Trulicity is a type of medication you might need to take if you have type 2 diabetes.
- What is Trulicity?
- How does Trulicity work?
- How to take Trulicity
- Who can 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 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs or GLP-1s) – they are also known as GLP-1 analogues, GLP-1 agonists or 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, SGLT-2 inhibitors, sulphonylureas and insulin.
How does Trulicity work?
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a naturally occurring hormone in the gut and is released after eating. Trulicity is a medication that mimics the action of natural GLP-1.
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.
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.
Who can take Trulicity?
Trulicity can be prescribed to adults aged 18 and over for type 2 diabetes management.
New guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE for short, recommend earlier use of GLP-1 medications for some groups of people. You’re more likely to be offered a GLP-1 such as Trulicity if you’re an adult with type 2 diabetes and:
- You were diagnosed before the age of 40
- Are living with obesity
Your healthcare team will discuss your options to decide if this treatment is right for you based on your individual needs and circumstances. If you think that you would benefit from taking Trulicity for diabetes management, speak with your healthcare team so that you can make an informed decision together about your treatment.
NICE guidelines are used in England and Wales and tend to be endorsed and adopted in Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland, care may be based on SIGN guidelines. Please speak to your healthcare team if you have any questions or concerns about your treatment.
Can children take Trulicity?
Trulicity is licensed to treat children and young people aged 10 and over with type 2 diabetes. NICE guidelines recommend it’s offered to children with type 2 diabetes who meet certain eligibility criteria.
Who can't take Trulicity?
Some medications might not be suitable for some people, which might be because of medical conditions or other reasons. The list below shows some of the reasons why Trulicity might not be a suitable treatment for you:
- You may not be prescribed Trulicity if you have severe problems with your digestion. You might need to temporarily stop Trulicity if you’re going to have an operation;
- If you’ve had pancreatitis before, Trulicity might not be suitable for you. Your doctor will tell you to stop taking this medication if you have pancreatitis;
- Your doctor will tell you to stop taking Trulicity if you develop diabetic ketoacidosis, also called DKA;
- 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.
The patient information leaflet that comes with the medication will also have an up to date list of warnings and precautions. When you start a new medication, always check with your healthcare team that it’s suitable for you to take. You can discuss any other medical conditions you have and any other medications you are taking.
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
Common side effects of Trulicity can include:
- feeling sick (nausea)
- being sick (vomiting)
- diarrhoea
- stomach pain
- risk of low blood sugar
Risk of low blood sugar
Trulicity, on its own, does not usually cause blood sugar levels to become too low, also called hypoglycaemia or hypos. However, hypos are more common 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.
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.
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.
You can visit the NHS website for more information on Trulicity.
