK information gives the escalation boundaries and the maximum dose; it does not give patients a maintenance dose to choose for themselves.
Morning, noon or at night? Best time of day for taking Foundayo
Ant time is acceptable. The UK leaflet says Foundayo can be taken once daily at any time of day.[1] There is no UK instruction saying it works better in the morning, before breakfast, at night, or at bedtime.
The leaflet also does not say that you must take it at exactly the same clock time every day. A consistent routine may make a daily medicine easier to remember, but that is different from claiming that a fixed time is required for the medicine to work properly.
Should Foundayo be taken with food or water?
Foundayo can be taken with or without food.[1] The MHRA also states that there are no food or water restrictions.[2]
In practical terms, that means you do not need to time meals around the dose or follow a restricted water-volume rule. ‘No water restrictions’ does not mean you should avoid water; it means the approved instructions do not impose a particular water amount or waiting period around the tablet.
Splitting, crushing or micro-dosing Foundayo tablets
No self-directed tablet splitting or ‘microdosing’ is described in the UK instructions. The leaflet says to swallow Foundayo whole and not to break, crush, or chew the tablet. It also says not to take more than one tablet per day.[1]
That rules out using part of a tablet to create an intermediate dose or combining tablets to construct a different dose yourself. If a prescribed strength is difficult to tolerate, or you have difficulty swallowing the tablet, speak to your prescriber or pharmacist rather than altering the tablet or dose.
What to do if you miss a Foundayo dose
If you forget a dose, the UK leaflet says to take it as soon as you remember. Do not take more than one dose in a day, and do not take a double dose to make up for the missed one.[1]
Do not use a missed dose as a reason to take two Foundayo tablets in the same day. If you are unsure whether to take a dose because of the timing of a previous tablet, ask your prescriber or pharmacist.
What if you have missed several days?
The current UK leaflet does not give a separate restart schedule for several consecutive missed doses.[1] This is an important gap to preserve rather than fill with instructions from another country.
If you have missed several days, ask your prescriber or pharmacist how to continue. Do not choose a lower restart dose, repeat a previous dose-escalation stage, or copy a restart rule from non-UK product information without clinical advice.
What if you vomit after taking Foundayo?
The UK leaflet does not provide an automatic replacement-dose rule after vomiting. It separately says not to take more than one tablet per day.[1]
Do not take another tablet simply because you have been sick after a dose. If you are unsure what to do, ask your prescriber or pharmacist.
What if you take too much Foundayo?
If you take more Foundayo than you were told to take, the UK leaflet says to talk to your doctor immediately. Too much Foundayo may cause nausea or vomiting.
Foundayo dose changes and oral contraception
This is easy to miss in a dosing guide, but it is directly linked to dose changes. The UK leaflet says orforglipron may reduce the effectiveness of oral hormonal contraceptives. If you use an oral contraceptive, it advises considering either a barrier method, such as a condom, or switching to a non-oral contraceptive method for 30 days after starting Foundayo and for 30 days after each increase in dose.[1]
If you rely on an oral hormonal contraceptive, discuss contraception with your prescriber or pharmacist when starting Foundayo and whenever your dose increase.
Why Foundayo dosage increases gradually
Foundayo is introduced in stages rather than starting at the maximum dose. The UK leaflet also notes that nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting are most common when first starting orforglipron and decrease over time in most patients.[1]
That does not mean gastrointestinal side effects are the only reason for the dose schedule. The practical point is that the approved schedule has minimum intervals and should not be accelerated because you have few side effects or want a stronger effect sooner.
Older Foundayo studies and the reason for 6mg, 12mg, and 36mg doses
Older Phase 3 research can look inconsistent with the tablets now authorised in the UK. ATTAIN-1 studied investigational orforglipron capsule doses of 6mg, 12mg, and 36mg.[3]
Lilly has since stated that those investigational capsule doses correspond to marketed tablet doses of 5.5mg, 9mg, and 17.2mg respectively.[4] So a scientific paper referring to 36mg is not describing a current 36mg Foundayo tablet, and it is not evidence that patients should now take 36mg.
Taking a higher Foundayo dosage for greater weight loss
In ATTAIN-1, the higher investigational dose groups produced larger average weight reductions than the lower dose groups.[3] That is a trial-level observation, not a dosing instruction for an individual person.
The dose that produced the largest average change in a clinical trial is not automatically the right dose for you. Current UK instructions still require dose changes to be made by your doctor, with at least 30 days at each dose level before a higher dose is considered.[1]
How other medicines affect Foundayo dosing
The UK leaflet lists medicines that can increase or reduce the amount of orforglipron in the blood, and medicines whose levels may be affected by Foundayo.[1]
There is no general UK instruction to solve this by spacing all other tablets a certain number of hours away from Foundayo. Make sure your prescriber or pharmacist knows about prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and herbal products you use so that specific interactions can be reviewed.
