Some medications and supplements don't pair well with Semaglutide medications. Learn about 5 categories you should stay away from unless directed otherwise by your doctor.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient inside of the brand name medications Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus. You can also find Semaglutide in compounded medications through certain compounding pharmacies or telehealth services, like Strut Health. Semaglutide medications are often used for weight loss, or to help treat type 2 diabetes.
Before you start using your Semaglutide medication, you will want to make sure you are aware of certain possible drug or supplement interactions.
Below, are 5 drug or supplement categories that you might be instructed to not take along with your Semaglutide medication.
Insulin is a treatment for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It helps people reduce their blood sugar to keep their diabetes under control.
However, since both insulin and semaglutide can reduce your blood sugar, it’s possible that taking them both at the same time may cause your blood sugar to become too low (hypoglycemia).
Some people may be able to use both insulin and semaglutide, but it may take some dosing adjustments to make sure your blood sugar is kept in a good range. Your doctor will take your personal health history and current health status into account to figure out if using these two together is a good fit for you.
Sulfonylurea medications include drugs like glimepiride, glyburide, and glipizide. These medications are also commonly used to help treat type 2 diabetes.
These medications work by helping to reduce your blood sugar levels. If you also use Semaglutide along with these, your blood sugar levels may become too low.
While it isn’t unheard of for people to use both of these together, it may take some dosing adjustments to make sure your blood sugar levels don’t become too low. Your doctor who treats your diabetes will keep an eye on all of your diabetes medications and should make all the necessary drug and dosage adjustments that are best for you.
Certain antimalarial drugs like hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine may interact with semaglutide medications. The interaction may increase the risk of semaglutide side effects. Many of these side effects are gastrointestinal and may leave you feeling uncomfortable or running to the bathroom.
If you need to treat or prevent malaria, still be sure to use these medications as prescribed and do not stop or avoid the use of them on your own. Let your doctor know that you also use Semaglutide medications. They might suggest that you pause your Semaglutide medication while using these antimalarial drugs, or have some advice on how to use these together if needed.
Semaglutide medications can help slow the transit of food through your stomach and intestines. For weight loss and blood sugar control, that can be helpful as it slows how much food you can eat and how quickly it gets digested.
However, for certain oral medications, this can mean that they are not being absorbed as usual into your body – even if you’ve been taking them for a long time. This can affect how well they are working for you, even at the same dosage.
Some oral medications that might have their absorption and effect altered by using together with Semaglutide may include:
This may not be the full list of oral medications that may be absorbed differently when used along with Semaglutide, but just some of the ones we know so far.
Make sure your doctor knows if you use these medications, as they might keep a close eye on your levels or need to make dosage adjustments.
If oral birth control pills are your main form of contraception, you might want to include another birth control method on top of this to help prevent pregnancy. There have been reports of women becoming pregnant when relying on birth control pills while using Semaglutide. Talk with your OBGYN for suggestions on increasing your protection while using Semaglutide medications.
Even though many people may not think of supplements and herbs when considering interactions with prescription drugs, some supplements may not be a good fit for use along with Semaglutide.
Unless directed otherwise by your doctor, you may want to steer clear of supplements and herbal extracts that can raise or lower your blood sugar levels. Since Semaglutide can also lower your blood sugar levels, this may cause your blood glucose levels to fall too low.
Supplements and herbs that may decrease your blood sugar and interact with Semaglutide include:
Be sure to let your doctor and healthcare team know all of the other medications and supplements you are using before you start taking your Semaglutide medication. As you can see, some medications and supplements can impact your blood sugar levels and may increase your risk of hypoglycemia when using Semaglutide.
Some people may be able to use some of the above medications or supplements along with Semaglutide, but they may require close monitoring of their effects, or dosage adjustments to help them work together without negatively affecting your glucose levels.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are unsure if a new medication or supplement can be taken along with Semaglutide.
At Strut Health, we offer compounded oral and injectable Semaglutide medications for weight loss, completely online. Through our secure telehealth platform, you will submit an online health questionnaire for review to our U.S. licensed doctors to make sure you are a good fit for treatment. Then, if appropriate, your prescription will be issued to a U.S. compounding pharmacy to put your order together. Your medication will be made up in a licensed pharmaceutical laboratory, and shipped to your front door with free shipping.
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