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What do I do with leftover medication?

Don’t use it. Dispose of it safely. What you do with it depends on whether the medicine is left in a device you’ve used, or is medication you won’t use at all.

Medicine left in a pen, vial, or autoinjector after your dose

Don’t save it or take it as extra. Each device has its own rule:

  • Wegovy pen: Each pen contains one dose and is used once, then thrown away. After your injection, put the whole pen in your sharps disposal container. Do not throw it in your household trash or recycling bin.

  • Zepbound vial: Throw away the opened vial after use, even if there is medicine left in it. Put the used needle and syringe in your sharps disposal container right away. Do not throw loose needles and syringes in your household trash. Always use a new syringe and needle for each injection.

  • Zepbound KwikPen: The pen contains 4 fixed doses, one dose taken each week. After 4 doses, throw the pen away, including the unused medicine. The pen will prevent you from dialing a full dose after you’ve given yourself 4 weekly doses. Don’t inject the leftover medicine, and don’t transfer Zepbound from your pen into a syringe. Trying to inject leftover medicine could give you an incomplete dose. Throw the pen away after a total of 30 days at room temperature, 30 days after first use, or after taking 4 weekly doses, even if it still has medicine in it. If the pen stops you from turning the dose knob until the 1 is in the dose window, throw the pen away, including the unused medicine. There may not be enough medicine left in the pen to give a full dose. Don’t try to inject the leftover medicine. Put the used pen needle in your sharps disposal container right away. Do not throw loose pen needles in your household trash. Once you’ve removed the needle, you can throw the used pen in your household trash or an FDA-cleared sharps disposal container. For its storage rules, see “How do I store my weight loss medication?” in this help center.

  • Repatha SureClick autoinjector: Each autoinjector holds one dose. Do not reuse it. After your injection, place the used autoinjector and the orange cap in your sharps disposal container. Do not throw the autoinjector in your household trash. Throw away Repatha that has been stored at room temperature for more than 30 days: place the autoinjector in a sharps disposal container. If your device looks different from the one described here, follow the instructions for use in its carton, and message your clinician if you’re unsure.

  • Wegovy tablets: You take 1 Wegovy tablet once a day, so nothing is left over after a dose. Don’t take more than 1 tablet each day. For tablets you won’t use, see “How to dispose of unused medication” below.

Why you shouldn’t take leftover medication

Use your medication exactly as your clinician tells you to. If you take too much Wegovy, you may have severe nausea, severe vomiting, and severe low blood sugar. If you take too much Wegovy or Zepbound, call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away. If you use more Repatha than you should, message your clinician or ask your pharmacist.

How to dispose of needles

  • Used needles and other sharps should be placed in a sharps disposal container right away after use.

  • If you do not have an FDA-cleared sharps disposal container, you may use a heavy-duty plastic household container, such as an empty laundry detergent container, as an alternative.

  • Never put loose needles and other sharps in the trash or recycling, and never flush them down the toilet.

For the full steps, see “How do I safely dispose of needles?” in this help center.

How to dispose of unused medication

For medication you won’t use, such as an unopened Zepbound vial or KwikPen, or Wegovy tablets, the FDA says the best way is a take-back option: drop it off at a drug take-back location, or mail it in a prepaid drug mail-back envelope. Some pharmacies offer on-site drop-off boxes or kiosks, mail-back programs, and other ways to dispose of medicines, so ask your pharmacy what they offer. Before you hand medication in, scratch out all personal information on the bottle labels and packaging.

The Wegovy pen and the Repatha autoinjector have a needle built in, so one you won’t use goes in your sharps disposal container, not your household trash.

If a take-back option isn’t readily available: Wegovy, Zepbound, and Repatha are not on the FDA’s flush list, so do not flush them. Unless the instructions that came with your medication say otherwise, you can put the medicine in your household trash by following the FDA’s steps:

  1. Remove the drugs from their original containers.

  2. Mix medicines (liquid or pills; do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds.

  3. Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag.

  4. Throw away the container in your trash at home.

  5. Scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of empty medicine bottles or medicine packaging, then trash or recycle the empty bottle or packaging.

Who to contact

  • For anything about your dose, whether to keep taking a medication, how you feel on your medication, or a missed dose, message your clinician through the chat on your Dashboard. Reply to the most recent message about your prescription.

  • For how to dispose of medication or supplies, or for a replacement, contact your pharmacy.

  • In an emergency, call 911. If you may have taken too much medication, call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. If you’re having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988.

Sources

This article follows the manufacturers’ instructions for use for each device and the FDA’s guidance on disposing of unused medicines. If you’d like to read them yourself:

GenMeds checked this article against these documents on October 27, 2026. Your pharmacy’s package insert is always the final word for the medication you were dispensed.

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