Linagliptin and Cimetidine Interaction
Drug interaction information between Linagliptin and Cimetidine.
Linagliptin and Cimetidine have a documented moderate interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a moderate-severity interaction between Linagliptin and Cimetidine. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.
How They Interact
Cimetidine makes it harder for your kidneys to filter metformin out of your system. This can cause metformin levels to rise, which may lead to a dangerous buildup of acid in your blood.
What To Do
Your healthcare provider may need to adjust your dose or monitor you more frequently. Let your doctor know if you experience unusual tiredness or muscle aches.
FDA Label Information
Drugs that Reduce Metformin Clearance Clinical Impact Concomitant use of drugs that interfere with common renal tubular transport systems involved in the renal elimination of metformin (e.g., organic cationic transporter-2 [OCT2] / multidrug and toxin extrusion [MATE] inhibitors such as ranolazine, vandetanib, dolutegravir, and cimetidine) could increase systemic exposure to metformin and may increase the risk for lactic acidosis [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ] .
Linagliptin Also Interacts With
- Metformin moderate
- Dolutegravir moderate
- Ranolazine moderate
- Topiramate minor
- Rifampin minor
Cimetidine Also Interacts With
- Levofloxacin major
- Posaconazole major
- Risperidone major
- Valproate major
- Empagliflozin moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Linagliptin and Cimetidine together?
This is a moderate interaction. Your healthcare provider may need to adjust your dose or monitor you more frequently. Let your doctor know if you experience unusual tiredness or muscle aches.
How serious is the interaction between Linagliptin and Cimetidine?
This interaction is classified as "moderate" severity by the FDA. Moderate interactions may worsen your condition or change how your medications work.
Why do Linagliptin and Cimetidine interact?
Cimetidine makes it harder for your kidneys to filter metformin out of your system. This can cause metformin levels to rise, which may lead to a dangerous buildup of acid in your blood.
Understanding the Linagliptin and Cimetidine Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a moderate-severity interaction. Linagliptin belongs to the DPP-4 Inhibitor class and Cimetidine belongs to the H2 Receptor Antagonist class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Cimetidine makes it harder for your kidneys to filter metformin out of your system. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.
Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Linagliptin has 9 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Cimetidine has 77. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Your healthcare provider may need to adjust your dose or monitor you more frequently. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.
An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Linagliptin or Cimetidine based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.
Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.