[Skip to the questions](#main) Tirzepatide questions you can take along [Quick card](/quick-card/) [Cost worksheet](/cost-cards/worksheet/) [ t. Tirzepatide care notes ](/) Menu Start & understand - [Guide home](/) - [Choose a care route](/start-here/) - [The short visit card](/quick-card/) - [The full question kit](/question-cards/) - [Make sense of answers](/answer-cards/) - [Name the medicine](/answer-cards/medicine/) - [Pharmacy-made versions](/answer-cards/compounding/) Check & prepare - [Check who would treat you](/question-cards/clinician/) - [Check the pharmacy](/question-cards/pharmacy/) - [The online visit](/question-cards/online-visit/) - [Bring your health history](/question-cards/first-visit/) - [Ask about later care](/question-cards/follow-up/) - [Health questions](/safety-cards/) - [Claims to question](/warning-cards/) Cost & proof - [The full cost](/cost-cards/) - [Your cost worksheet](/cost-cards/worksheet/) - [Ask about coverage](/coverage-cards/) - [Read the study results](/evidence-cards/) - [Sources for your checks](/source-cards/) The health questions # Know the concerns to discuss before deciding. Ask the person treating you to explain both common problems and reasons treatment may be a poor fit. Keep the contact plan beside the medicine information. Ask it in plain words What problems could change the plan for me? On this card [Stomach problems can be part of treatment](#card-1) [A thyroid warning, and who cannot use the medicine](#card-2) [Discuss other medicines and pregnancy](#card-3) [Know when the conversation cannot wait](#card-4) [Sources for this chapter](#chapter-sources) ## Stomach problems can be part of treatment In the Zepbound (tirzepatide) trials described in its label, feeling sick, loose stools, vomiting and constipation were common side effects. The label recorded on September 26, 2026, also describes severe stomach problems and kidney injury linked to fluid loss. It does not recommend Zepbound for severe gastroparesis, meaning a stomach that empties very slowly. - Which changes do you want me to report? - Who do I contact if I cannot keep fluids down? - Does my stomach or kidney history change this decision? ## A thyroid warning, and who cannot use the medicine As recorded on September 26, 2026, both tirzepatide labels carry a boxed warning, the strongest label warning, about thyroid tumors found in rats; the effect in people is unknown. The medicine's labels rule out use if medullary thyroid cancer is in your own medical history or your family's. This is a rare thyroid cancer. The labels also rule out this medicine if you have MEN 2, a rare condition that runs in families. The labels also exclude anyone who has had a serious allergic reaction to an ingredient in the product or to tirzepatide. - Ask about any thyroid cancer history in your family. - If a condition name is unfamiliar, ask for its meaning from the person treating you. - Bring past medicine reactions into the discussion. ## Discuss other medicines and pregnancy The label recorded on September 26, 2026, warns that tirzepatide can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills for a time. The label tells the person writing the prescription to stop Zepbound if the patient is pregnant. Discuss this with the person treating you. With insulin or certain diabetes pills, tirzepatide can lower blood sugar too far. Eye disease caused by diabetes can worsen in people who already have it. During surgery with medicines that put you to sleep or make you very drowsy, food left in the stomach can enter the lungs. - Ask about birth control and pregnancy plans before a care decision. - Bring the full list of medicines you take. - Tell the treating and surgical teams about planned procedures. ## Know when the conversation cannot wait Swelling of the face or tongue along with trouble breathing may signal a severe allergic reaction. Emergency care is needed for that reaction. Among the signs of pancreas inflammation described in the Zepbound label is belly pain that is severe or does not go away. The pain may extend to the back. - Seek emergency care for severe allergic symptoms; do not wait for an online reply. - Ask the person treating you what to do about severe belly pain or other new concerns. - FDA's MedWatch service lets patients report medicine problems. Reporting a problem does not establish that the medicine was responsible for it. ## Sources for this chapter Use these sources to check the answers above. Bring any questions to the person treating you. - [National Library of Medicine · Zepbound (tirzepatide) label](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b) - [National Library of Medicine · Mounjaro (tirzepatide) label](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=d2d7da5d-ad07-4228-955f-cf7e355c8cc0) - [MedlinePlus · severe allergic reactions](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000844.htm) - [FDA · MedWatch reporting](https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program) [ Keep the question moving Claims that call for a pause ↗ ](/warning-cards/) These pages help you ask about care. This is a guide with no medical services; it does not sell products. [Question kit](/question-cards/) [Short visit card](/quick-card/) [Source cards](/source-cards/) [Text copy of this page](/safety-cards/index.md)