What Are Metformin and Tirzepatide?
Metformin
Metformin is part of a small group of medicines known as biguanides, which are prescribed for type 2 diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, and a few other medical conditions. It helps with blood sugar control by reducing how much sugar your liver releases and by making your body more sensitive to insulin, which helps convert the sugar from your blood into energy so your body can function properly. It is most often taken orally, either once or twice a day, and is normally the first treatment prescribed for patients with diabetes because it is effective and affordable.
Tirzepatide
Tirzepatide is a newer medication that copies two of your body’s natural hormones, which helps balance your blood sugar levels and has been proven to assist with weight loss. You might be familiar with the brand names Mounjaro or Zepbound, which are the prescription drug tirzepatide that was first approved in 2022 to treat type 2 diabetes and, more recently, approved by the FDA for weight management.
Tirzepatide helps with weight loss in many different ways, like influencing the signals from your brain that tell you that you are full, curbing cravings, and slowing down your digestive process so you stay satisfied longer after eating. It also assists your natural hormones so that your body releases more insulin when your blood sugar is high and triggers your liver to cut back on making excess sugar. These copycat hormones work to optimize your metabolism and make it easier for you to lose weight.
Can You Take Metformin and Tirzepatide Together?
Yes, metformin and tirzepatide can be safely combined when used under doctor’s supervision. Each of these drugs works in a different way, but when used together, they can improve blood sugar regulation and help with weight management.
In fact, the ADA (American Diabetes Association) recommends using metformin and tirzepatide together when metformin alone has not been able to effectively control the patient’s blood sugar. Also, during clinical trials (SURPASS), it was proven that combining tirzepatide and metformin helped give patients better control over their blood sugar, and the participants also lost a significant amount of weight.
Benefits of Using Metformin and Tirzepatide Together
These medications both help regulate blood sugar, but they do it in different ways, so when combined, they have been shown to provide several benefits, including:
- Better Blood Sugar Control
- Taking tirzepatide along with metformin can lower blood sugar more effectively than using metformin alone.
In the SURPASS-2 study, people using both medications saw bigger drops in their HbA1c than people using only one of these medications on its own. - Weight Loss
- Using the combination of metformin and tirzepatide provides the potential for more significant weight loss than using either medication by itself.
Tirzepatide helps to curb your appetite so you eat less, and metformin assists with insulin sensitivity, making it easier to lose weight and keep it off. - Improved Insulin Sensitivity
- Metformin helps your body respond more effectively to insulin, and tirzepatide helps with weight loss, which reduces excess fat and lowers insulin resistance.
- Decreases Glucose
- Metformin controls the amount of sugar released into your bloodstream by your liver, and tirzepatide limits glucagon production.
This prevents spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels. - Hormone Balance and PCOS
- Combining tirzepatide with metformin can improve the regularity of a woman’s menstrual cycle and help alleviate symptoms of PCOS.
- Better Hormonal Balance
- This medication combination can help women with PCOS by reducing testosterone levels and balancing other hormones, reducing acne, unwanted hair growth, and other common symptoms.
- Fertility Benefits
- Clinical studies showed that women using GLP-1 drugs like tirzepatide ovulated more regularly and experienced unassisted conception more often when combined with metformin. The combination helps balance hormones and improves insulin sensitivity, enhancing fertility.
- Heart and Metabolic Health
- Lowers Cholesterol and Triglycerides: Tirzepatide lowers “bad” cholesterol, while metformin helps improve “good” cholesterol.
Inflammation: Together, they reduce C-reactive protein (CRP), which is elevated in people with insulin resistance and women with PCOS.
Hypertension and Heart Disease: Weight loss helps regulate blood pressure and insulin resistance, reducing the risk of coronary disease and stroke.
Other Benefits
- Increases Energy
- Getting your blood sugar under control and shedding some weight will give you steady energy throughout the day and help avoid sugar highs and lows.
- Will Help Curb Cravings
- Using tirzepatide and metformin together helps keep your hunger signals and severe food cravings under control, which can prevent unhealthy eating when you are upset or bored.
- Assists the Pancreas
- Using tirzepatide and metformin together can help your pancreas produce insulin more efficiently without overworking.
This can slow the progression of type 2 diabetes and reduce insulin resistance.
Can You Take Metformin and Tirzepatide Together for Weight Loss?
Yes, when used under a doctor’s guidance, metformin and tirzepatide can safely be used together to provide better blood sugar control than using either of these drugs alone. They have been found to work better together to control blood sugar for people who have type 2 diabetes and have also been shown to be very effective in helping people lose a significant amount of weight.
Medications of any type can cause side effects, and this combination of drugs can cause common side effects, like nausea, vomiting, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. Most of the time, these side effects are mild and normally go away on their own once your body adjusts to the medication.
Some rare, more serious side effects have occurred, which include lactic acidosis in people with kidney or liver problems while using metformin, and semaglutide has a rare risk of inducing pancreatitis or a certain type of thyroid cancer.
Learn More about Combining Metformin and Tirzepatide
If you are wondering about trying the new weight loss injection tirzepatide but are already taking metformin, the team at MySlimMed can explain how these medications can work together safely.
The knowledgeable team at MySlimMed understands that weight loss is a complex process and that everyone’s body is different, and responses to medication can vary greatly.
Dr. Angelina Postoev and her qualified team at MySlimMed understand these complexities and will work with you to determine if you are a good candidate for weight loss medication and determine the best fit for your needs and circumstances.
The MySlimMed team can help craft a weight loss plan that will suit your circumstances and lifestyle, that will help you overcome weight loss challenges of the past and achieve real, sustainable results. Set up your consultation today to learn more and start your journey to better health today.
