Dulaglutide (Trulicity)_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as Trulicity, Dulaglutide, LY2189265
A weekly GLP-1 shot for diabetes, with far less weight loss than the famous ones.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Dulaglutide (Trulicity)?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
It lowers blood sugar and takes the edge off hunger. It is approved for type 2 diabetes only, and the weight loss is much smaller than what people expect from this drug family.
Dulaglutide is a GLP-1 drug, the same family as Ozempic. It copies a gut hormone that tells the pancreas to release insulin when blood sugar is high, and slows how fast the stomach empties.
What it's used for
A once-weekly injection for type 2 diabetes, taken to lower blood sugar. It also lowers the risk of heart problems.
How does Dulaglutide (Trulicity) work?
What it does in the body, and where.Dulaglutide copies GLP-1, a hormone your gut releases after eating. The trick is that it is stuck to a piece of an antibody, which stops your body clearing it for about a week.
- 01It binds the GLP-1 receptorThe same target as Ozempic and the same one tirzepatide hits alongside a second receptor.
- 02The pancreas releases insulin, but only when sugar is highThis is why it rarely causes low blood sugar on its own. The signal switches off when blood sugar drops.
- 03The stomach empties more slowlyFood sits longer, so you feel full sooner and blood sugar rises more gently after a meal.
- 04The antibody piece is why it lasts a weekPlain GLP-1 is gone in minutes. Attaching it to a large protein hides it from the enzymes that would break it down.
Acts on one receptor.
What else is it used for?
Each use below carries its own evidence level. Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
- Lowering blood sugar in type 2 diabetesFDA-approved
- Lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with type 2 diabetes, where a trial of 5.4 years found 12% fewer such eventsFDA-approved
- Weight loss, where the effect is real but much smaller than semaglutide or tirzepatideClinical use
The published record
Papers and trials about Dulaglutide (Trulicity)
398 papers tagged human · 230 not reviews or lab · 86 clinical trial publications
142 registered trials · 47 with posted results
Furthest stage reached: Approved in the US
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count. 495 papers and 100 trials indexed in detail.
At a glance
Four things to know about Dulaglutide (Trulicity)
Evidence
FDA-approved
Category
Weight loss and metabolic
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
About 5 days
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.0.75 up to 4.5 mg per week (start low, increase slowly), weekly. Taken continuously, with no planned break FDA label
Blood sugar rises again when it stops, so it is treated as ongoing medication rather than a course. The label sets no end date.
About 5 daysFDA label
Peak concentration is reached around 48 hours and steady state between the second and fourth weekly dose.
Source: Trulicity label section 12.3. Consistent with the population pharmacokinetic analysis, PMID 26507721.
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
How do I dose and price it?
Enter your vial and your dose. Pick a mix. We show the draw and the cost.The vial holds a fixed amount of drug. Adding more water does not make more drug, it just spreads it thinner, so you draw a bigger number on the syringe for the same dose.
Choose your mix
Measuring the water1 mL = one full 100-unit syringe.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Dry powder in the freezer or fridge. Once mixed, fridge, and use within about a month.
Unmixed lyophilized Dulaglutide (Trulicity) keeps for a long time cold. Once you add water the clock starts: most reconstituted vials hold up for roughly 28 to 30 days at fridge temperature. Keep it out of light, and do not freeze it after mixing.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.This comes as a ready-to-use pen, so there is nothing to mix and nothing to measure. The pen has no dose dial: each one holds a single fixed dose, and you pick the strength when you fill the prescription. Do not expect Ozempic-level weight loss. Head to head, semaglutide at 1 mg produced about 6.5 kg of weight loss against 3.0 kg for dulaglutide at 1.5 mg.
Who should avoid it
- A personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer
- Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2, an inherited hormone condition
- Known allergy to dulaglutide
- Pregnancy, without talking to your doctor
Stop and get help
- Severe stomach pain that does not go away, which can signal pancreatitis
- A lump or swelling in the neck, trouble swallowing, or a hoarse voice
- Signs of an allergic reaction such as face or throat swelling, hives, or trouble breathing
Common effects
- Nausea, especially in the first few weeks
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Stomach pain
- Tiredness
- Injection-site reactions
- Weight loss of roughly 3 to 5 kg at the higher doses, which is modest for this drug family
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Dulaglutide (Trulicity) approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Yes. Dulaglutide (Trulicity) is FDA approved and available on prescription in the United States.
- Approval statusFDA-approved
- RouteUnder the skin (subcutaneous)
- Checked14 August 2026
- DoseFrom the drug label. The manufacturer tested this range and a regulator reviewed it.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- Sources
What has happened recently
FDA-approved in September 2014 for type 2 diabetes, with the 3.0 mg and 4.5 mg strengths added in September 2020. It has never been approved for weight loss, and Lilly has not applied for that. Anyone prescribed this for weight loss is getting it off-label.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like Dulaglutide (Trulicity)?
Others in GLP-1 agonists, side by side.If you're weighing Dulaglutide (Trulicity), it's worth reading Ecnoglutide, Efinopegdutide, and Exenatide (Byetta / Bydureon) in the same class.
A weekly GLP-1 shot for diabetes, with far less weight loss than the famous ones.
- Dose
- 0.75 up to 4.5 mg per week (start low, increase slowly)
- How often
- Weekly
A GLP-1 approved in China and licensed to Pfizer, and not approved in the US.
- Dose
- 1.2 to 2.4 mg
- How often
- Once weekly
An experimental weekly GLP-1/glucagon shot being studied for fatty liver disease, not for weight loss.
- Dose
- 2 up to 10 mg per week (trial doses, stepped up monthly)
- How often
- Weekly
The first GLP-1 drug, found in lizard venom, now mostly retired.
- Dose
- 2 mg per week (the weekly form)
- How often
- Weekly
Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
- Why Does My Peptide Injection Itch or Welt
Injection-site irritation, a histamine reaction, or a true allergy, and how to tell them apart.
- Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide vs Retatrutide
One receptor, two, or three. Mechanism, trial weight loss, side effects, and real cost.
Sources
- FDA, TRULICITY (dulaglutide) prescribing information(2020)Approved September 2014 for type 2 diabetes. Doses 0.75, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 mg once weekly. Boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumors. No weight-loss indication.
Beyond these, 595 records are indexed. Browse the records