Dulaglutide

What Dulaglutide does

Dulaglutide is a weekly GLP-1 medicine for type 2 diabetes. It is a GLP-1 and antibody-fragment fusion protein. Trials support blood-sugar control and fewer major heart events in adults with diabetes. It is not approved for weight management. Stomach upset is common, and dehydration, pancreatitis and eye complications need attention.

• Trulicity is approved for type 2 diabetes from age 10, and to lower major heart-event risk in some adults with diabetes. (Drug label)
• In a trial, the 1.5 mg dose lowered the long-term blood sugar score by 1.51 points, versus 0.46 on placebo. (Studied in a trial)
• In a large heart trial, 12.0% of people on dulaglutide had a major heart event, versus 13.4% in the comparison group. (Studied in a trial)
• Weight also fell in diabetes trials, though it is not approved for weight loss. (Studied in a trial)

Uses in the sources

• Approved for type 2 diabetes and lower major heart-event risk in adults with diabetes and established disease or multiple risk factors. (Drug label) (source)
• Weight fell in diabetes trials. Trulicity has no US weight-management indication. (Studied in a trial) (source)

Dulaglutide dosage

Typical reported dose: 0.75 mg once a week to start, up to 4.5 mg

• Trulicity: adult label only: 0.75 mg once weekly, then 1.5 mg once weekly, if needed, then 3 mg once weekly, if needed, then 4.5 mg once weekly, if needed once weekly, under the skin. Drug label. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes. (source)
• Early trial: 0.1 mg weekly: 0.1 mg once weekly; fixed assigned dose. once weekly, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes on no other glucose medicine. (source)
• Early trial: 0.5 mg weekly: 0.5 mg once weekly; fixed assigned dose. once weekly, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes on no other glucose medicine. (source)
• Early trial: 1 mg weekly: 1 mg once weekly; fixed assigned dose. once weekly, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes on no other glucose medicine. (source)
• Early trial: 1.5 mg weekly: 1.5 mg once weekly; fixed assigned dose. once weekly, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes on no other glucose medicine. (source)
• EGO: 0.5 to 1: 0.5 mg once weekly, then 1 mg once weekly once weekly, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes taking two oral drugs. (source)

These are doses reported in labels, trials or user reports, not a personal plan. Check the source behind each one.

Work out syringe units with the dosing calculator

How to store Dulaglutide

Comes as: Ready-made single-use pens: 0.75, 1.5, 3 or 4.5 mg in 0.5 mL.

Mixed with: None; do not dilute, split, refill or transfer the prefilled dose..

• A pen contains one fixed dose; a powder vial is not the labeled formulation.
• No validated community reconstitution volumes or home-mixed stability data were found.

Before mixing: Refrigerate at 2–8°C in the carton, protected from light. Never freeze.

After mixing: No mixing. May be kept below 30°C for a total of 14 days; discard after the single injection.

Dulaglutide side effects and risks

Reported side effects

• Nausea: 0.75/1.5 mg: 12.4/21.1%; placebo 5.3%., moderate. Review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose; vomiting may cause dehydration. (source)
• Diarrhea: 0.75/1.5 mg: 8.9/12.6%; placebo 6.7%., moderate. Review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose; vomiting may cause dehydration. (source)
• Vomiting: 0.75/1.5 mg: 6.0/12.7%; placebo 2.3%., moderate. Review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose; vomiting may cause dehydration. (source)
• Abdominal pain: 0.75/1.5 mg: 6.5/9.4%; placebo 4.9%., moderate. Review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose; vomiting may cause dehydration. (source)
• Pancreatitis: In the high dose study: 1.5 mg 0.2%, 3 mg 0.3%, 4.5 mg 0.5%; rare severe cases reported., serious (source)
• Diabetic eye complications: REWIND: 1.9% versus placebo 1.5%; with prior retinopathy, 8.5% versus 6.2%., serious. Monitor existing diabetic retinopathy, especially during rapid glucose improvement. (source)
• Gallbladder disease: REWIND gallstones: 0.62 versus 0.56 events/100 patient years, adjusted for prior gallbladder removal., serious (source)
• Low blood sugar with insulin or sulfonylureas: AWARD 9 with basal insulin: 7.69 versus placebo 8.56 events/patient/year; one severe episode with dulaglutide., serious (source)
• Kidney injury from dehydration: Postmarketing cases, sometimes requiring dialysis; no reliable frequency., serious (source)
• Severe allergic reaction: Anaphylaxis and angioedema are reported; no reliable frequency., serious (source)
• Thyroid C-cell tumors: Rodent finding; whether dulaglutide causes these tumors in humans is unknown., serious (source)

Stop and get help if

• Severe, persistent belly pain, especially spreading to the back: Stop the drug and seek urgent care for possible pancreatitis.
• Face or throat swelling, trouble breathing, or collapse: Call emergency services now; do not take another dose.
• Confusion, seizure, fainting or low blood sugar that does not resolve: Get emergency care. If awake and able to swallow, use fast sugar while help is arranged.
• Repeated vomiting, inability to keep fluids down, or very little urine: Seek urgent assessment for dehydration and kidney injury.
• Upper-right belly pain with fever, yellow skin or pale stools: Seek urgent care for possible gallbladder or bile-duct disease.
• Sudden vision loss or a major new change in vision: Get urgent same-day eye or emergency assessment.
• Chest pain, marked breathlessness or fainting: Call emergency services now.

Who should avoid it

• pregnant: Weight loss is unsuitable; fetal-risk data are limited and animal findings raise concern.
• tryingToConceive: Review a stopping plan before conception; no safe conception interval was established in the extracted sources.
• breastfeeding: Human milk and infant-safety data are inadequate.
• under18: Some labeled diabetes or obesity uses include children; this is not a blanket pediatric label ban.
• mtcOrMen2: Personal or family medullary thyroid cancer or MEN2 is a label contraindication for this GLP-1 product.
• other: Do not re-expose after a serious allergic reaction to the drug or its ingredients.
• pancreatitisHistory: Past pancreatitis needs review; stop and urgently assess persistent severe abdominal pain.
• gallbladderDisease: Gallstones or previous gallbladder inflammation increase the need to assess new upper-abdominal pain.
• gastroparesis: Severe gastroparesis is a label reason to avoid use; these medicines further slow stomach emptying.
• eatingDisorderHistory: Listed as a reason to avoid it.
• kidneyDisease: Kidney function and hydration need review, especially with vomiting or diarrhea.
• liverDisease: Clinical experience in severe liver impairment is limited; review the specific product and other medicines.
• diabeticRetinopathy: Rapid glucose improvement can temporarily worsen diabetic eye disease; arrange appropriate eye follow-up.
• surgeryPlanned: Tell the anesthesia team. Delayed stomach emptying can leave food in the stomach despite fasting.
• diabetes: Review glucose monitoring and insulin or sulfonylurea doses. Do not rapidly stop insulin.

Interactions

• Insulin: Low blood sugar risk can rise. Insulin adjustment needs glucose readings; rapid withdrawal can cause ketoacidosis.
• Sulfonylureas and related insulin-releasing drugs: Low blood sugar can increase; a clinician may need to lower the companion drug dose.
• Another GLP-1 or GLP-1/GIP medicine: Avoid duplicate incretin therapy. Switching guidance stops the previous product rather than stacking both.
• DPP-4 inhibitors: Routine combination is not recommended because it adds little glucose benefit over GLP-1 therapy alone.
• Time-sensitive oral medicines: Slower stomach emptying can alter absorption timing; the effect is medicine-specific. Review critical oral drugs, especially with vomiting or poor intake.
• Warfarin: Monitor INR with initiation or changes; the label advises caution with narrow-therapeutic-index oral drugs.

Product quality risks

• Online GLP-1 products can contain the wrong amount, a different drug or contamination. A seller’s purity claim does not establish sterile injectable quality.
• Three online semaglutide vials had 28.56–38.69% excess drug and endotoxin. Those samples were not this compound.
• No direct laboratory survey of online dulaglutide products was found; semaglutide assay rates cannot be assigned to dulaglutide.

What to expect

117 registered interventional records found before the cutoff, including planned trials and comparator arms. Selected major reports appear below; this is not a completed-trial count.

Key studies

• EGO: early weekly dose steps: 0.5→1 mg −1.38%; 1 mg −1.32%; 1→2 mg −1.59%; placebo −0.24%. (source)
• Early weekly monotherapy: 0.5/1/1.5 mg: −0.9/−1.0/−1.0%; placebo 0.0%. The abstract does not give the 0.1 mg HbA1c result. (source)
• AWARD-5: seven-dose selection: 1.5 mg was selected as optimal; 0.75 mg was the second selected dose. (source)
• Higher doses: 1.5, 3 and 4.5 mg: 1.5/3/4.5 mg: −1.23/−1.31/−1.40%; placebo −0.44%. (source)
• AWARD-1: metformin plus pioglitazone: 1.5 mg −1.51%; 0.75 mg −1.30%; exenatide −0.99%; placebo −0.46%. (source)
• AWARD-2: versus basal insulin: 1.5 mg −1.08%; 0.75 mg −0.76%; glargine −0.63%. (source)

Dulaglutide FAQ

• Is Dulaglutide FDA-approved? Yes: Trulicity (type 2 diabetes age 10+; fewer major heart events in adults with diabetes and cardiovascular disease or multiple risk factors.). No US weight-management indication. March 2026 prescribing information checked.
• How do people take it? Under the skin, once weekly. Source: drug label.
• Can I take it with Metformin? Most AWARD studies used metformin background therapy for type 2 diabetes. Stomach symptoms can overlap; each drug retains its separate precautions. Source: studied in a trial. Ask a doctor before combining anything.
• Is it banned in sport? No, it is not on the banned list (WADA 2026). The 2026 monitoring program names semaglutide and tirzepatide, not this drug. Approved GLP-1 medicines remain permitted.
• How do I store it once opened? No mixing. May be kept below 30°C for a total of 14 days; discard after the single injection.