If your doctor has recommended that you take the prescription drug empagliflozin (Jardiance), you’d probably like to learn more about it. Here are answers to some common questions people have about this medication.
What Is Empagliflozin (Jardiance)?
Doctors most often prescribe empagliflozin to help reduce blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. It comes as a tablet you take by mouth once a day. You might take it along with another type 2 diabetes medication. It’s not prescribed for the less common type 1 diabetes.
Empagliflozin belongs to a class of drugs called sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. They target certain proteins in your kidneys called SGLT2s.
How Does Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Work for Diabetes?
Empagliflozin helps your body remove excess sugar from your bloodstream through your pee. It does this by keeping your kidneys from reabsorbing extra sugar when they filter your blood.
Good blood sugar control is essential to prevent diabetes complications like heart disease, painful nerve damage, and kidney problems. Like all diabetes treatments, this drug works best when you combine it with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
How Does Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Work for Heart Failure?
The FDA has also approved empagliflozin to treat heart failure, whether or not you also have Type 2 diabetes. The drug is thought to make it easier for your heart to pump blood out to the rest of your body.
Scientists don’t know exactly how empagliflozin and other SGLT2 inhibitors work to treat heart failure. But one theory is that it works by improving the health of your kidneys. When your kidneys don’t work as they should, your heart must work harder to pump blood to them.
People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of heart failure and other heart problems. Doctors also prescribe empagliflozin for people who have both type 2 diabetes and heart disease to reduce their risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke.
Can You Take Metformin and Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Together?
It’s generally considered safe to take metformin and empagliflozin at the same time. Many doctors prescribe empagliflozin as an add-on medication for metformin (which is considered the front-line treatment for Type 2 diabetes) or another diabetes or heart disease drug. They can even prescribe an empagliflozin-metformin combination pill (Synjardy).
If you’re taking a drug that can lead to low blood sugar, like insulin or sulfonylurea, you’ll likely need a lower dose of that medication when you start empagliflozin.
How Long Does Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Take to Work?
Each person’s body responds differently to medication. While empagliflozin can lower blood sugars within 1 to 2 weeks, it may take up to 6 months before you see full results.
Your doctor might start you on the lower dose of empagliflozin (10 milligrams), and increase it to 25 milligrams if you don’t see enough results.
When Is the Best Time to Take Empagliflozin (Jardiance)?
Follow the directions your doctor or pharmacist gives you about when to take empagliflozin. Most doctors recommend that you take it in the morning. It’s best to take it around the same time each day. You can take it with or without food.
If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember – unless it’s almost time for your next pill. If that’s the case, just take your next dose as scheduled instead of doubling up.
Take your empagliflozin even when you’re not feeling well. Don’t stop taking it without talking to your doctor.
How Much Does Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Cost?
At its full retail price, a month’s supply of the drug costs more than $500. But most people don’t pay that much. Your out-of-pocket cost depends on whether you have prescription drug insurance and what type, and whether you use discount or assistance programs.
Some insured people will have no out-of-pocket costs. Others might expect to pay up to about $180 a month, on average. Most people with Medicare drug coverage will pay less than $50 a month for this medication, though some may pay more. Jardiance’s manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim, offers a discount card as well as a patient assistance program that provides free medication to those who meet financial requirements.
Right now, there’s no generic version of Jardiance. If you’re having trouble paying for your prescription, ask your doctor whether a different SGLT2 inhibitor might be more affordable and right for you.
What Are the Potential Side Effects of Empagliflozin (Jardiance)?
Some side effects you could have while taking empagliflozin or an empagliflozin-metformin combination pill (Synjardy) are:
- Peeing more often
- More thirst
- Yeast or fungal infections in your genital area
- Urinary tract infections
- Dehydration
Mild side effects may go away in a few days or weeks as your body gets used to the medication.
Call your doctor if you notice:
- Pain, itching, swelling, redness, odor or discharge in your genital or anal area
- You’re peeing very often or it burns when you pee.
- Your pee looks cloudy or you see blood in it.
- Pain in your lower back or sides
It’s rare, but in some people, the drug has been linked to a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis that stems from blood sugar that’s too high for too long. You could also have an allergic reaction to empagliflozin.
Get medical help right away if you have:
- A skin rash or itching
- Hives
- Swelling in your face, lips, tongue, or throat
- Symptoms of ketoacidosis like nausea and vomiting, belly pain, fatigue, and trouble breathing.
Does Empagliflozin (Jardiance) Cause Weight Loss?
While empagliflozin is not a weight loss drug, you might lose some weight when you take it. As the extra sugar leaves your body through your pee, so do the calories it contains.
Research has shown that people who took it for 24 weeks lost an average of about 3% of their body weight. For a person weighing 250 pounds, that’s 6 pounds.
What Drugs Should Not Be Taken With Empagliflozin (Jardiance)?
Empagliflozin and combination drugs containing it may cause interactions with some other medications, such as:
- Insulin
- Other oral diabetes drugs like chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glimepiride (Amaryl), glipizide (Glucotrol), and glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase, Micronase)
- Other SGLT2 inhibitors like canagliflozin (Invokana) and dapagliflozin (Farxiga)
Make sure your doctor knows about all medications you’re taking, including supplements and over-the-counter treatments. Also let them know if you drink alcohol regularly or sometimes drink a lot within a short time. Never stop taking a prescription drug without talking to your doctor first.
