Does Mounjaro make the birth control pill less effective? What about Ozempic and Wegovy?

Mounjaro is an injectable medication for type 2 diabetes that many people are also using for weight loss. Something not enough people know, though, is that it comes with a warning that it may make the birth control pill less effective at preventing pregnancy. That’s because Mounjaro slows down the way your stomach works, which can affect how medicine gets absorbed into your body.

If you’re on Mounjaro and you’re also taking the birth control pill and don’t want to get pregnant, you may want to consider switching to a method of birth control that you don’t take by mouth, like the ring, the patch, or the IUD. Or, if you want to stay on the pill, you could also use a backup method of birth control, like a condom or internal condom. If you decide to use a backup method, you’ll need to use it every time you have sex for four weeks after starting Mounjaro and for four weeks after you increase your dose of Mounjaro.

Ozempic, Wegovy, Trulicity, and other medications that work similarly to Mounjaro don’t come with the same warning. However, because they do slow down the way your stomach works, it is possible that they may also reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. So if you’re on one of these medications you may want to consider taking the same precautions you would if you were on Mounjaro to prevent pregnancy.