6 Tips for Taking Trulicity Safely

Trulicity is a prescription drug that is aimed at people with type 2 diabetes. It stimulates natural insulin production, keeps food from leaving your stomach too quickly and spiking your blood sugar, and also prevents your liver from releasing too much sugar—reasons patients are always asking about Trulicity cost.

Like many prescription medications, they should be used with caution to avoid potential side effects or drug interactions. It’s especially important to take injectable medication responsibly. These tips can help you stay safe as you take Trulicity. 

What Is Trulicity?

Trulicity is a dulaglutide, which is a drug that helps manage type 2 diabetes in combination with exercise and a healthy diet. Sometimes it is taken along with other medications, including insulin. 

It falls into the category of a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, (GLP-1 RA). That means that it’s a drug that mimics a naturally occurring hormone that increases insulin production. It can also decrease appetite. Trulicity costs can be high, so seek out coupons and affordable pharmacies.

It’s an injectable drug and comes in a pen form that makes it easy to self-administer each dose. 

Who Should Take Trulicity?

GLP-1 RA drugs should only be taken by people with type 2 diabetes. This option helps increase insulin production, slows down the emptying of the stomach, and decreases cardiovascular risks. This medication can also help you lose weight. 

• Learn Proper Injection Techniques

Trulicity comes in a preloaded pen form, so injection is much easier than it would be with a syringe. However, it’s still important to follow proper form when injecting your dose. 

First, wash your hands. Cleanliness is vital when injecting any kind of medicine. Uncap the pen when you’re ready to administer your dose and unlock it. You may want to wait a minute or two to let it warm up before you inject it—a warmer injection will be more comfortable.

Place the pen against the part of your body you plan to use and press down on the green button. You should hear one click at the start of the injection, and another click when it’s complete. 

When the injection is complete, the gray plunger will be visible again. The process can be very simple. 

• Rotate Your Injection Site

As with any injectable medication, it’s best to change up the area in which you inject your medication. This is a subcutaneous injection, so it’s best to choose an area with a layer of fat. Your stomach, upper arm, and thigh are all good options. 

Try to inject in a different spot each time you administer your medication. Otherwise, you could end up with lipodystrophy, which results in either the breakdown of fat or lumps of fat in a particular area. These issues can cause minor pain, and they also make injections less effective. 

Using the same site repeatedly can also cause scarring under the skin, and the scarred areas won’t absorb the medication as well. Try spacing out injections by about an inch each week.

• Eat the Right Foods

Nausea is one of the most common side effects of Trulicity and you can avoid it or manage it by making a few adjustments to your diet. 

First, try eating less, and stopping as soon as you feel full. Another option is to split your meals into multiple smaller ones, so you avoid getting your stomach overly full. This is important because the drug causes your stomach to empty more slowly.

You may also want to try eating bland, easy-to-digest foods like rice, toast, bananas, and other simple foods that help you avoid an upset stomach. On a similar note, avoid very rich, fatty foods. 

It may take some time to adjust to the side effects, but these tips can help with that.

• Stick to a Dosage Schedule

When you take a long-acting medication, it’s important to stick to a consistent schedule. Make sure to administer your Trulicity on the same day of the week every week. Try setting an alarm on your phone or marking down the day on your calendar.

A consistent dosage will ensure that this medication is effective, and it means you only have to worry about taking your shot once a week instead of more frequently. 

If you want to move your dosage day, you can do so. Make sure there are at least 3 days between each dose. If there aren’t, then you should wait until the next week to take your dose on the new dosage day.

• Keep Trulicity Refrigerated

Trulicity should be kept refrigerated as often as possible. That keeps the medication effective and ready to use. It’s important to keep your pen out of direct sunlight and out of the heat. Anything above 86°F can damage the formula. 

However, you don’t have to worry about your pen as you travel. You can leave Trulicity at room temperature for up to two weeks, as long as it’s kept under the 86°F limit. 

Though refrigeration is the best storage option, make sure never to freeze your medication. Never inject medication after it has been frozen, either, because it compromises the integrity of the medicine. 

• Put Empty Pens in a Sharps Container

It can take some time to adjust to using an injectable medication. Part of staying safe when using needles is investing in a container to hold the needles, also known as a sharps container. 

It’s important to use a container made of sturdy, thick plastic with a tight lid. It should be resistant to leaks or spills. There are many FDA-approved containers available for purchase from doctors, pharmacies, and elsewhere. 

If you find yourself without one of those handy, an empty laundry detergent container can serve as a substitute. You should only discard needles in a safe container, to keep yourself and others safe. 

When your sharps container is three-quarters full, it’s time to dispose of it. There are drop boxes and mail-back programs that allow you to safely and responsibly get rid of your used injection pens.

Choose the Right Online Pharmaceutical Source 

PharmaServe is an affordable source of prescription medications, including Trulicity. We carry a range of medications, including insulin and other medications for diabetes.

To learn more about the services we provide, you may visit our website or contact us at PharmaServe today.