Dulaglutide

Dulaglutide for Weight Loss

GLP-1, injection

Dulaglutide mimics the gut hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1). When you eat, GLP-1 slows digestion and helps you feel full. It also:

Reduces appetite

Balances blood sugar

Regulates insulin

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Everything you need to know about
Dulaglutide

What is

Dulaglutide

Benefits How it works How to use it

What is
Dulaglutide
?

Dulaglutide is a drug sold under the brand name Trulicity®. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Trulicity to treat Type 2 diabetes and to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke among people who have Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Clinicians can prescribe it off-label for weight loss because clinical evidence shows it also helps people lose weight.

Benefits of
Dulaglutide

Expected weight loss depends on the dosage of dulaglutide. In one study funded by Eli Lilly, Trulicity’s manufacturer, people who took 2.4 mg doses weekly had more weight loss (about 10 lbs) than people on 1.5 mg doses (a little less than 7 lbs) after about 9 months of treatment.

Dulaglutide may have more benefits than treating Type 2 diabetes and off-label weight management. Multiple clinical trials funded by Lilly show dulaglutide can reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with Type 2 diabetes and known heart disease. It improves heart health by lowering blood sugar and helping people lose excess weight.

It’s significant to note that patients also reported reduced appetite while using dulaglutide.

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How does
Dulaglutide
work?

When you eat, the food stimulates your gut to release the GLP-1 hormone. GLP-1 helps lower blood glucose (blood sugar) by triggering insulin release. Insulin helps blood glucose enter your body’s cells for later energy use.

In some people, the gut doesn't make enough natural GLP-1, or the brain isn't sensitive to it.

Dulaglutide is a synthetic GLP-1 RA (receptor agonist). A drug that works as an agonist activates the same cell receptors as the body’s natural hormones. So, dulaglutide works in the gut like the body’s natural GLP-1. Because dulaglutide slows digestion, it helps curb hunger and signal fullness to the brain. As a result, some people with obesity have lost weight while taking it.

Because dulaglutide supports a process the body isn’t doing well on its own, it may require long-term use.

It’s important to note that dulaglutide doesn’t work for everyone. There are many biological reasons why people struggle to lose weight. Found’s clinicians, trained in obesity medicine, can help patients identify the root cause of their weight gain and personalize a prescription to target it. All prescriptions are up to a medical provider’s discretion.

More on personalized treatment with Found

How to use it

Read the pharmaceutical packaging and follow your care provider’s instructions for dulaglutide. Dulaglutide is a once-weekly injection. Eli Lilly recommends injecting the medicine under the skin in your upper arm, upper thigh, or stomach, changing the injection site each week. Store prefilled dulaglutide pens in a refrigerator.

Dosing

Dosing depends on your specific prescription schedule and your care provider’s instructions. Please also read the pharmaceutical packaging.

Side effects

Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.

Tell your health care provider if you have severe stomach problems that won’t go away, including abdominal bloating or pain, acid reflux, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites of food, nausea, and vomiting, including vomiting undigested food eaten a few hours earlier. These may be symptoms of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).

Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.

Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.

Black Box Warning

Although rare, dulaglutide caused thyroid C-cell tumors in animal studies. Dulaglutide medications have a “black box” warning of the risk of these tumors. If you have trouble swallowing, develop hoarseness, or feel swelling or a lump in your neck, contact your health care provider immediately.

The FDA also warns not to take dulaglutide if you have a personal or family history of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome Type 2 or medullary thyroid cancer.

Precautions

Rapid or significant weight loss can lead to too much muscle loss. To protect your muscles, it’s important to start a strength training program and exercise regularly while taking dulaglutide.

Use an effective contraceptive while taking this medication. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, do not take dulaglutide.

Dulaglutide is not used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. So, if this is you, dulaglutide isn’t the right fit.

Interactions

Some drugs can also interact with dulaglutide, including:

Insulin
Sulfonylureas (when combined, these can cause blood sugar levels to drop dangerously low)
Some birth control pills
Other GLP-1 or GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist medications such as semaglutide, liraglutide, or tirzepatide

You should not drink alcohol while taking this drug because it can lower blood sugar. Combining alcohol with dulaglutide may cause blood sugars to fall too fast, leading to fainting and dizziness.

about
found

Found is an online weight loss program offering personalized care for every member. Some of the nation’s top obesity medicine specialists helped design our program. Our approach is based on science, and we’re committed to clinical excellence.

Members get access to: Clinicians trained in obesity medicine 1:1 health coaching Self-paced lifestyle change program designed by doctors, psychologists, and behavioral scientists Exclusive in-app community.

Found’s comprehensive program is designed to work with your body—so you can achieve lasting results and enjoy better health.

Alternative medications

Depending on your health history, weight history, and MetabolicPrint^TM assessment, your Found health care provider may consider other alternatives to help you lose weight. Some are FDA-approved for weight loss. Others are used off-label and have strong clinical evidence supporting their use for weight loss.

Unfortunately, there are no generic versions of Ozempic currently on the market.
However, your health care provider might consider alternatives such as Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Saxenda, all of which are GLP-1 medications but not all are FDA-approved for weight loss specifically.

Dulaglutide for Weight Loss