How to keep a semaglutide injection log

Start with the official instructions

Your prescription label and the Medication Guide that came with it are the source of truth. A log should mirror them, not add to them. Semaglutide is sold under different names, in different forms, for different reasons, so two people on “semaglutide” can have very different instructions.

Ozempic® and Wegovy® are weekly semaglutide injections. Rybelsus® and Wegovy® tablets are semaglutide taken by mouth each day. Some people use compounded semaglutide from a pharmacy. MedlinePlus says to use semaglutide exactly as directed, read the Medication Guide and ask your doctor or pharmacist when something is unclear. Just want the short version for brand-name pens? Our Ozempic and Wegovy tracker guide lists what to log for each weekly shot.

This guide is about writing things down. It doesn’t tell you which product to use, how much to take, when to move up a dose or what to do after a missed one. Those questions belong to your prescriber or pharmacist. For the general guide to what to record for any GLP-1 dose, see our GLP-1 medication tracker guide.

A simple injection-log checklist

Each entry needs six things: the product, the dose as your label states it, the date and time, the injection site, any pen or supply note, and what you noticed afterward. Write them down after you follow your instructions, not before, so the log shows what really happened.

Never use a log or an app to work out a dose. If the label and your memory disagree, the label wins. Questions about storage, disposal or how the pen works go to your pharmacist.

What a filled-in log looks like

A filled-in log is a short line per dose plus a note when something was different. Four weeks fit on half a page. The example below is made up and shows the format only. The dose column says “as on label” on purpose: yours should copy your own label exactly.

Notice what the example does. It records the late dose as late, instead of hiding it. It writes the open question down rather than guessing. And it keeps symptom notes short and specific. That’s the whole skill.

Rather keep it on paper? The printable GLP-1 shot and site log is a free PDF with these columns, ready to print.

What if you missed, delayed, or are unsure about a dose?

Log what happened, add “question for clinician” and check your own Medication Guide or call your pharmacist. Don’t let a tracker’s estimate decide whether to take a dose, double up or move your day. The right answer depends on your product and how much time has passed. Our guide to how PenPal’s estimated medication level is drawn explains why that curve is a picture of averages, not a rule.

The labels themselves show why exact times matter. The Ozempic prescribing information counts its missed-dose window in days after the missed dose. The Wegovy prescribing information counts in days until the next scheduled dose. Same medicine, two different rules. You can only read your own rule correctly if your log has both the planned day and the real time.

So when a dose slips, write down three things: the day it was due, the moment you noticed, and when (or whether) you took it. Then read the guide for your product or ask. That small habit keeps a personal note from turning into medical direction.

Compounded semaglutide and tablets

If your semaglutide is compounded, log the pharmacy, the product name and the dose exactly as that pharmacy’s label writes it. If you take tablets, log each daily dose with its time. In both cases the log copies the label. It never converts units.

Units matter here. The FDA has warned about dosing errors with compounded injectable semaglutide, including mix-ups between milligrams, milliliters and syringe units. A log can’t prevent that. What it can do is show exactly what you were told and what you did, so your pharmacist can spot a mismatch.

Tablets come with their own instructions about how to take them. A tablet log is simpler than an injection log: no site column, just the date, time, product and dose. If you switch between a tablet and an injection, note the date you switched and who told you to. Our oral GLP-1 pill log guide shows what a week of tablet entries looks like.

Why injection-site notes can be useful

A site note is a memory aid. It shows whether you keep landing on the same spot and whether a red patch or bruise followed a certain shot. The Ozempic label asks patients to use a different site each week within the same body region, and a note makes that easy to follow.

A note can’t tell you why a reaction happened, and it can’t say a site is safe for next time. Follow your product instructions. Ask a healthcare professional about redness, swelling or pain that sticks around. For a simple way to plan and record sites, see our injection site rotation log.

Keep the record factual

Write what you saw, not what you think it means. “Nausea began in the evening and lasted three hours” helps at an appointment. “The medicine caused a serious problem” doesn’t, because it skips the facts your clinician needs to judge for themselves.

The same goes for weight, appetite and food notes. Steady, plain observations support a good conversation. They don’t prove a diagnosis or a treatment result on their own. If you also want to track how you feel day to day, our GLP-1 side effect diary guide shows a simple format.

Before an appointment, bring the last four to eight weeks of entries, your open questions and any site or symptom notes. Our guide to a progress report for your doctor shows how to fit that on a page or two.

How PenPal records this

PenPal keeps the same fields as the checklist above. You pick your product, enter the dose the way your label reads it, set the date and time, and tap the injection site on a body map. Symptoms go in a separate check-in. PenPal never converts units or calculates a dose. Still choosing an app? Our side-by-side look at six GLP-1 tracker apps shows where each one is strongest.

• Products: Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Wegovy tablets and compounded semaglutide are in the list, along with other GLP-1 medicines.
• Units: mg, mcg or units, matching your label.
• Late doses: change the date and time so the log shows when you really took it.
• Sites: the body map remembers past sites and shows the one you used longest ago as “Next in rotation”.
• Reminders: set your dose day and get a heads-up before it.
• Symptoms: log nausea, fatigue and others with a mild, moderate or severe level.
• Sharing: export a PDF progress report with your dose log, sites and symptoms for your next visit.

The app follows your plan; it doesn’t make one. If your prescriber changes something, update it in PenPal the same way you’d update a paper log. See how the GLP-1 shot tracker works. On tirzepatide instead? The tirzepatide injection log guide covers Mounjaro® and Zepbound® pens and vials.