How to find your dose and how many units to inject

Your exact dose, in both milligrams and syringe units, is shown in your patient portal and written on your prescription. This guide shows you where to find it, and what to do if your portal, prescription, and vial label don't agree.

Find your current dose in the portal

• Sign in and select Home (on a phone, it's in the bar at the bottom of the screen).
• Under Your plans, find your treatment. Each plan card shows a Current dose row with your dose in milligrams and units.
• For more detail, select Manage plan. Your plan page shows your Current dose and, when your dose is about to step up, your Renewal starting dose.

Prefer to watch? Your current dose comes up at 0:27 in this tour of the patient portal.

Important: use your instructions, not a chart

Don't rely on a generic milligram to units conversion chart from the internet. Vial concentrations can differ between patients, pharmacies, and even shipments, so the same milligram dose can be a different number of units in different vials. The units on your vial label are calculated for the exact vial you received.

If your portal, prescription, and vial label don't match

Pharmacies can send a different vial concentration without notice, so the same dose can be a different number of units than last time. The units printed on a vial label are worked out for that exact vial. Your portal or an older prescription can be behind.

If two numbers don't match, check the milligrams first. Your dose in milligrams is in your portal. On your vial, look for the dose in milligrams, or work it out with Belle's dosage calculator (units × mg/mL ÷ 100 = mg).

• Same milligrams, different units: follow the units on the label of the vial you're using right now. This usually means the pharmacy sent a different concentration and your portal hasn't caught up. Let your care team know so they can update your portal.
• Different milligrams, a schedule you weren't told about, or you're not sure: don't inject from either number yet. Take a photo of the vial label and your instructions, and message your care team before your injection. We'll confirm the right draw for your vial and update your portal if it needs it.

Check as soon as a new vial arrives, not on injection day, so there's time for an answer. If you're waiting on us when your injection is due, you can still take that dose once we confirm, as long as it's within 4 days of your usual day. If more than 4 days pass, skip that dose and take the next one on your regular day. Never take two doses close together to catch up.

Also check which step you're on. A prescription can list a different number of units for different weeks as your dose steps up, so two documents can look different simply because they show different steps.

If your vial label is unreadable, check your current dose on the Home page of your portal, and message your care team with a photo so we can confirm.

If your prescription lists mL or units but not milligrams

Your Current dose in the portal shows milligrams and units. A printed or downloaded prescription may list only mL and units. To find the milligrams, multiply the mL by the vial's concentration (mg/mL). For example, 0.25 mL from a 20 mg/mL vial is 5 mg. If you'd rather not do the math, ask your care team for the milligram amount for each step of your plan.

Unit amounts for each milligram dose depend on your vial's concentration, so there's no one chart that fits everyone. To see how the numbers work, see "How do I use Belle's dosage calculator?"

How your dose steps are written

Your provider's directions are on your prescription. That includes how your dose steps up over time and how many units to draw at each step. Many GLP-1 plans step up on a set schedule, such as every 4 weeks as tolerated, but your own schedule is the one written on your prescription.

When it's time for the next step, use the units written for that step, for the vial you're using now. Don't work it out from a chart. If you can't find your next step, or you're not sure which step you're on, message your care team before your injection. To ask for a different dose, see How to request a dose change.

Some treatments build up gradually, and your portal may show only one line for your current dose. If your plan has a build-up schedule, follow the schedule on your prescription and keep your own log of what you draw.

If your vial has no instructions, or you can't find your prescription

Don't reuse the unit amount from your last vial. Message your care team with a photo of the new vial's label. We'll confirm your prescribed dose and give you the number of units for that exact vial.

If you don't have a copy of your prescription, or it was sent somewhere else in the past, your provider can send a new prescription at your current dose to your pharmacy. If your vial is stronger than the dose you need, your provider confirms the amount to draw for that strength before you draw it.

If the number on your vial looks bigger than your dose

That larger number is the vial concentration (how much medication is in the whole vial), not your dose. Your dose is what's listed in your portal, in milligrams and units. For a full explanation, see "Dose vs concentration, why your vial says a bigger number."

Need a printable copy?

• Select Treatments (on a phone, tap My Plan).
• Below Your plans, open the Current tab.
• Select View or download your prescription.

Checking your own draw

How big the vial looks doesn't tell you your dose. A stronger vial holds the same milligrams in less liquid. What matters is the number of units written for your vial and your dose.

To check yourself: find the mg/mL on your label, find your milligram dose and units in your portal, and make sure the two agree (units × mg/mL ÷ 100 = mg). If they do, draw to the mark on your syringe. If they don't, or you're not sure, message your care team first. When a new vial has a different strength than your last one, your units will change.

Still not sure?

If you have any doubt about how much to inject, message your care team before your injection. We'd much rather double-check than have you guess.

Need help? Select Messages in your portal (on a phone, tap the chat bubble) and we'll help.