Switching Foundayo pharmacy: your dose, the steps and the proof you need

Your dose when you swap pharmacy: start again, stay or move up?

Foundayo is one tablet a day in six strengths. The UK summary of product characteristics sets the order and the timing. Nothing in the product information ties your dose to a pharmacy. Your dose history travels with you.

• Stay on the same dose. Ask for the strength on your current pack. This is the usual request when your dose works and side effects are settled.
• Move up one dose. Ask for the next strength once you have taken your current one for at least 30 days. Days on tablets from your old pharmacy count toward the 30.
• No skipped strengths. Every increase goes to the next strength in the list. No pharmacy offers a jump from 2.5 mg to 9 mg, for example.
• Move down. Ask for a lower strength when side effects are hard to live with. The prescriber decides, and a lower dose is a normal adjustment.

The first two increases are fixed. After 0.8 mg comes 2.5 mg, then 5.5 mg. The later strengths work differently. The product information says the dose “may be increased” to 9 mg, 14.5 mg or 17.2 mg “based on treatment response and tolerability”. So a request for 9 mg or above is a clinical judgement, and a prescriber is free to keep you on a dose with good results. The six Foundayo dose steps guide covers each strength.

The next dose available from each dose

Source: Foundayo summary of product characteristics, sections 4.2 and 4.5, Eli Lilly and Company Limited, on the electronic medicines compendium. Step numbers are a Dayo label for the six strengths.

How the 30 days are counted on a daily tablet

The wording is “at least 30 days on the current dose”. On a daily tablet, 30 days on a dose means 30 tablets taken. Three practical points follow.

• The clock runs across pharmacies. Twenty days on 2.5 mg from your old pharmacy plus ten days from the new one makes 30.
• The label is your evidence. A UK dispensing label shows your name, the strength, the pharmacy and the date of supply. Photograph the label before you throw the box away.
• Missed days are not days on the dose. Expect the prescriber to count tablets taken. Give honest dates so the count is right.

Missed doses change the answer

A pharmacy switch is the most common cause of a gap. With a weekly injection, a parcel three days late is often no missed dose at all. With Foundayo, three days late is three missed tablets. The UK instruction is short:

“If a dose is missed, dosing should be resumed as soon as possible. More than one film-coated tablet should not be taken per day.”Foundayo summary of product characteristics, section 4.2, emc

The UK product information gives no number of missed days for a restart. We checked the summary of product characteristics and the patient information leaflet on 6 October 2026 and found none. The United States label for the same medicine does give a number:

United States source “If 7 or more consecutive doses are missed, reinitiate dosage escalation at a lower dosage to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions.”FOUNDAYO prescribing information, section 2.3, revised July 2026, DailyMed, US National Library of Medicine

The United States label is not UK guidance, and does not say how far down to go. Treat seven days in a row as the point where a lower dose becomes a realistic outcome, and ask the prescriber before you restart.

SmPC means the UK summary of product characteristics. Rows marked prescriber decision or pharmacy policy have no published UK rule behind them.

The reason behind a lower dose is side effects. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea were more common during dose escalation in the trials, according to section 4.8 of the product information. Your body loses some tolerance during a break. The Foundayo missed dose guide covers single missed tablets in more detail.

What to tell the new prescriber

Give the facts once, in writing, on the assessment form. A clear record is the fastest way to the dose you want.

1. Your current dose. The strength printed on your pack, in mg.
2. The date you started this dose. Use the date on the dispensing label.
3. The date of your last tablet. For most people this is today.
4. Days at this dose. Count tablets taken, including those from your old pharmacy.
5. Missed doses, with true dates. Say how many days in a row.
6. Side effects. What you had, when, and whether they settled.
7. Other medicines. Include recent antibiotics and antifungals.
8. Your current weight and your starting weight.
9. The dose you want. Same dose, next dose or a lower dose, with your reason.

Honest answers protect you. The dose decision is only as safe as the record behind the request.

Timing for a daily tablet

Your daily routine stays the same after the move. Foundayo is taken at any time of day with no food or water restriction, so a new pharmacy changes the label on the box and nothing else. Tablets need no fridge. See how to take Foundayo and the storage guide.

Proof a new pharmacy asks for

The General Pharmaceutical Council sets the rules for online supply in its guidance for pharmacies providing services at a distance, published in February 2025. Three parts of section 4.2 shape a switch.

• Identity. The pharmacy checks you are who you say you are, often with photo ID.
• Weight, height or BMI, verified independently. For weight management medicines the prescriber confirms your figures by video, in person, from your clinical records or through another healthcare provider such as your GP. The guidance says a phone call is not appropriate.
• More than a questionnaire. A prescriber must not rely on the form alone, and asks for your regular prescriber or GP details with consent to share information.

For the dose question, pharmacies commonly ask for:

• A photo of the dispensing label on your current pack, showing your name, the strength and the date.
• An order confirmation or a copy of the prescription from your old pharmacy.
• A current weight photo or a short video call.

Your old pharmacy keeps your clinical record. You have a right to a copy under UK data protection law, explained by the Information Commissioner's Office. A request takes time, so the label photo is the quicker proof.

Check the new pharmacy before you hand over any documents. Look up the name and number on the GPhC register, and read how Dayo verifies pharmacies and how to spot a fake pharmacy.

Problems and fixes

Changing medicine is a separate decision from changing pharmacy. Moving from an injection to the tablet is covered in switching to Foundayo. Long term dosing is covered in the Foundayo maintenance guide.

What a switch costs

• The price follows the strength. Most pharmacies charge more for higher strengths, so compare the dose you will take next, not the one you take today.
• First order offers. Many pharmacies give new customers a lower first price. Check the second month price too.
• Delivery. Dayo totals include postage, with no hidden fees.
• The consultation. Ask whether the assessment is free before you start.
• Overlap. Order early enough to avoid a gap, and late enough to avoid paying for a spare pack you do not need.

Ask for the dose decision before you pay, then compare the price of the dose you will be on. The Foundayo discount price list shows every pharmacy at each strength. Current offers sit on the Foundayo discount codes page, and long term prices on the maintenance price list. New to the medicine: read how to buy Foundayo in the UK.

Compare the price of your next dose

Switching Foundayo pharmacy: questions and answers

Disclaimer. Written by Nick Johnson, Independent Prescription Pricing Analyst, Medstack Ltd. Last reviewed 6 October 2026. Dayo is an independent price comparison service. Dayo does not sell, prescribe or dispense medicines and does not give medical advice. This page is general information for UK adults. Your prescriber decides your dose, and the patient information leaflet in your pack is the guide for your treatment. Report suspected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.