Liraglutide and Insulin: Is It Safe? Label, Studies
Low blood sugar is more likely with insulin; your doctor may lower the insulin dose.
- Verdict
- Fine with care
- Label says
- Listed interaction
Check a GLP-1 interaction
A quick look at Saxenda
The drug's half-life is about 13 hours. After 13 h, half has left. Five half-lives take 2.7 d, leaving about 3% behind.
In SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes, 56 weeks, participants lost 7.4% of body weight, compared with 3% on placebo.
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).
Liraglutide and insulin: the verdict
Fine with care
In the Victoza label, the drug interactions section gives these exact words:
“When initiating VICTOZA, consider reducing the dose of concomitantly administered insulin secretagogues (such as sulfonylureas) or insulin to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia [see Warnings”
The source is the FDA label (DailyMed).
What the liraglutide label says
These lines from the Victoza label concern insulin.
| Named in the label | The risk | What the label tells doctors |
|---|---|---|
| Insulin or sulfonylureas | Low blood sugar | Combining it with insulin or with a sulfonylurea such as glimepiride or glipizide raises the chance of low blood sugar, so the doctor may lower the doses of those drugs. |
Source: Victoza label (DailyMed).
What the studies show
- Insulin or sulfonylurea interaction stated in the label:
- Insulin or sulfonylurea interaction stated in the label:
The source is the FDA label (DailyMed).
The practical rule
- Check your blood sugar more often when treatment starts and whenever doses change, and know the signs of low blood sugar.
- Check your blood sugar more often during the first weeks and after each dose increase.
The source is the FDA label (DailyMed).
Insulin with other GLP-1s
Each label was checked for this same concern in its drug interaction section.
| Medicine | Insulin in the label | Verdict | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ozempic | Named in the label | Fine with care | Read the answer |
 Wegovy | Named in the label | Fine with care | Read the answer |
 Rybelsus | Named in the label | Not listed | Not listed |
 Mounjaro | Named in the label | Fine with care | Read the answer |
 Zepbound | Named in the label | Fine with care | Read the answer |
 Foundayo | Named in the label | Not listed | Not listed |
 Trulicity | Named in the label | Fine with care | Read the answer |
 Saxenda | Named in the label | Not listed | Not listed |
 Victoza | Named in the label | Fine with care | Read the answer |
| Byetta | Named in the label | Not listed | Not listed |
The source is the FDA label (DailyMed).