Zepbound Interactions: Alcohol, Drugs, and Foods

Does Zepbound interact with other drugs?

Yes, Zepbound can interact with other drugs. Before you start Zepbound, tell your doctor and pharmacist about any prescription, over-the-counter (OTC), or other drugs you take. Sharing this information with them may help prevent possible interactions.

The risk of interactions is highest when you first start treatment with Zepbound and after your doctor increases your dose.

The following table lists drugs that may interact with Zepbound, but it doesn’t include them all.

Interactions with any oral prescription or OTC drug

Zepbound can interact with any oral prescription or OTC drug, including any tablet, capsule, or liquid you take by mouth.

Examples of oral medications include:

• Ibuprofen:
• oral antidepressants, such as bupropion (Wellbutrin)
• omeprazole
• oral antibiotics, such as doxycycline
• warfarin (Jantoven)
• cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune)
• theophylline (Elixophyllin, Theo-24)

Zepbound may affect your body’s ability to absorb oral medication. This can lead to a lower level of the drug in your body, which can make it less effective.

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist about potential interactions between Zepbound and oral medications you take.

Interaction with oral birth control

Zepbound can interact with oral birth control and make it less effective. This is because Zepbound may affect your body’s ability to absorb oral birth control medication. In turn, this can lead to a lower level of the birth control medication in your body. As a result, the birth control medication could be less effective at helping prevent pregnancy.

Examples of oral birth control drugs include:

• ethinyl estradiol/norgestimate (Sprintec, Tri-Sprintec, others)
• ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone (Yasmin, Yaz, others)
• ethinyl estradiol/norethindrone (Aurovela, Junel, others)

If you take oral birth control, your doctor may advise you to take the oral birth control and use backup birth control for 4 weeks. They may also suggest using backup birth control for at least 4 weeks after they increase your Zepbound dosage. Examples of backup birth control methods include a diaphragm or condom.

Interaction with insulin

Zepbound can interact with insulin, which is prescribed to help manage blood sugar levels. Examples of insulins include:

• insulin detemir (Levemir)
• insulin lispro (Humalog, others)
• insulin lispro-aabc (Lyumjev)
• insulin glargine (Lantus, Toujeo, others)

Zepbound and insulin both can cause low blood sugar. Having both of these drugs in your body at once can raise your risk of this side effect.

If you use both Zepbound and insulin, your doctor may prescribe an insulin dosage that’s lower than usual. This will reduce your risk of low blood sugar when using these medications together.

Tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of low blood sugar, such as shaking, dizziness, and sweating. Your doctor can advise you on ways to increase your blood sugar level. This may include consuming at least 15 grams (g) of carbohydrates, such as those found in fruit juices and hard candies.

Severely low blood sugar is a medical emergency and may cause you to lose consciousness. If your symptoms seem severe or life threatening, call 911 or a local emergency number right away.

Does Zepbound interact with alcohol?

Zepbound is not known to interact with alcohol, but they can cause some similar side effects, such as nausea and vomiting. This means you’re more likely to have these side effects if you drink alcohol during Zepbound treatment.

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist about safe limits for alcohol while using Zepbound.

Does Zepbound interact with supplements, food, vaccines, or lab tests?

Experts have not identified any interactions between Zepbound and herbs, vitamins, foods, vaccines, or lab tests, but such interactions may come to light in the future. For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products during Zepbound treatment.

If you have questions about what supplements you can take with Zepbound, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Currently, there are no reports that Zepbound has any interactions with cannabis (commonly called marijuana) or cannabis products such as cannabidiol (CBD). But as with any drug or supplement, talk with your doctor before using cannabis with Zepbound.

Note: Cannabis is illegal at the federal level but is legal in many states to varying degrees.

How to prevent interactions and when to avoid Zepbound

Taking certain steps can help you avoid interactions with Zepbound. Before starting treatment, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about any medications you are currently taking.

It’s also important to understand Zepbound’s label and other paperwork that may come with the drug. Colored stickers that describe interactions may be on the label. The paperwork (sometimes called the patient package insert or medication guide) may include additional details on interactions.

Injecting Zepbound exactly as prescribed can also help prevent interactions.

Who should avoid Zepbound?

Certain health conditions or other factors could raise your risk of harm if you have treatment with Zepbound. In such cases, your doctor may not prescribe Zepbound for you. These are known as contraindications. They include:

• multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2)
• family or personal history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC)
• previous allergic reaction to Zepbound or any of its ingredients

A doctor may also consider the following health conditions and factors before prescribing Zepbound:

• pancreatitis
• diabetic retinopathy and type 2 diabetes
• kidney failure
• digestive system conditions
• surgery with general anesthesia or deep sedation
• pregnancy or breastfeeding
• aspiration during surgery with general anesthesia or deep sedation

Before you start Zepbound, talk with your doctor if any of the factors above apply to you. Your doctor can determine whether Zepbound is safe for you.

Summary

Zepbound can interact with various medications, such as oral tablets, liquids, and capsules, insulin, and birth control.

Before starting treatment with Zepbound, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about your use of alcohol, cannabis, vitamins, supplements, herbs, and other medications.

Zepbound may not be right for you if you have certain health conditions or related risk factors. Your doctor may recommend an alternative treatment.