Trulicity and Metformin Together: Safety, Benefits
Commonly used together; Trulicity was tested alongside metformin in its trials.
- Verdict
- Generally fine together
- Label names it
- No
- General caution
- Pills absorbed more slowly
Check a GLP-1 interaction
Trulicity in brief
Its half-life is about 5 days: after 5 d, half is gone, and about 3% remains after five half-lives (25 d).
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).
Trulicity and metformin: the verdict
Generally fine together
The wording below is quoted exactly from the drug interactions section of the Trulicity label:
“TRULICITY delays gastric emptying and thus has the potential to reduce the rate of absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications. The delay in gastric emptying”
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).
Details from the Trulicity label
The Trulicity label does not name metformin. They still apply to metformin.
| Named in the label | The risk | What the label tells doctors |
|---|---|---|
| Insulin or sulfonylureas | Low blood sugar | Insulin or a sulfonylurea, including glipizide or glimepiride, taken with it makes your risk of low blood sugar go up. Your doctor may lower those doses. |
| Oral medicines | Pills absorbed differently | It slows the emptying of your stomach, and that can change how your body takes up other pills. |
Source: Trulicity label (DailyMed).
What the studies show
- clinical trials studied use with metformin:
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).
The practical rule
- Keep taking both medicines as prescribed. Contact your doctor if stomach upset continues.
- Tell the person who prescribes your GLP-1 about every pill you take, including this one.
- Ask your pharmacist if any of your pills need to remain at a steady blood level. Those medicines may need to be checked when you start treatment or raise the amount.
- Test your blood sugar more often during the first weeks and each time the dose goes up.
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).
Metformin with other GLP-1s
None of the 10 GLP-1 labels list Metformin in the drug interaction section. All of them give the same general warning about pills you swallow, so the answer stays the same for the whole group.
The same question also covers Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, Zepbound.
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).