Canagliflozin

[Chocolovely]

Evening. My first post. Type 2. Just been put on canagliflozin. Been told to drink 2 litres of water a day. I'm really struggling. I simply don't like water. I understand the need for the amount of liquid due to how this medicine works....but can I have squash instead does anyone know please. TYIA

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I am not familiar with that medication myself but squash tends to be a mixture of fruit juice, sugar or sweeteners and water plus other additives. You need to avoid both fruit juice and sugars if you are Diabetic (unless your Blood Glucose was to go dangerously low (hypo) which usually only becomes a risk when you are using insulin or other insulin promoting drugs). It would defeat the object to drink more sugary drinks whilst taking a medication to reduce your blood glucose. Diabetes is a very serious condition and really needs lifestyle changes to aid the medication.
You will need to learn to read labels on food and drink to see how many carbs it contains. This information is usually on the back label. It is best to re-educate your taste buds to not crave sweet things. Mostly I just have a slice of lemon in my water now or a sprig of mint or perhaps a crushed berry or two. Or I have something like Pepsi Max or cheaper own brand zero carb alternatives and dilute them..... these days just a quarter of a glass of coke and the remainder water, if I fancy something a little sweeter.
I find with diabetes, it is necessary to change your tastes because there are so many foods that you need to avoid because they spike your BG that you have to be open minded about learning to like new things.

 

[Flutterby]

I can't answer your question and although I have googled it, I can find nothing about alternatives to water. Why not give your pharmacist a ring tomorrow and ask, they won't mind and will be able to tell you if it is ok to use a sugar free drink instead.

 

[Stitch147]

Hi, I'm on empagliflozin, it's important to drink and keep well hydrated on these meds as it works by flushing extra glucose through the kidneys, so there is a risk of increased urine infections. It doesn't have to be plain water. I drink sugar free squash, no added sugar flavoured water, diet soft drinks etc and don't have any problems. Hope that helps.

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome to the forum. 🙂

 

[mikeyB]

It's two litres of liquid, not by any means just water. You could do it in coffee, tea, Diet Coke, (or my favourite zero sugar IrnBru). And don't forget, food contains a lot of water. Lettuce is 90% water. And don't forget to add a couple of ice cubes to soft drinks. For reference, two standard mugs of tea or coffee is 500ml, half a litre.

 

[Chocolovely]

Thank you all so much for your help. Much appreciated.