A four-week prescription might sound manageable. But what happens when four weeks becomes six months, a year or longer? For people privately funding medical weight management in Ireland, that question matters.

Weight-management injections can be effective and medically appropriate. But they are not necessarily a short course that ends once a target weight is reached. Many people regain some weight after stopping, and some benefit from ongoing treatment. That makes the long-term financial commitment worth understanding before the first prescription.

1. The cost of repeated prescriptions can add up

To illustrate the difference between a single purchase and longer-term expenditure, we used the prices supplied by Motivation for selected strengths of two prescription medicines. The scenarios below keep one pack price constant purely for financial illustration; they are not advice about what dose a person should take or how long treatment should last.

Each range multiplies the lowest or highest stated pack price by the number of packs. These are budget boundaries, not predicted courses or dosing schedules: many patients use different strengths over time, and the same minimum or maximum price may not apply throughout. Seven four-dose pens provide 28 weeks (slightly longer than six calendar months); thirteen provide 52 weeks. Each pen supplies four injections, one per week. GP appointments, programme fees and assessment charges are excluded. Confirm current prices with Motivation.

For example, a Wegovy price of €180–€350 per four-week supply, depending on the dose, could equate to €2,340–€4,550 over 52 weeks if purchases continue. This is why your treatment plan and long-term budget need to be discussed together.

2. Mounjaro and Wegovy: Motivation's supplied price list

These figures show why it's worth asking about costs at different prescribed strengths rather than focusing only on the initial price. The milligram strengths of the two products are not interchangeable.

Price and dose clarification: Each price in these dose tables is for four weekly injections in one four-dose pen, not four pens or one injection. Mounjaro's authorised doses include 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 mg per week. There is no Mounjaro 2.4 mg dose. Wegovy has a 2.4 mg dose, but the supplied clinic sheet does not state its price, so it has been left out of the priced-strength table. Motivation has separately indicated that Wegovy prices can reach €350 per four-dose pen; the strength attached to €350 has not been confirmed. Medicine strength and treatment duration must be determined by a prescriber. EMA Mounjaro · EMA Wegovy.

3. Why might someone need medication for longer than expected?

Prescription weight-management medicines act on pathways involved in appetite and fullness. When treatment stops, some of those effects may diminish. Meanwhile, the body's response to weight loss can make maintaining a lower weight more difficult.

In the STEP 1 study extension, participants who stopped semaglutide and the structured lifestyle intervention regained, on average, around two-thirds of their previous weight loss in the following year. It was a group average, not a prediction for everyone.^[1]

In the SURMOUNT-4 trial, people switched from tirzepatide to placebo after 36 weeks regained an average of 14% of their body weight over the following 52 weeks, while those continuing treatment lost an additional 5.5%. All participants continued to receive lifestyle counselling.^[2]

A 2026 BMJ review of 37 studies involving 9,341 participants similarly found that weight regain after stopping weight-management medicines was common, and was faster on average than following behavioural interventions. The studies involved different populations and treatments; the findings cannot predict what will happen to one individual.^[3]

4. What does the Motivation programme cost?

Motivation also offers medically prescribed weight-loss injections to clients who are eligible and choose that option. But medication is not required to take part. Every Motivation programme focuses on nutrition, eating behaviours and personalised consultant support, whether or not injections are used.

If you are interested in adding medical treatment, the GP consultation is €70. Medication is charged separately, and any prescribing decision is made by the clinician following an assessment.

Your total programme budget, step by step

The examples below include the fixed Motivation programme fee, one €70 GP consultation when medication is chosen, and enough hypothetical four-dose pens to cover the programme period. Since each pen covers four weekly injections, a 10-week programme requires purchasing a third pen in week 9 (providing up to 12 weeks of supply); a 20-week programme assumes five pens. Actual strengths and prices may change during treatment.

Assessment: Allow another €25 if an initial assessment is charged separately. That would bring the example 10-week totals to €420 without medication; €1,030–€1,540 with Wegovy; or €1,240–€1,915 with Mounjaro. The 20-week totals would be €720; €1,690–€2,540; or €2,040–€3,165 respectively. Confirm whether the assessment is waived when enrolling. Any additional GP reviews or other fees are not included.

When would you pay for each pack?

An illustrative purchase timeline, based on one four-dose pen supplying four weekly injections. This is a budgeting timeline, not a recommended treatment or dose-escalation schedule.

For a more extended period, 7 four-dose pens (28 weeks) would represent €1,260–€2,450 in illustrative Wegovy medicine purchases, and 13 four-dose pens (52 weeks) €2,340–€4,550. Medication may continue after the programme only if clinically appropriate. Prices change with prescribed strength, and you should not assume you can stop at a fixed programme endpoint.

The figures €465 and €765 in the summary table are programme plus one GP consultation before medication. The detailed tables above include illustrative medication purchasing costs. The initial €25 assessment, any further clinical reviews and other applicable charges are separate. Medication is optional, subject to clinical suitability. A 10- or 20-week programme does not imply that an individual should stop taking prescribed medication when the programme ends.

5. What's different about building an eating-behaviour plan?

Medication can help manage appetite. It does not automatically teach you how to respond to emotional eating, create meal routines that work around a busy job, recognise habitual snacking, or deal with eating patterns linked to stress.

Motivation's Mental Weight approach helps clients examine some of those behavioural contributors. With one-to-one consultant support, the programme focuses on food habits, personalised nutrition, accountability and preparation for maintenance.

• Understand your triggers: identify why you may reach for food when you aren't physically hungry.
• Build practical routines: work on everyday food choices and activities that fit your lifestyle.
• Plan beyond the programme: prepare for holidays, setbacks, changing appetite and longer-term maintenance.

The aim is to build skills that remain useful after a programme ends. That does not guarantee someone can discontinue medication or prevent regain. For some clients, combining behaviour support with ongoing medical treatment may be best.

6. If you hope to stop injections, make that part of the conversation from day one

Some people may eventually stop medication after medical review. Others may need longer-term treatment. The right decision depends on individual health, treatment response and shared decision-making with a prescriber.

If a clinician considers dose reduction or discontinuation, a follow-up plan matters. Gradual dose reduction, sometimes called tapering, has not been proven to reliably prevent regain. Do not change a prescription without medical guidance.

UK NICE guidance recommends maintenance advice and follow-up monitoring for at least a year after stopping weight-management medication or completing a behavioural programme.^[4]

7. Four financial questions to ask before beginning

• What could 6 and 12 months cost? Ask for likely consultation and medicine costs, including how changes in prescribed strength may affect your spending.
• Will I need treatment beyond my initial programme? Don't assume a fixed-length coaching course implies a fixed-length prescription.
• Am I working on eating habits as well as appetite? Behavioural support is relevant with or without medication.
• What support will be available if medication is stopped? Plan for review of weight, appetite and overall health rather than relying on a single target date.

Medical information: This article provides general information, not personalised medical advice. Prescription medicine suitability, dosing, duration and discontinuation require a qualified prescriber. Medication prices and GP fees should be confirmed when booking; illustrative spending examples are not a prediction of your treatment costs. No programme guarantees a particular weight-loss or maintenance result.

Research and sources

1. STEP 1 trial extension: weight regain after semaglutide and lifestyle intervention withdrawal (2022)
2. SURMOUNT-4 tirzepatide withdrawal trial (JAMA, 2024)
3. Weight regain after stopping medicines: systematic review and meta-analysis (BMJ, January 2026)
4. NICE: support after discontinuing medicines or completing behavioural interventions (2025)
5. Motivation: current programme fees
6. EMA: Mounjaro authorised strengths, KwikPen and four weekly doses
7. EMA: Wegovy FlexTouch four doses per pen and authorised strengths
8. Medication prices: Motivation clinic-supplied sheet and updated user-provided Wegovy range of €180–€350, 16 October 2026 (four weekly injections per price, as clarified;).