Key Takeaways
- Tirzepatide acts on two appetite signals, GIP and GLP-1, and may help reduce hunger and cravings.
- Liv offers tirzepatide in two forms: an injection, and an oral prescription a licensed pharmacy compounds for you to take by mouth.
- Which form fits you depends on your routine, your preferences and your health history, which your provider reviews with you.
- Whichever form you use, your provider reviews your progress before each refill.
Some people are ready to work on their weight but would rather not give themselves an injection. If that sounds like you, an oral option might be right for you. Liv offers tirzepatide both as an injection and as a prescription you take by mouth.
How Do Tirzepatide Pills and Injections Compare?
Either way, a licensed provider writes your prescription and reviews your progress before every refill. The main difference is how you take it.
Tirzepatide injection: Tirzepatide given under the skin. Liv offers it as Zepbound or as a compounded injection mixed for you by a licensed pharmacy.
Oral tirzepatide: Tirzepatide you take by mouth, compounded for you by a licensed pharmacy to your prescription.
| Tirzepatide injection | Oral tirzepatide | |
|---|---|---|
| How you take it | An injection under the skin | By mouth |
| Your dose and schedule | Set by your provider | Set by your provider |
| Instructions | Included with your prescription | Included with your prescription |
| Weight-loss research | Large studies of tirzepatide injections | Ask your provider what's known about the oral form |
| Provider review | Before every refill | Before every refill |
How Can Tirzepatide Help With Hunger?
It works on two of your body's appetite signals, GIP and GLP-1. The label for approved tirzepatide injections says it selectively binds to and activates both receptors. It also reduces calorie intake, likely through its effects on appetite.
In a six-week study of adults who were overweight or living with obesity, tirzepatide reduced hunger before meals and food cravings.
That can make it easier to get started. Many US adults living with obesity say controlling hunger is a barrier to starting a weight-loss effort. Tell your provider which part of hunger is hardest for you, so your plan can be built around it.
What Tirzepatide Injections Have Shown
Tirzepatide injections can lead to substantial weight loss. In a 72-week trial, adults lost an average of 20.9% of their starting weight with tirzepatide injections. More than 9 in 10 lost at least 5%. In a large real-world study, people still taking approved tirzepatide injections lost an average of 5.9% of their starting weight at 3 months, 10.1% at 6 months and 15.3% at 12 months.
These results are from injections, not the oral form, and no two people respond in quite the same way. Your provider reviews your progress with you along the way.
How Is Taking It by Mouth Different?
Tirzepatide is a peptide, and your stomach breaks down peptides much like the protein in your food. That's why medicines like it started as injections, and why a pill's instructions matter.
Semaglutide, another GLP-1 medicine, is a good example. A tablet gets much less semaglutide into your bloodstream than a shot does, according to its label. That's why approved semaglutide tablets use an absorption enhancer, a much larger dose and strict instructions: an empty stomach, a limited amount of water and a wait before anything else.
Your oral tirzepatide comes with its own instructions. Follow them, and ask your provider about anything that's unclear.
WHY A PILL IS HARDER
Your stomach breaks down peptides.
So a peptide pill has to get past your stomach, which is why the semaglutide tablet comes with special instructions.
| Tirzepatide | Semaglutide | |
|---|---|---|
| Receptors | GIP and GLP-1 | GLP-1 |
| Approved injection | Yes | Yes |
| Approved tablet | None approved | Yes, on their own separate labels |
An approved semaglutide tablet doesn't mean there's an approved tirzepatide tablet.
Would a Pill Be Easier to Live With?
It may be. If needles are the hard part for you, you take your prescription by mouth instead of giving yourself an injection.
With an injection, you give yourself a shot and choose where each time, and the injection-site guide covers how. With a pill, you follow its instructions every time you take it.
Think about which one you're more likely to stick with on a busy week, and tell your provider. What you prefer matters.
What Your Provider Weighs With You
A licensed provider starts by learning about you: your health history, the medicines you take and your required labs. From there, they decide whether tirzepatide is right for you, and work out with you which form fits.
If it is, your provider chooses your dose and how much to prescribe. Before each refill, you tell Liv how you're doing, and your provider reviews your progress and adjusts your plan as needed. You can change your plan, skip a shipment or cancel from your account, and your care team is available between refills.
Side Effects and Safety Notes
The side effects most often listed on the Zepbound label involve the stomach: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain and indigestion. Your refill check-ins are a good time to mention any of them.
Whichever form you're considering, your provider will ask about:
- Thyroid history: a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2.
- Past conditions: pancreatitis, gallbladder disease or kidney problems.
- Other medicines: especially diabetes medicines that can lower blood sugar.
- Allergies: any serious allergic reaction to a medicine.
Let your provider know right away about severe or lasting stomach pain, ongoing vomiting or signs of dehydration. Report a lump in your neck, trouble swallowing or breathing, or hoarseness that doesn't go away.
Choosing the Form That Fits You
Bring your questions about hunger, needles, pills and your daily routine. Your provider will walk you through both forms and how your progress will be reviewed. The compounded tirzepatide guide explains how a compounded prescription is prepared, and an evaluation is the next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an FDA-approved oral tirzepatide?
Where do the weight-loss figures come from?
What did studies find about hunger?
Are oral GLP-1 medicines approved at all?
What does the boxed warning on Zepbound say?
References
References
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