If a drug is given at its half-life, it should reach steady state after 5 doses. For example, gentamicin, which has an elimination half-life of 12 hours and is given every 12 hours, should reach steady state after 5 half-lives (60 hours).
Notice in the diagram that this kind of dosing results in a 'saw-tooth' pattern. Peaks correspond to the times right after the drug is taken; troughs correspond to the times right before the next dose.
Of course, a physician may want to get a patient into the therapeutic range more quickly. In this case, a higher loading dose of the drug can be prescribed initially, with instructions that the dose should be reduced after the first couple of doses.
