Liraglutide

What Liraglutide does

Liraglutide is a daily injection sold in different products for weight management and type 2 diabetes. Large trials support both uses, and Victoza has a heart-risk indication in diabetes. The weight-management dose is higher than the diabetes dose. Stomach upset is common; pancreatitis, gallbladder problems and dehydration need attention.

• Saxenda is approved for long-term weight management with diet and activity, in adults and some teens age 12 and up. (Drug label)
• In a large trial, people lost 8.4 kg on average, compared with 2.8 kg on placebo. (Studied in a trial)
• Victoza is approved for type 2 diabetes from age 10, and to cut major heart events in adults with diabetes and heart disease. (Drug label)
• People report less hunger, smaller portions and weight loss while staying at 1.2 or 1.8 mg. (Reported by users)

Uses in the sources

• Saxenda is approved for long-term weight management with reduced calories and more activity. (Drug label) (source)
• Victoza is approved for type 2 diabetes and fewer major heart events in adults with established cardiovascular disease. (Drug label) (source)
• Studied for sleep apnea and fatty-liver inflammation; these trial findings are not separate US approvals. (Studied in a trial) (source)
• In type 1 diabetes trials, modest benefits came with more low blood sugar and ketosis. It is not a replacement for insulin. (Studied in a trial) (source)

Liraglutide dosage

Typical reported dose: 0.6 mg once a day to start, up to 3 mg

• Saxenda: weekly 0.6 mg steps: 0.6 mg once daily, then 1.2 mg once daily, then 1.8 mg once daily, then 2.4 mg once daily once daily, under the skin. Drug label. Studied in: Adults meeting the Saxenda weight-management indication. (source)
• Victoza: 0.6, 1.2, then optional 1.8 mg: 0.6 mg once daily, then 1.2 mg once daily, then 1.8 mg once daily once daily, under the skin. Drug label. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes. (source)
• Xultophy: start at 10 dose units: Start 10 dose units daily; then adjust by 2 dose units once or twice weekly. once daily, under the skin. Drug label. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes naive to basal insulin or a GLP-1 medicine. (source)
• Xultophy: start at 16 dose units: Start 16 dose units daily; then adjust by 2 dose units once or twice weekly. once daily, under the skin. Drug label. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes switching from basal insulin or a GLP-1 medicine. (source)
• Early study: 0.045 mg daily: 0.045 mg once daily; fixed assigned dose. once daily, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes. (source)
• Early study: 0.225 mg daily: 0.225 mg once daily; fixed assigned dose. once daily, under the skin. Studied in a trial. Studied in: Adults with type 2 diabetes. (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 Liraglutide

Comes as: Saxenda/Victoza: 6 mg/mL ready-made solution in a 3 mL pen, 18 mg total, Xultophy: fixed insulin degludec/liraglutide solution in a pen.

Mixed with: None. Ready-made pens must not be diluted or mixed with other drugs..

• The 18 mg total is pen content, not a powder-vial size.
• Do not count clicks; use the marked dose counter. Do not share pens, even with a new needle.
• No independently supported grey-vial water volume or after-mixing stability was found.

Before mixing: Unused pens: 2–8°C, protected from light. Never freeze.

After mixing: Saxenda/Victoza after first use: 30 days at 2–8°C or 15–30°C. Xultophy after first use: 21 days at 2–8°C or 15–30°C.

Liraglutide side effects and risks

Reported side effects

• Nausea: Saxenda 3 mg: 39.3% versus placebo 13.8%., moderate. Small meals and fluids may help; review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose. (source)
• Diarrhea: Saxenda 3 mg: 20.9% versus placebo 9.9%., moderate. Small meals and fluids may help; review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose. (source)
• Constipation: Saxenda 3 mg: 19.4% versus placebo 8.5%., moderate. Small meals and fluids may help; review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose. (source)
• Vomiting: Saxenda 3 mg: 15.7% versus placebo 3.9%., moderate. Small meals and fluids may help; review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose. (source)
• Injection-site reactions: Saxenda: 13.9% versus placebo 10.5%., moderate. Small meals and fluids may help; review persistent symptoms before increasing the dose. (source)
• Gallstones: Saxenda: 2.2% versus placebo 0.8%; gallbladder inflammation 0.8% versus 0.4%., serious (source)
• Pancreatitis: LEADER: 0.4% versus 0.5%; rare severe and fatal cases are reported across GLP 1 medicines., serious. Stop and seek urgent assessment for persistent severe abdominal pain. (source)
• Faster resting heart rate: Saxenda mean rise 2–3 beats/minute versus placebo., moderate. Monitor resting heart rate; review a sustained increase or racing heart at rest. (source)
• Low blood sugar: Saxenda diabetes trial reports: 12.6% versus placebo 6.6%; risk depends strongly on insulin or sulfonylurea use., serious (source)
• Kidney injury from dehydration: Reported after vomiting or diarrhea; postmarketing reports do not establish a frequency., serious (source)
• Severe allergic reaction: Anaphylaxis and swelling have been reported; no reliable rate., serious (source)
• Thyroid C-cell tumors: Rodent finding; human causal risk 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.
• heartCondition: Heart rate can rise. Reduced-ejection-fraction heart-failure trials found no benefit and raised safety concerns.
• other: Xultophy contains insulin degludec and is contraindicated during an episode of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
• testedAthlete: Xultophy includes insulin, prohibited at all times under S4.4.2. Athletes subject to anti-doping rules need a therapeutic use exemption.
• other: Xultophy can cause life-threatening low potassium. Review potassium-lowering medicines and medicines sensitive to potassium levels; monitor when indicated.

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 and other coumarins: The EU label recommends more frequent INR checks when starting liraglutide with warfarin or another coumarin; no direct interaction study was done.
• Thiazolidinediones with Xultophy: With Xultophy, fluid retention may cause new or worsening heart failure. Monitor for symptoms; if heart failure develops, consider lowering or stopping the TZD.

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.
• MHRA found falsified Saxenda pens; some falsified GLP-1 pens contained insulin and caused severe low blood sugar.

What to expect

438 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

• Early fixed daily doses: 0.75 mg lowered HbA1c by 0.75 percentage points versus placebo. (source)
• Higher daily dose finding: 0.65, 1.25 and 1.90 mg: −1.27, −1.69 and −1.74 percentage points, respectively. (source)
• LEAD-1: added to glimepiride: 0.6/1.2/1.8 mg: −0.6/−1.1/−1.1%; rosiglitazone −0.4%; placebo +0.2%. (source)
• LEAD-2: added to metformin: 0.6/1.2/1.8 mg: −0.7/−1.0/−1.0%; glimepiride −1.0%; placebo +0.1%. (source)
• LEAD-3: monotherapy: 1.2 mg −0.84%; 1.8 mg −1.14%; glimepiride −0.51%. (source)
• LEAD-4: metformin plus rosiglitazone: 1.2 mg −1.5%; 1.8 mg −1.5%; placebo −0.5%. (source)

Liraglutide FAQ

• Is Liraglutide FDA-approved? Yes: Victoza (type 2 diabetes age 10+; fewer major cardiovascular events in adults with diabetes and established cardiovascular disease.); Saxenda (long-term weight management in adults and eligible adolescents age 12+, with diet and activity.); Xultophy 100/3.6 (fixed insulin degludec/liraglutide combination for adult type 2 diabetes.). Saxenda removed its suicidal-thoughts warning in February 2026 after FDA found no increased risk. A generic product’s indications may differ.
• How do people take it? Under the skin, once daily. Source: drug label.
• Can I take it with Metformin? Studied add-on for glucose control; lower liraglutide doses were tested in LEAD-2. Both can cause stomach symptoms; metformin has its own kidney restrictions. 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). Liraglutide alone is permitted. Xultophy contains insulin, prohibited at all times; athletes need a therapeutic use exemption, supported by specialist records of diagnosis and insulin need.
• How do I store it once opened? Saxenda/Victoza after first use: 30 days at 2–8°C or 15–30°C. Xultophy after first use: 21 days at 2–8°C or 15–30°C.