Invokana / Canaglifozin

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Kopiert

Kopiert

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
HI

Well, disappointedly, my HbA1C has now returned to the level it was when I was diagnosed. 88

Having managed it (39 - 44) by diet and exercise for 4-ish years it started to go up when I agreed to go into statins. The pharmacist and the nurse declined to believe me when I said that there are reports that statins can increase blood glucose levels (in spite of it being a common side effect for diabetics on the information street). Of course, they didn't like that I was self-testing and took no notice that I observed a massive jump a couple of weeks into starting statins.

I now find I am on a cascade of drugs. Back of Metformin - now doubled to 4 per day. Statins (they refuse to let me try anything apart from Atorvastatin) and a drug called Canaglifozin. I have no experience of this and wondered if others had tried it. It looks pretty powerful and comes with its own handbook!

I don't want to sound like an anti-vaxxer, but 9 months ago, I was controlling it via diet; today, I am carrying so many pills I sound like a pair of maracas. I am considering just stopping them all.
 
Just a question - Are you, seriously, in imminent danger of dropping dead PDQ should your cholesterol level increase from what it is now for a month or two?

To my mind if I think some drug has a side effect on me I don't want, I'd probably want to try cutting out, or down, on that drug but, usually better to do that about a month/6 weeks before a blood test for latest results of this that and the other, to see what effect stopping/reducing the drug is actually having on me. NB - for all I know you might already have known cardiac and/or renal health issues - in which case I think my consideration would be entirely different.
 
In terms of cholesterol, it was rising pretty fast and had reached 6.7 mmol/L. With my family history of heart attacks and stroke, they were pretty insistent. I am not sure if that qualifies as imminent danger - but it is the heart, so you can never be sure.

I don't think they have got the balance right between blood sugar and cholesterol - however, they rank cholesterol higher than blood sugar (according to the nurse) so T2 diabetes will not be prioritised. My frustration is that they block any effort to have a conversation about options.

They have now prescribed Invokana / Canaglifozin to reduce the BG levels. My initial look at the drug makes me think it is yet another very powerful drug with some horrible side effects. I wanted to understand others' experiences of it.

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Sorry to hear your HbA1c has risen @Kopiert :(

Hope you can find a new balance between meds and menu that works for you. Some people‘s diabetes does change over time, so while I can completely understand your gut feeling based on the timings, your family history does make it sound like statins are a wise precaution for you.

Has a start date been suggested to you for Canagliflozin? i think @Felinia takes Canagliflozin - or did at one stage - so may be able to share experiences of what it was like?
 
I have been told to raise the Metformin to 4 per day and then start the Canagliflozin. If I remember @Felinia mentioned she had an awful time with Statins as well
 
Kopiert said:
I have been told to raise the Metformin to 4 per day and then start the Canagliflozin. If I remember @Felinia mentioned she had an awful time with Statins as well
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My GP has just taken me off Canagliflozin, under recommendation from the NHS, even though I had no problems with it. I have been switched to Dapagliflozin and have no problems with that either. Both made me wee a lot, which is what they were supposed to do. And yes I did have severe issues with 3 different statins and was taken off them as well. It took 9 months for the pain, swelling, muscle function and rashes from the statins to finally fade.
 
Felinia said:
My GP has just taken me off Canagliflozin, under recommendation from the NHS, even though I had no problems with it. I have been switched to Dapagliflozin and have no problems with that either. Both made me wee a lot, which is what they were supposed to do. And yes I did have severe issues with 3 different statins and was taken off them as well. It took 9 months for the pain, swelling, muscle function and rashes from the statins to finally fade.
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Thank you for coming back. I will start them next week, and I will see the impact. The nurse said that I will need to drink a lot of water; as you say, I will be visiting the loo quite a bit. It does look like a very strong drug with some significant side effects.
 
trophywench said:
Just a question - Are you, seriously, in imminent danger of dropping dead PDQ should your cholesterol level increase from what it is now for a month or two?

To my mind if I think some drug has a side effect on me I don't want, I'd probably want to try cutting out, or down, on that drug but, usually better to do that about a month/6 weeks before a blood test for latest results of this that and the other, to see what effect stopping/reducing the drug is actually having on me. NB - for all I know you might already have known cardiac and/or renal health issues - in which case I think my consideration would be entirely different.
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Really sorry - should have responded to this. I sort of agree with your sentiments. I will see how this all progresses
 
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