Victoza and Jardiance: Is It Safe? Label, Studies
Often prescribed together; take extra care with fluids and meals when you are sick or eating little.
- Verdict
- It is fine with care
- Label names it
- No
- General caution
- Pills absorbed more slowly
Check a GLP-1 interaction
Victoza facts at a glance
The half-life is about 13 hours, so half remains after 13 h. Five half-lives (2.7 d) leave about 3%.
In LEAD-3, people with type 2 diabetes lost 2.5 kg over 52 weeks, compared with 1.1 kg on placebo.
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).
Victoza and Jardiance: the verdict
It is fine with care
Exact wording from the Victoza label, drug interactions section:
“VICTOZA causes a delay of gastric emptying, and thereby has the potential to impact the absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications. In clinical pharmacology trials,”
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).
What the Victoza label states
The Victoza label does not name Jardiance (empagliflozin). The following lines still apply to it.
| Named in the label | The risk | What the label tells doctors |
|---|---|---|
| Insulin or sulfonylureas | Low blood sugar | Using this medicine with insulin or a sulfonylurea, such as glipizide or glimepiride, increases the chance of low blood sugar. Your doctor may lower the doses of those medicines. |
| Oral medicines | Pills absorbed differently | This medicine slows stomach emptying, which may affect how other pills are absorbed. |
Source: Victoza label (DailyMed).
What the studies show
- Drug Interactions part of the label
- Label warning about Acute Kidney Injury Due to Volume Depletion
- a ketoacidosis trigger: reduced caloric intake
- a ketoacidosis trigger: volume depletion
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).
The practical rule
- When food or fluids will not stay down, call your doctor that day.
- Tell your GLP-1 prescriber about every pill you use, including this one.
- Check with your pharmacist about any pills that need a steady blood level. At the start or after you raise the dose, you may need to have those checked.
- In the first weeks, check your blood sugar more often.
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).
Jardiance with other GLP-1s
Jardiance (empagliflozin) does not appear in the drug interaction section of any of the 10 GLP-1 labels. All of the labels share the same general caution on swallowed pills, so this class gets the same answer.
The same question applies here as well: Ozempic, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, Trulicity.
Source: FDA label (DailyMed).