Dial guide

GLP-1 injection-site rotation chart

By Zentsu Published Reviewed against the labels

This guide explains what the labels say and how to keep a record of your sites. It is not medical advice. Your prescriber, nurse, or pharmacist can show you where and how to inject.

The U.S. labels for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound name the same three areas for a subcutaneous injection: the abdomen, the thigh, and the upper arm. All four also ask you to change the exact spot each time. A written record tells you which spot you used last week, and the chart further down gives you one.

What the labels say

Section numbers refer to the U.S. prescribing information. The Medication Guide and Instructions for Use are the patient documents published with it.

Injection areas and rotation wording, by U.S. label
Product Areas the label lists Rotation wording
Ozempic (semaglutide) Abdomen, thigh, or upper arm (section 2.1) Use a different injection site each week when injecting in the same body region (section 2.1). The Medication Guide says to change (rotate) the site with each injection.
Wegovy (semaglutide) injection Abdomen, thigh, or upper arm (section 2.1) "Rotate injection sites with each dose" (section 2.1). The same section says the site can change without a change in dose.
Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Abdomen or thigh, or the back of the upper arm when another person gives the injection (section 2.2) "Rotate injection sites with each dose" (section 2.2). The pen Instructions for Use allow the same area if you choose a different spot in it.
Zepbound (tirzepatide) Abdomen or thigh, or the back of the upper arm when another person gives the injection (section 2.4) "Rotate injection sites with each dose" (section 2.4). The Medication Guide allows the same area if you choose a different spot in it.

The Instructions for Use published for each product place abdominal injections at least 2 inches (about 5 cm) from the belly button. Several of them, including the Ozempic prefilled syringe instructions, mark the back of the upper arm as a site for someone else to inject. The Mounjaro and Zepbound vial instructions give the reason for rotating within an area: it lowers the risk of lipodystrophy (pits or thickened skin) and localized cutaneous amyloidosis (lumps under the skin) at injection sites.

The labels do not set a fixed order of sites. If you want a pattern, ask the person who trained you on your pen, and write it in the chart below.

Site rotation chart

Numbered injection areas on a body facing you A front view of a body. Zones 1 to 4 are the four quarters of the abdomen around a dashed circle at the belly button. Zones 5 and 6 are the fronts of the left and right thighs. Zones 7 and 8 are the backs of the left and right upper arms, drawn with dashed outlines. The body faces you, so its left side is on the right of the drawing. RIGHT LEFT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The body faces you. Dashed outlines are on the back of the arm. The dashed circle marks the 2 inches (5 cm) around the belly button.
  1. Abdomen, upper left
  2. Abdomen, upper right
  3. Abdomen, lower left
  4. Abdomen, lower right
  5. Left thigh, front
  6. Right thigh, front
  7. Left upper arm, back
  8. Right upper arm, back

Tick the zone you used each week. The diagram, key, and chart print together on one landscape page.

Week Date 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Notes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Site rotation chart from zentsu.app/dial/injection-site-rotation/. The eight zones are a note-taking shorthand. The labels name three areas, and your prescriber's instructions come first.

How Dial records the site

When you log an injection in Dial, the form asks where you injected before it saves. The list groups the sites by area: four abdomen zones, left and right thigh, left and right upper arm, and left and right hip. Under the list, Dial shows your last injection, for example "Last injection: Abdomen, lower left on Oct 2". On Apple Watch with Dial Pro, you pick the site from the same list before you confirm.

History lists the site beside every dose, and the Dial Pro PDF report includes it. Dial shows where you injected. It does not choose the next site for you, so the order stays with your label and your prescriber. Dial's list also includes the hip, which none of the four labels on this page lists.

The printable dose log has an injection-site column if you keep a paper record as well.

How we wrote this

Zentsu makes Dial. We wrote this page from the current U.S. prescribing information, Medication Guide, and Instructions for Use for each product, as posted on DailyMed, and cite the section for each label statement. The body map and its eight zones are our own drawing for record-keeping. Zentsu is a software company. A clinician did not review this page. The reviewed date at the top is the last time we compared it with the labels listed below.

Sources

Download Dial on the App Store, read the Dial overview, or see the printable dose log.

Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are trademarks of their respective owners. Zentsu is not affiliated with Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly.