Canagliflozin Usage

Canagliflozin is used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

How Canagliflozin works

Canagliflozin is an anti-diabetic medication. It works by removing excess sugar from your body through urine.

Common side effects of Canagliflozin

Nausea, Frequent urge to urinate, Increased thirst, Urinary tract infection, Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar level) in combination with insulin or sulphonylurea, Genital fungal infection

Expert advice for Canagliflozin

• Canagliflozin is used together with other diabetes medicines to control blood sugar and avoids long-term complications.
• You should continue to exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, and take your other diabetes medicines along with Canagliflozin.
• Canagliflozin also helps reduce weight and blood pressure.
• Canagliflozin may cause you to urinate more often, so make sure you stay hydrated.
• Can cause genital fungal and/or urinary tract infections (UTIs) in both females and males.
• Can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level) when used with other antidiabetic medicines, alcohol or if you delay or miss a meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques. Q. What makes Canagliflozin better than glimepiride?
Both are effective in lowering blood glucose levels, however, they work in different ways and have different side effect profile. Glimepiride commonly causes hypoglycemia and weight gain while Canagliflozin causes hypoglycemia when taken with insulins or sulfonylureas and helps in loosing weight. Canagliflozin commonly causes urinary tract and genital infections.

Ques. Q. How is Canagliflozin different from dapagliflozin?
Both belong to the same class drugs and work by removing glucose from urine. However, Canagliflozin is more effective in removing a higher amount of glucose through urine in 24 hours than dapagliflozin. Also, the use of dapagliflozin is to be avoided in patients with bladder cancer.

Ques. Q. Is Canagliflozin better than sitagliptin for the control of my blood sugar?
Both Canagliflozin and sitagliptin lower blood sugar levels but work in different ways. Canagliflozin removes glucose from the body through urine while sitagliptin increases the release of insulin which lowers blood glucose levels. Canagliflozin causes urinary and genital tract infection while sitagliptin causes nausea and increases the risk of pancreatitis. Canagliflozin may cause weight loss while sitagliptin does not show any effect on weight.

Ques. Q. What is the benefit of using Canagliflozin with metformin?
The combination of Canagliflozin and metformin helps in a significant improvement of blood glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin as compared to when they are taken alone.

Ques. Q. Does Canagliflozin increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level?
Canagliflozin is seen to increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in some patients. Get LDL levels checked regularly. However, the increase is not seen to be clinically significant and Canagliflozin can also increase the triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein levels (HDL). However, the exact mechanism for this effect is not known but is related to urinary glucose excretion.

Ques. Q. Can Canagliflozin help me in losing weight?
Canagliflozin along with well-balanced diet and exercise works effectively in lowering blood glucose levels and weight loss in type 2 diabetes patients. Canagliflozin works by removing glucose through urine, so, calories are lost resulting in weight loss according to some clinical studies.

Ques. Q. Can Canagliflozin be stopped immediately or slowly over a period of time?
Do not stop taking Canagliflozin immediately or over a period of time without consulting your doctor as the change in your treatment would depend on your blood glucose levels and other associated side effects or complications if any.

Ques. Q. Can Canagliflozin be a cause for amputation?
Canagliflozin can increase the risk of leg and foot amputation. Inform your doctor if you have a history of diabetic foot ulcer, peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy or amputation. In case you notice tenderness, pain, numbness, tingling sensation, discoloration, sores or ulcers in the lower limb if you are taking Canagliflozin, immediately contact your doctor.

Ques. Q. How long does Canagliflozin take to show its effect?
Canagliflozin starts to show its effect from the first dose itself but the complete effect is noticed after 1 week of starting the medicine.

Ques. Q. In what condition the use of Canagliflozin should be avoided or contraindicated?
Canagliflozin is not advised in patients with type 1 Diabetes, severe liver or kidney disease or on dialysis, diabetic ketoacidosis (elevated blood or urine ketone levels), patients planning for pregnancy or pregnant or nursing mother, patients with a history of allergy to this medicine, have low or high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.

Ques. Q. Is Canagliflozin better than metformin?
Yes, Canagliflozin can be taken with metformin. A combined use of the two medicines can significantly improve blood glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and help in weight loss as compared to when either of the medicine is taken alone. No change in side effect profile has been reported compared to when they are used alone.

Ques. Q. Can I use Canagliflozin for type 1 diabetes?
Canagliflozin is not indicated for use in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus as these patients tend to pass more urine. Canagliflozin works by removing glucose through the urine and also increases the urine frequency. So, a combined effect may worsen dehydration. There have been reports of diabetic ketoacidosis with Canagliflozin, a complication seen in type 1 diabetic patients and which may also get worsened in these patients.

Ques. Q. Can Canagliflozin be used as an add-on to insulin?
Canagliflozin can be used as an add-on to insulin. However, it is known to cause hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) when used with insulin or sulfonylurea group of anti-diabetics. So, a regular monitoring of blood sugar is important when they are used together.

Ques. Q. How is Canagliflozin different from liraglutide?
Both are anti-diabetic medicines and lower blood glucose levels effectively and can cause weight loss. Canagliflozin is to be taken by mouth and works by removing glucose from the body through urine and can cause urinary and genital tract infection. While liraglutide is an injectable which increases the release of insulin which lowers blood glucose levels and commonly causes nausea and increases the risk of pancreatitis.

Ques. Q. Does Canagliflozin cause low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia)?
Canagliflozin can cause low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia) but this is not very common. However, the risk of hypoglycemia may increase significantly when used along with insulins and sulfonylureas especially in patients with underlying chronic kidney disease and in elderly patients.

Ques. Q. How does Canagliflozin cause hyperkalemia?
Canagliflozin lowers blood glucose levels by removing glucose through urine and patient passes increased amount of urine which may lead to dehydration and increase potassium levels in the blood (hyperkalemia). It is more common in patients with chronic kidney disease and elderly patients.

Ques. Q. How does Canagliflozin increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL)?
Canagliflozin is known to cause a small increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL). However, the exact mechanism for this effect is not known.