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Empagliflozen - ruining my life :(

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Basil62

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I'm new to all this, but along with my Diabetic medication I'm taking 25mg of Jardiance ( empagliflozin) per day. Since starting this medication it is ruining my life, been back to my doctor and he said to keep on it as it is also good for my heart. I'm a 62 year old male and this not only gave me thrush but has restricted my foresking to a point where it is so painful. can't even get an appointment with the Doctor and I'm seriously looking at another practitioner, sorry if I'm on the wrong page just looking for advice
thank you
 
Welcome @Basil62 🙂 I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’re having with Jardiance. I’m a woman so can’t comment on your particular thrush issue, but perhaps a pharmacist could help. You can ask for a private room. There are tablets and creams that treat thrush. There might also be some kind of moisturising or soothing cream that can help.

Remember, the choice of meds is yours. If you’re not happy with it, ask for an alternative.

How are your blood sugars?
 
OMG @Basil62 you poor thing. The only advice I can give is speak to the practise manager. I've just done this, long story so I won't bore you. Anyway she was really nice and I feel alot better. I've been really upset and not sleeping and I had a hip replacement 4 weeks ago so should be resting.
 
At least the doctor should be treating you for thrush.
 
@Basil62, hard luck about your thrush. As you probably know it feeds off the sugar expelled by your kidneys.

My thoughts are:
- I not know what your HbA1c was at diagnosis or whether you have any complications such as a heart condition.
- Speak to a pharmacist about thrush as suggested.
- The best way to get your blood glucose levels down is by diet.
- A successful diet would allow you to do without empagflozin (a good idea in view of thrush).
- Always listen to your doctor's advice then decide what to do.

There are lots of diet plans. Here are some to consider if you haven't seen them:
- Newcastle Diet leaflet: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwncla.../files/201809 Sample Recipes & meal plans.pdf
- https://www.lowcarbfreshwell.com/documents/8/Freshwell_Red_Amber_Green.pdf
- https://phcuk.org/wp-content/uploads/A_5_page_low_carb_diet_leaflet_Unwin_2021-converted.pdf (read the notes)
- What should we eat? https://www.zoeharcombe.com/2021/08/what-should-we-eat/
 
Hi and welcome. As a woman who has had thrush a couple of times, I can really sympathise. You can buy Canestan Cream in most large supermarkets and pharmacies which should help to treat it, but the key thing is going to be preventing it from reoccurring and that will involve reducing your Blood Glucose (BG) levels. Have you made any dietary changes to help with that and do you test your BG levels at home with a finger pricker and BG meter? Making dietary changes is important to help the medication and in many cases, the right dietary changes can mean that you don't need it and can reduce the doses with a view to coming off it.

The first thing to do is to find out just how serious your diabetes is by getting your HbA1c result. This is the blood test used to diagnose and monitor your diabetes management and will usually be a number in excess of 47mmols/mol to give you a diabetes diagnosis. How much higher gives you an indication of how much work you will need to do to bring it down. The right dietary changes can be more powerful than most diabetes medication, so well worth putting some effort into it and it doesn't have to be all sack cloth and ashes. If you want to know more about that, just ask. I really hope that you can get some relief from the thrush soon and if you have a sexual partner, they will likely also need to use the Canestan as otherwise you can pass it back and forth and re-infect each other.
 
JITR said:
@Basil62, hard luck about your thrush. As you probably know it feeds off the sugar expelled by your kidneys.

My thoughts are:
- I not know what your HbA1c was at diagnosis or whether you have any complications such as a heart condition.
- Speak to a pharmacist about thrush as suggested.
- The best way to get your blood glucose levels down is by diet.
- A successful diet would allow you to do without empagflozin (a good idea in view of thrush).
- Always listen to your doctor's advice then decide what to do.

There are lots of diet plans. Here are some to consider if you haven't seen them:
- Newcastle Diet leaflet: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwnclacuk/newcastlemagneticresonancecentre/files/201809 Sample Recipes & meal plans.pdf
- https://www.lowcarbfreshwell.com/documents/8/Freshwell_Red_Amber_Green.pdf
- https://phcuk.org/wp-content/uploads/A_5_page_low_carb_diet_leaflet_Unwin_2021-converted.pdf (read the notes)
- What should we eat? https://www.zoeharcombe.com/2021/08/what-should-we-eat/
Click to expand...
Thank you for this, I'll give it a read after work
 
@Basil62 I was prescribed dapagliflozin in September which is an SGLT2 like the drug you are on . I was warned i could have thrush or a UTI. The drug works by encouraging the release of glucose in pee. Obviously sugar can be a breeding ground for bacteria. I know there is a rare complication with your manhood. I am female so am not directly affected.
However, you should seek treatment now. If you cannot get an appointment at your surgery go to a pharmacy. I am a new diabetic but am aware healing can take longer. I would urge you to seek help. Once it is treated you can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of continuing with the medication. I was told it helped with the elimination of glucose but also had cardiovascular benefits.
 
Sorry to hear about the thrush and painful changes to your foreskin you’ve been experiencing @Basil62

Hopefully you can get some immediate relief. And are able to have a positive conversation with your Dr explaining your concerns, and possible alternatives. It’s important to be brutally honest with your Dr about how a medication has impacted you.

If you experience tenderness, redness, or swelling of the genitals (especially if accompanied by a fever) when on SGLT classes of meds, you are advised to seek immediate medical attention as there is a rare but potentially serious side effect (Fourniers Gangrene) which would need urgent attention.
 
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