New to Jardiance (Empagliflozin)

[Soupladel]

So my self control has not been great during lockdown and i recently had my first check up with the diabetic clinic in about two years (owing to my previous practice closing and of course covid) aand its fair to say my hba1c was not great (i dont recall the number) but its fair to say it was much higher than it has ever been.

Initially i committed to making lifestyle changes, which i didnt do immediately, then i start suffering from what i can only describe as heart palpitations. In the folow up from my Diabetes check up the doctor discussed putting me on Jardiance, but we agreed that i would hold off and see what benefits the lifestyle changes brought, but then the heart palpitations started.

Once day last week, i had weetbix for breakfast (about 10:30) with sweetner and semi-skimmed milk and through a number of circumstances didnt have anything else to eat. About 15:30 i was feeling really unwell and decided to use my last good test strip to chekc my blood sugars as i was going to the toilet like seabiscuit and it was at 10.5. I realise the matra is little and often when it comes to meals and snacking but this was my normal daily routine.

I had another check-up wiht my doc over my blood pressure on Monday there and i suggested i might be better going onto Jardiance rather than waiting, she agreed and issued the prescription.

Sorry for the long preamble, but this brings me upto this morning when i took my first pill, 10mg about 30 mins before breakfast. i made myself a low carb breakfast of scrambled eggs with cucumber, tomato, sping onion, spinach and some crushed chillies but before i could start to eat, i started to feel very warm and shaky much like i have done in the past when my blood sugars have crashed. I ate my breakfast and still felt unwell so rather than reaching for the sugar i had a banana as well and felt better after another hour or so.

for lunch i had a single baked potato with beans and a little cheese about 13:00 but about 20mins ago i started to feel the same way again so had a handful of pistachios which seem to be keeping things at bay.

So my question is, is this a common reaction to taking something like Jardiance? should i be altering my routing in order to include snacks to stop these crashes? presumably i would be better taking the jardiance after breakfast rather than before?

I am currently on Metformin modified realease 2000mg, i also take losartan, Amlodapine, Omeprazole.

Lastly i should add that my blood pressure todays has been close to perfect i.e 112/84 the only thing bothering me today is tyhese feelings of blood sugar crashing, but i dont have any more test strips in order to check this (i have some on order)

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Soipladel,
I'm confused. Perhaps you're confused.
Little an often? - Who says that and for which condition?
The people who might need to adhere to that are insulin users - if they are on the basal insulin rather than using a bolus for the carbs they consume just before they consume them.

You mention having a high carb breakfast - weetabix & semi-skimmed milk - rather than a low carb one like eggs. So you must have expected a high Blood Glucose reading.

Have you been advised (in this forum) to avoid low fat products - this includes skimmed & semi-skimmed milk since they are higher in carbs than full fat milk?

Trying Low Carb at the same time as introducing medication ( forgive me if I mis- interpreted) seems like a recipe for trouble i.e. Low BG trouble!
When you get more test strips, I strongly suggest that you attempt to match you Jardiance dose to your (low carb) way of eating - instead of eating more snacks in order that the medication doesn't take your BG too low. Because if your BG is low enough that the BG reducing medication takes your BG too low - then it should be obvious that your medication dose needs to be reduced so that the medication is a benefit and not a liability!

 

[Soupladel]

re the weetabix breakfast, i would not have expected such a high reading some 5 hours later without having eaten anything else. I know that not eating can sometimes be just as bad as eating the wrong thing in terms of regulating blood sugar and its important o main regular, health meals.

I wasnt aware that lower fat milks were higher in carbs, but on that point i should have made clear, but felt i had waffled enough, that i am also overweight and am trying to reduce my weight, hence avoiding higher fat foods.

I understand your point about adjusting the meds to suit, but the fact i dont have test strips just now means i dont actually know what my blood sugar was doing, I am really just looking for advice from those that have been put on this medication and whether they have experienced similar. Several times in the past i have started to feel weak and clammy as if my blood sugar was crashing but upon checking it, this turns out not to be the case so i cant be certain if this is the same as those occasions or whether my sugars are actually dropping.

 

[Dudette1]

So my self control has not been great during lockdown and i recently had my first check up with the diabetic clinic in about two years (owing to my previous practice closing and of course covid) aand its fair to say my hba1c was not great (i dont recall the number) but its fair to say it was much higher than it has ever been.

Initially i committed to making lifestyle changes, which i didnt do immediately, then i start suffering from what i can only describe as heart palpitations. In the folow up from my Diabetes check up the doctor discussed putting me on Jardiance, but we agreed that i would hold off and see what benefits the lifestyle changes brought, but then the heart palpitations started.

Once day last week, i had weetbix for breakfast (about 10:30) with sweetner and semi-skimmed milk and through a number of circumstances didnt have anything else to eat. About 15:30 i was feeling really unwell and decided to use my last good test strip to chekc my blood sugars as i was going to the toilet like seabiscuit and it was at 10.5. I realise the matra is little and often when it comes to meals and snacking but this was my normal daily routine.

I had another check-up wiht my doc over my blood pressure on Monday there and i suggested i might be better going onto Jardiance rather than waiting, she agreed and issued the prescription.

Sorry for the long preamble, but this brings me upto this morning when i took my first pill, 10mg about 30 mins before breakfast. i made myself a low carb breakfast of scrambled eggs with cucumber, tomato, sping onion, spinach and some crushed chillies but before i could start to eat, i started to feel very warm and shaky much like i have done in the past when my blood sugars have crashed. I ate my breakfast and still felt unwell so rather than reaching for the sugar i had a banana as well and felt better after another hour or so.

for lunch i had a single baked potato with beans and a little cheese about 13:00 but about 20mins ago i started to feel the same way again so had a handful of pistachios which seem to be keeping things at bay.

So my question is, is this a common reaction to taking something like Jardiance? should i be altering my routing in order to include snacks to stop these crashes? presumably i would be better taking the jardiance after breakfast rather than before?

I am currently on Metformin modified realease 2000mg, i also take losartan, Amlodapine, Omeprazole.

Lastly i should add that my blood pressure todays has been close to perfect i.e 112/84 the only thing bothering me today is tyhese feelings of blood sugar crashing, but i dont have any more test strips in order to check this (i have some on order)

Hi,
I was on jardiance for a while and it does lower your blood sugar quite rapidly. When I first started taking it I was shakey and felt quite ill, after a week it stopped. Always take your medicine with food unless it states on an empty stomach. If you low carb always keep a sweet in your pocket. I hypo’d a couple of times on this. If your bloods have been high jardiance will bring them down but try not to panic and keep testing till you see a nice number, if they are low don’t eat a mammoth of carbs to get it back up, your body will not like all the erratic ups and downs, just about finding your happy numbers.

 

[Brunneria]

Taking blood glucose lowering medication at the same time as starting low carbing is likely a recipe for hypos, or false hypos, and without a meter to hand, you will never know what is happening.

My suggestion would be to only change one thing at a time, and monitor your blood glucose closely as you do so.

Unless your doc is willing to prescribe testing strips and a monitor, I would suggest you buy some yourself as a matter of urgency. Brands such as the Tee2 are reasonable for those of us who self-fund our testing equipment.

My preference would be to lower carb intake and hopefully dodge the need for medication, but that is a decision you will need to make for yourself, and discuss with your doc or nurse. They certainly seemed willing to let you make lifestyle changes the last time you inquired, so it may be that they are happy to let you make the decision this time too.