Tirzepatide Before Surgery: When to Stop It
The Tirzepatide label warns that food can stay in the stomach longer during anesthesia or deep sedation. Tell the care team you take it before any procedure.
- Brands
- Mounjaro and Zepbound
A quick look at Zepbound
Its half-life is 5 to 6 days. After 5.5 d, half is gone, and about 3% remains after five half-lives (27.5 d).
The 72-week SURMOUNT-1 result showed 20.9% of body weight, compared with 3.1% for placebo.
Monthly costs in US dollars cover the list price and self-pay offers. The maker's price page provides each figure.
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed), Eli Lilly 1 2, cnbc.com.
Anesthesia and sedation: what the label says
| Medicine | What the label says |
|---|---|
 Mounjaro | When anesthesia or deep sedation is used, it matters that food may remain in your stomach longer. Tell the care team before any procedure. |
 Zepbound | When anesthesia or deep sedation is used, it matters that food may remain in your stomach longer. Tell the care team before any procedure. |
Before surgery, what is different?
| What changes | What the label says | Labels |
|---|---|---|
| Low blood sugar when used with insulin secretagogues or insulin | Low blood sugar is more likely if you take this medicine with insulin or a sulfonylurea, so the doses of those medicines may need to be lowered. | All of them |
| Severe Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions | Stomach and gut side effects often occur, and some can be severe. Not recommended for people with severe gastroparesis. | All of them |
| Taken with oral medicines | Other pills may be absorbed differently because this medicine slows stomach emptying. | All of them |
According to the FDA labels: FDA label on DailyMed.
These warnings come from the FDA label on DailyMed.
Each GLP-1 label on surgery
| Medicine | What the label says | How it is taken |
|---|---|---|
| Mounjaro | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection |
| Zepbound | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection |
 Ozempic | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection |
 Wegovy | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection or daily tablet |
 Rybelsus | Label warning: tell the care team | daily tablet |
 Foundayo | Label warning: tell the care team | daily tablet |
 Trulicity | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection |
 Saxenda | Label warning: tell the care team | daily injection |
 Victoza | Label warning: tell the care team | daily injection |
| Byetta | Label warning: tell the care team | twice-daily injection |
Source materials: FDA label (DailyMed).
Questions to ask your prescriber
- Should I skip a dose before my procedure, and if so, which dose should I miss?
- Will I need a liquid diet on the day before?
- Which members of the surgical team need to know?