Trulicity is a type of medication you might need to take if you have type 2 diabetes.
- What is Trulicity?
- Supply issues of Trulicity
- How does Trulicity work?
- Who can take Trulicity?
- How to take Trulicity
- Your prescription
- Trulicity side effects
- More information and support
What is Trulicity?
Trulicity, a brand name for dulaglutide, belongs to a group of drugs called GLP-1 agonists - these can also be called GLP-1 analogues, GLP-1 RAs and incretin mimetics.
There are several different GLP-1 agonists available in the UK.
Trulicity is a treatment for type 2 diabetes, which can help you manage your blood sugar levels. You can take it on its own or with other diabetes medications such as metformin, sulphonylureas and insulin.
Supply issues of Trulicity
The NHS had been facing supply issues with GLP-1 agonists, meaning that thousands of people could not access them. But stocks were resupplied at the end of December 2024, and this issue has now been reported as resolved.
If you are still having issues getting your GLP-1 medications as prescribed, please contact your healthcare team. Contact our helpline if you have questions or concerns – call 0345 123 2399.
How does Trulicity work?
Trulicity increases the levels of incretins – hormones – which your stomach naturally produces when you eat.
It works by helping your body to produce more insulin when needed. It also reduces the amount of glucose, or sugar, produced by the liver, and slows down how quickly food is digested. This all helps to lower blood sugar levels and HbA1c.
Some people might lose some weight when they take Trulicity as part of their type 2 diabetes treatment. This is because this drug slows down how quickly food is digested and can reduce your appetite, so you eat less.
Who can take Trulicity?
Adults over the age of 18 years with type 2 diabetes can take Trulicity.
Guidelines from The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, or NICE for short, recommend that Trulicity can be prescribed to adults with type 2 diabetes when:
- Using three medications has not been effective in managing diabetes
- Or you have not been able to take the medications. This might be because of side effects or because of other medical conditions.
Trulicity is only prescribed to people who have a Body Mass Index, known as BMI, of 35kg/m2 or more and have additional psychological or other medical conditions that are related to obesity.
However, someone with type 2 diabetes can be prescribed Trulicity if they have a BMI below 35kg/m2 and:
- Using insulin would impact their job due to the risk of low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia, or hypos;
- Weight loss would improve other obesity-related health issues.
NICE recommends – due to their risk from obesity-related health problems at a lower BMI – that people from Black African, African-Caribbean, Asian, South Asian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern backgrounds may be able to receive Trulicity at a lower BMI.
Who can't take Trulicity?
Some medications might not be suitable for some people, which might be because of medical conditions or other reasons:
- Your doctor will tell you to stop taking Trulicity if you develop diabetic ketoacidosis, also called DKA;
- You might need to temporarily stop Trulicity if you’re going to have an operation;
- You may not be prescribed Trulicity if you have severe gastro-intestinal disease;
- You should not take Trulicity if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. If you're planning a pregnancy, speak with a healthcare professional if you are using this medication.
When you start a new medication always check with your healthcare team that it’s suitable for you to take.
How to take Trulicity
Trulicity is an injection that you take once a week. Your healthcare team will give you more information about how to take Trulicity, and how to inject. Make sure you are rotating your injection site to avoid skin problems.
Although Trulicity is given via injection, it is a different medication to insulin.
Always take this medication exactly as your healthcare team has told you. The Patient Information Leaflet inside the box will tell you how to take it but always check with a doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Your prescription
You should only be given a prescription for Trulicity after an assessment by your healthcare team to ensure that you meet the criteria and will benefit from its use.
This should be an individual assessment that includes how Trulicity will fit into your current treatment plan, considering any diet or activity program you are following, as well as the risk of side effects, the dose you'll need, and your personal preferences.
Your healthcare team should explain your prescription to you, but it's important to make sure you ask if you don't feel you know enough.
And make sure you talk to your GP or your diabetes team if you struggle to take Trulicity. They might be able to help by adjusting the dose.
In England, if you need to take any medication to manage your diabetes, your prescriptions will be free. Ask your healthcare team about a prescription exemption certificate if you don't have one, to make sure you don't get charged for your medication. Prescriptions are already free for everybody in the rest of the UK, so you shouldn't pay for medication.
Trulicity side effects
Side effects from taking Trulicity can include:
- feeling sick
- being sick
- diarrhoea
- indigestion
- stomach pain.
Risk of worsening retinopathy
If you have diabetic eye disease, known as diabetic retinopathy, and you're using insulin, then your retinopathy could get worse when you start Trulicity, and this might need treatment.
Tell your doctor if you have diabetic eye disease or if you experience eye problems during treatment with Trulicity.
Risk of low blood sugar
Trulicity, on its own, does not usually cause blood sugar levels to become too low. But hypos can happen when you take this medication with other diabetes medications such as insulin or tablets called sulphonylureas.
Your healthcare team may advise reducing the dose of your sulphonylurea or insulin medicine when you start taking Trulicity to reduce the risk of hypos.
Risk of high blood sugar
If you take Trulicity with insulin and your insulin is reduced too quickly, it can cause high blood sugar levels, which is also called hyperglycaemia, and there is an increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, also called DKA. Your healthcare team should discuss with you the signs and symptoms of DKA.
Other possible symptoms include:
- a high temperature of 38C or more (fever)
- yellowing of the whites of the eyes, and yellowing of the skin although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin
- tenderness or swelling of the tummy
- fast heartbeat (tachycardia) or rapid breathing.
If you experience any of these symptoms, it is very important to get urgent medical help.
These are not all the side effects. You will find a full list of known side effects in the Patient Information Leaflet. This comes in the medication box.
Like all medications, Trulicity can cause side effects. But when side effects are listed as common in the Patient Information Leaflet, it doesn't mean that everyone who takes the medication will get them. Read more about GLP-1 agonist side effects.
The information about side effects is based on the likelihood of people having them. For example, if a side effect is very common, then it can affect more than one in ten people, and if a side effect is very rare, then it affects fewer than one in 10,000 people.
Because medicines can affect people differently, your healthcare team will speak to you about what's best for you and discuss any side effects.
It’s also important that you take individual advice from your healthcare team before starting Trulicity treatment and report any side effects to your healthcare professionals, if you experience any.
You can also report these side effects to the Yellow Card Scheme, a government system used for recording side effects associated with medicines in the UK.
More information and support
If you're worried about Trulicity, struggling with side effects, or want to know if it's right for you, speak with your healthcare team.
Still have more questions? Or is there anything you're not sure about Trulicity after reading this page? Contact our helpline on 0345 123 2399.
You can visit the NHS website for more information on Trulicity.
