New medication forxiga

[Swanny57]

Just started new meds but it's not getting good reviews now worried about side effects help need advice

 

[JohnEGreen]

The diet doctor finds it interesting and describes it as a low carb diet in a pill sort of.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb-diet-pill-good-idea

Note the good idea is a question not a statement.

 

[chocoholicnomore]

I've just read this article as I've recently started taking a similar tablet. The article states that you pee out 70g of carbs. Does that mean that you need to eat at least 70g carbs to give the tablet something to work on? I'm not sure whether to continue low carbing or increase my carbs slightly

 

[JohnEGreen]

I think the article says you pee out a maximum of 70g if you eat 70g or less you could end up theoretically with zero net carbs.

 

[chocoholicnomore]

I think the article says you pee out a maximum of 70g if you eat 70g or less you could end up theoretically with zero net carbs.

Surely your body needs some carbs?

 

[nirouleur]

I have been taking Dapagliflovin (or Forxiga) for almost 3 months now. From a side effects perspective, I have had thrush for about half of that time (on and off). So that's not great. But I have learned to pronounce the name of the drug rather than the brand name, which I'm considering as a achievement!

I do get the chemistry of it. It is intended to help with weight loss since you're excreting sugar/glucose (and hence, calories) that would otherwise be absorbed and stored. I've been trying very hard not to rely on it to make up for a bad diet, but that has been a long term problem. I'm sure if I could sort out the diet, in time the meds wouldn't be needed at all. But I'll continue to work on that.

I wouldn't get too caught up in the figures quoted in terms of grams excreted - you'll not pee out more than you take in!! The idea behind the drug is to stop the glucose being absorbed into the blood and thus keeping your BG level more sensible. Obviously, it will have its limits - if you're taking in 00s of grams of carbs in a day, you're still going to get the blood sugar spikes and physical/emotional effects of that.

But getting into a mode of low carb should bring real benefits in conjunction with Forxiga - at least, that's what I'm taking from it.

 

[chocoholicnomore]

Hm, very interesting. Thanks for your reply. I had increased my carbs for fear of complications ( I read another thread on here about someone ending up at deaths door because of the tablet and the hospital suggested low carbing could be the issue) but think I may reduce the carbs again. I'm very conscious of it being a new drug and therefore not alot is known about the long term effects. For me it's working so far.....bg down and losing weight with only one episode of thrush so far.

 

[nirouleur]

I've been reading a little more this evening and thinking about how Forxiga fits in the grand scheme of things. I was put onto it because my combination of Metformin and Sitagliptin was not really working to the level it had been. But honestly, that's because my eating was offsetting their effects - I was asking that particular combination to do too much.

I complained about my weight, about struggling to make the changes that I needed. I think this was my HCPs way of helping - it was done with the best of intentions. But I also think that if I can make LCHF stick, then it's unlikely I'll need this at all. My carb intake will not be high enough to need any of them filtered out in the way this drug does so.

As @chocoholicnomore says, this is a new drug. Long term effects are unknown. And I'm not sure my HCP would be happy with long term dependency on it either - it was given to me as a means to either kick-start or accelerate my weight loss with the goal of getting off it (and everything else) in a reasonably short space of time.

 

[Oldvatr]

Hm, very interesting. Thanks for your reply. I had increased my carbs for fear of complications ( I read another thread on here about someone ending up at deaths door because of the tablet and the hospital suggested low carbing could be the issue) but think I may reduce the carbs again. I'm very conscious of it being a new drug and therefore not alot is known about the long term effects. For me it's working so far.....bg down and losing weight with only one episode of thrush so far.

Please google what the FDA and our own government thinks about this class of medication (SGLT-2 inhibitors). I was on Forxiga for bgl control, and I would not take it as a weight loss pill. It has a nasty sting in the tail (well, close) I soon came off Forxiga when I developed a serious UTI that needed strong juju to clear up. Had to visit the vet several times, and you know how we cats hate the V***s!
I am surprised Dietdoctor is ignoring the FDA warning. I am also surprised they are advocating eating the 70g carbs to keep the medication happy. Nope - bad advice in my considered opinion.