Victoza Before Surgery: When to Stop It
The Victoza 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.
- Active ingredient
- liraglutide
- How it is taken
- daily injection
Victoza basics
Its half-life is about 13 hours. At 13 h, half is gone, and five half-lives (2.7 d) leave about 3% remaining.
In the 52-week LEAD-3 trial for type 2 diabetes, people lost 2.5 kg, while those on placebo lost 1.1 kg.
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).
What the label covers about anesthesia and sedation
| Medicine | What the label says |
|---|---|
| Victoza | Food may stay in your stomach longer, which matters during anesthesia or deep sedation. Tell the care team before any procedure. |
Source: FDA labels. FDA DailyMed label.
Before surgery, what changes?
| What changes | What the label says |
|---|---|
| Hypoglycemia | If you use it with insulin or a sulfonylurea, low blood sugar is more likely, and those doses may need lowering. |
| Severe Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions | Side effects in the stomach and gut often happen, and they may be severe. Not recommended for people with severe gastroparesis. |
| Taken with oral medicines | It slows stomach emptying, which may affect the way other pills are absorbed by your body. |
Source: FDA labels. FDA DailyMed label.
Source: label warnings. FDA DailyMed label.
Each GLP-1 label on surgery
| Medicine | What the label says | How it is taken |
|---|---|---|
| Victoza | Label warning: tell the care team | daily 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 |
 Mounjaro | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection |
 Zepbound | Label warning: tell the care team | weekly injection |
 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 |
| Byetta | Label warning: tell the care team | twice-daily injection |
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).
Questions to ask your prescriber
- Should I miss a dose before my procedure, and if so, which one?
- Do I need a liquid diet the day before?
- Who on the surgical team needs to know?