How long does it take for Jardiance to work?

Official answer

by Drugs.com

Key Points

Jardiance (empagliflozin) is used in addition to diet and exercise to control blood glucose (sugar) in adults and children 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes.

It is used also to lower the risk of:

This medicine is given as an oral tablet taken once daily in the morning with or without food. Take your medicine exactly as your doctor prescribes it.

Jardiance may be added to other medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes such as metformin, sulfonylureas, pioglitazone, and insulin. However, the risk for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) may increase. Metformin is the only other oral type 2 diabetes treatment approved for children.

Only the 10 mg dose of Jardiance is approved to lower the risk of further worsening of kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), death due to cardiovascular disease, and hospitalization in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Your doctor may occasionally change your dose. Be sure to tell your doctor if you take other diabetes medicines.

How long does it take for Jardiance to lower blood sugar?

In 24-week long studies in adults with Jardiance (empagliflozin), the 10 mg or 25 mg daily dose provided statistically significant reductions in A1C, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and body weight when compared to an inactive placebo.

Results showed that 35% of patients taking the 10 mg dose lowered their A1C to less than 7%, with 44% of patients in the 25 mg group and 12% in the inactive placebo group seeing similar results .

Fasting blood glucose was also lowered in both the 10 mg and 25 mg groups. At the beginning of the study, patients had an average fasting blood sugar of 153 mg/dL. Those taking Jardiance 10 mg and 25 mg saw their fasting blood sugar drop 19 and 25 points (mg/dL), respectively, while the placebo group dropped 12 points.

Top 7 benefits of Jardiance

Besides being an effective choice to lower your blood sugar, Jardiance has many other benefits for patients living with type 2 diabetes.

1. Does Jardiance protect my heart?

Patients with type 2 diabetes are at a greater risk for heart disease, even if their blood sugar (A1C) is under control. Jardiance has been proven to have a protective effect on the heart in adults in large cardiovascular outcome trials.

2. Is Jardiance recommended in guidelines?

Metformin is usually the preferred first-line agent used when a patient needs to start an oral medication for type 2 diabetes. However, when added therapy is needed, certain SGLT-2 inhibitors, including Jardiance, are recommended.

3. Does Jardiance lead to weight loss?

Jardiance is not approved for weight loss, but it can help patients with type 2 diabetes lose weight. In 24-week studies, weight loss was found to be statistically significant in adults with type 2 diabetes.

In patients taking the 10 and 25 mg dose, a weight loss of 2.8% and 3.2% of their baseline weight (weight at the start of the study) was seen, compared to a 0.4% weight loss in the placebo group.

4. Can Jardiance lower my blood pressure?

Jardiance is not specifically approved by the FDA to lower blood pressure, but this effect was seen in clinical trials. Blood pressure was lowered whether Jardiance was used alone or with metformin.

5. Does Jardiance cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) as a side effect?

When used alone, SGLT-2 inhibitors like Jardiance carry a low risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels). However, your doctor may need to adjust your dose of Jardiance if you take it with other drugs that can cause low blood sugar, like insulin or a sulfonylureas such as glipizide or glimepiride.

In studies in children 10 years and older, the risk of hypoglycemia (blood glucose <54 mg/dL) was higher with Jardiance (19.2%) compared to placebo (7.5%), whether or not they used insulin.

6. Can Jardiance be used with other diabetes medications?

Jardiance (empagliflozin) has been studied and can be added to other medicines for type 2 diabetes such as:

​Adding these medications to Jardiance may increase your risk for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and dose adjustments of the medication may be needed.

Empagliflozin is also found in combination medicines such as Synjardy, Synjardy XR, Glyxambi and Trijardy XR.

If your A1C target is not achieved after roughly 3 months with initial use of metformin, other medicines can be combined with metformin, including sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 RA, or basal insulin. You and your doctor will make the best choice based on factors such as safety, drug interactions, side effects and cost or availability.

In a large comparative study, researchers found that each new class of noninsulin agents added to initial therapy with metformin generally lowers the A1C number by about 0.7–1.0%.

7. Is Jardiance well-tolerated by patients?

Yes, in clinical studies, few adults patient stopped treatment due to the most common side effects: genital yeast infections and urinary tract infections.

Important side effects with Jardiance

Jardiance is usually well-tolerated in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, as with all drugs, there are important side effects that you should review and discuss with your doctor.

Serious side effects reported with Jardiance include:

The most common side effects (5% or greater) that may occur with Jardiance are:

Bottom Line

Overall, Jardiance is a well-tolerated, once-daily oral treatment option for type 2 diabetes that can provide benefits for your blood sugar, heart, kidneys, weight goals, and risks for low blood sugar. However, side effects can occur, so be sure to discuss all possible side effects with your doctor.

This is not all the information you need to know about Jardiance for safe and effective use and does not replace your doctor's advice. Review the full Jardiance information here, and speak to your health care provider before you start treatment.