Empagliflozin (Jardiance) is a medicine your doctor can prescribe to help reduce your blood sugar when you have type 2 diabetes. People who have both type 2 diabetes and heart or blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease may also take it to reduce their risk of death from stroke or heart disease. Doctors also use it to treat some people with heart failure, whether or not they also have diabetes.
How Does Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Work?
Empagliflozin is a type of drug called a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGL2) inhibitor. By blocking proteins in your kidneys called SGLT2s, the drugs keep the kidneys from taking up excess sugar from your bloodstream. The extra sugar then leaves your body in your pee.
It also reduces how much salt (sodium) your kidneys reabsorb, in much the same way it works for blood sugar. That’s thought to help to ease the workload for your heart.
What to Expect When You Take Empagliflozin (Jardiance)
You take empagliflozin as a daily pill. Try to take it at the same time every day. Doctors usually recommend taking it in the morning. You can take it along with food, but you don’t have to.
It comes in two strengths: 10 milligrams and 25 milligrams. Your doctor might start you on a lower dosage, then increase it if needed.
If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember. But if it’s almost time for your next dose, don’t double up on doses. Just take your next pill as scheduled.
Sometimes, doctors prescribe empagliflozin along with another diabetes medication that you take by mouth. You may take it in a pill that combines empagliflozin with the diabetes drugs metformin (Synjardy) or linagliptin (Glyxambi).
Empagliflozin works best when you also follow your doctor’s recommendations for healthful eating and regular exercise. Make sure you drink enough liquids, too.
While you’re on this drug, your doctor may sometimes do blood tests to check how well your kidneys are working. You’ll also need to monitor your blood sugar as recommended by your doctor.
You might need to take empagliflozin for up to 6 months (24 weeks) before you get the medication’s full effect.
Common Side Effects of Empagliflozin (Jardiance)
Some of the more common side effects you could notice when you take empagliflozin are:
Yeast infections in the genital area. This is more likely to happen in women but can affect men, too.You might notice itching, pain, swelling, redness, and/or a discharge.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs). With a UTI, you might have burning or pain when you pee, pee more often, and/or have pee that looks cloudy or bloody. You could also have belly pain and, in more serious cases, a fever.
These infections are treatable, so see your doctor if you have these symptoms.
The drug can also cause other mild side effects, such as:
- Increased thirst
- Peeing more
- Nausea
- Joint pain
- Upper respiratory infections
Side effects may go away over time as your body adjusts to the drug. Talk to your doctor if they last a long time or get in the way of your daily life.
While they’re uncommon, potentially serious side effects of empagliflozin include:
- Serious urinary tract infections
- Low blood pressure
- Low blood sugar, especially if you take it with other diabetes drugs
- A rare infection called Fournier’s gangrene, which causes serious pain and swelling in your genital area along with fatigue and fever
- Allergic reactions, which may give you hives; swelling of the face, lips, or throat; and trouble swallowing or breathing
- Ketoacidosis, a very serious effect of too-high blood sugar that leads to extreme thirst, frequent peeing, belly pain, nausea, weakness, and fatigue
Get medical help if you have symptoms of any of these things. You need treatment right away if you have a serious allergic reaction or ketoacidosis.
Warnings and Safety Issues With Empagliflozin (Jardiance)
Before you start taking empagliflozin, make sure your doctor knows about all the drugs you take, including over-the-counter medications and supplements. Empagliflozin may interact with:
- Other diabetes medications
- ACE inhibitors, used to treat high blood pressure
- Angiotensin receptor blockers, which treat high blood pressure and heart failure
- Diuretics, or “water pills,” a common treatment for high blood pressure
- Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen
Your doctor might need to change the dosage of other meds you take. They’ll also watch you carefully for side effects.
Your doctor will do blood tests to check how well your kidneys work before you start taking empagliflozin, and from time to time while you’re on it.
They may also tell you to check your blood for ketones if you have any signs of ketoacidosis. Your liver makes ketones when it breaks down fats, which can happen when your blood sugar is too high for too long. You can check your levels with a ketone monitor, certain pee strips, and some blood glucose monitors.
You’ll need to check your blood sugar levels regularly to see how well the drug is working. You’ll also need regular lab tests. Empagliflozin can cause glucose to show up in your pee in urine tests.
Because empagliflozin can be dehydrating, be careful to drink enough fluids.
Let your doctor know whether you drink alcohol, and if you ever drink a lot of alcohol in a short time (binge drink). Also tell them if you’re prone to yeast infections or UTIs.
Who Shouldn’t Take Empagliflozin (Jardiance)?
Empagliflozin isn’t right for everyone. We don’t know whether it’s safe for children, so it’s prescribed only to adults. It’s not approved for people with type 1 diabetes, since it could raise their risk of ketoacidosis.
Don’t take it if you’re:
- On dialysis
- Breastfeeding, since the drug could pass into your breast milk
- Allergic to empagliflozin or any of its ingredients
Let your doctor know if you’re pregnant or plan to get pregnant. The medication could harm your baby.
How Effective Is Empagliflozin (Jardiance)?
In a 6-month clinical study of adults with type 2 diabetes,empagliflozin:
- Reduced their fasting blood sugar levels by an average of 19-25 points
- Lowered their A1c levels by .7% to .8%
It also helped some lose weight. Those taking a daily 10-milligram dose lost an average of 2.5% of their body weight (that’s 5 pounds for someone weighing 200 pounds) during the 6-month study. People who took a 25-milligram dose averaged 2.8% loss of body weight (5.6 pounds for a 200-pound person).
During the study, people who took empagliflozin also saw slight reductions in their systolic blood pressure.
Researchers saw similar results when they looked at how well empagliflozin works when taken along with other diabetes drugs, such as metformin and sulfonylurea.
