If you are suffering from type 2 diabetes, then your body does not make enough insulin, and thus you need to inject them into your body. Trulicity and Ozempic are two popular drugs that are recommended by healthcare providers to promote the production of insulin in the pancreas and manage the level of blood sugars. In this article, you will learn and unveil the differences between the two drugs and about which one stays longer in your body.
What is Trulicity?
Trulicity is a drug that diabetic patients take to manage their blood sugar levels, and it is mainly associated with the management of type 2 diabetes. Taking this medicine can limit the amount of glucose or sugar that gets into your blood from the liver, and thus, your overall sugar levels are kept in check. Apart from that, it also helps to slow down the process of your food digestion and store it in your stomach for longer. This results in making you feel full and less likely to have an appetite to eat something in short time intervals.
Along with managing your blood sugar levels and feeling of fullness, the drug promotes the production and release of insulin in your pancreas and maintains the hormone levels. You can see the visible results of the drug from your first dose, and that motivates you to continue having it.
What is Ozempic?
Ozempic is an injection that is generally prescribed to type 2 diabetic patients so that their blood sugar levels can be managed. This drug is administered once a week to help the pancreas in the production of more insulin. Some people think that this can be used to lose weight because some individuals did lose it, but it is clearly not a weight loss drug.
The medicine mimics the hormone that occurs naturally in your body and releases a signal to the brain telling you that you are full. Just like Trulicity, this drug also slows down the process of food digestion, and thus, you do not feel hungry more often.
Uses of Ozempic vs Trulicity
Both Ozempic and Trulicity come with different administration of dosage as per your current blood sugar levels. Ozempic is available in multiple-does injecting pen, whereas Trulicity is a single-use injection pen. Both of them have four different dosing options that range between 0.75 mg/0.05 mL to 4.5 mg/0.5 mL for Trulicity and 0.25 mg to 2 mg for Ozempic. The doses of the drug are prescribed by your healthcare specialist as per their diagnosis.
Both medicines are administered by adults who have type 2 diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels and for protection from other cardiovascular diseases. However, you must combine the administration of Trulicity and Ozempic with the right diet and exercise so that you can leverage the uses of these medicines completely.
Which Drug Lasts Longer In The Body?
As you know, both Ozempic and Trulicity are administered once a week, but one of them stays in your body a little longer than the other. Yes, Ozempic states longer than Trulicity because it has a half-life of one week, so it takes around five weeks to completely clear out from your body. Trulicity clears from your body in about three and a half weeks because it has a half-life of five days.
Potential Side Effects Trulicity And Ozempic
Since both medicines serve the same cause, their potential side effects are quite similar, whether we talk about minor or major ones. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, indigestion, Diarrhea, low appetite, and fatigue are some of the common side effects of the two drugs that are associated with stomach. However, the percentages of these side effects differ for both of them as they affect the stomach differently.
Kidney injury, allergic reactions, diabetic eye problems, pancreatitis, and other diseases are some of the serious side effects of Trulicity and Ozempic. These need to be treated with careful consideration by your healthcare provider, and the dosage of the drugs also needs to be revised.
What Interactions Do Trulicity And Ozempic Have?
The interaction of Trulicity and Ozempic drugs is not yet clear, but if you take other medicines at the same time while administering these, then you must provide your current list to your doctor. This will help him to determine the correct dose and drug that should be given to you without any problem. It can happen that when these drugs are working in your body, then the effects of other medicines may not show.
Conclusion
Both Ozempic and Trulicity are used to manage type 2 diabetes and diseases related to your heart, as these work in a similar way to give you the result. None of these two is associated with weight loss because that depends upon your living style and other lifestyle choices. Although both are administered for the same purpose, there a differences in their dosage, strength, packaging, and efficacy. So, the decision of which medicine to take depends upon you and your healthcare provider.
Read More: Does Ozempic Make You Tired? Unveiling Truth
FAQ
Although both Trulicity and Ozempic work similarly to serve the same purpose, doctors don’t recommend administering the two at the same time.
Administering Trulicity can make you feel fuller, and that means you will not eat much, so eventually, you lose weight. However, the loss and gain of weight depend upon your lifestyle choices, too, as this medicine has no weight loss properties.
Switching from Trulicity to Ozempic is possible, but you must consult your doctor first because both medicines work in the same way to serve the same goal.
Yes, you may gain weight after you stop taking Trulicity because it makes you feel fuller and prevents you from eating. However, when you stop taking it, you may eat like before, as you may not get the feeling of fullness and get hungry.
Trulicity is not directly associated with weight loss, but you may lose belly fat because of other reasons while taking this drug.
References
- Grunberger G, Chang A, Soria GG, et al. Monotherapy with the once-weekly GLP-1 analogue dulaglutide for 12 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes: dose-dependent effects on glycaemic control in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Diabet Med. 2012;29(10):1260–1267. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2012.03745.x. [PubMed]
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration . FDA approves new drug treatment for chronic weight management, first since 2014. June 4, 2021. Accessed May 2, 2022. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-drug-treatment-chronic-weight-management-first-2014
