Empagliflozin is a medicine that's mainly used to treat type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition where the body does not make enough insulin, or the insulin that it makes does not work properly. This can cause high blood sugar levels (hyperglycaemia). Empagliflozin works by helping your body to remove extra sugar through your pee.
Your doctor may recommend empagliflozin for treating type 2 diabetes if:
- diet and exercise are not enough to control your blood sugar levels
- you cannot take metformin (another type of diabetes medicine)
It can also be taken together with other diabetes medicines, such as insulin, if a single diabetes medicine is not controlling your blood sugar properly.
Empagliflozin can also be used to treat:
- heart failure – it can reduce the risk of your heart getting weaker, and help symptoms such as tiredness
- chronic kidney disease (CKD) – it can help slow the rate at which the condition gets worse
Empagliflozin is only available on prescription. It comes as tablets.
It also comes combined with other diabetes medicines. Brand names include Synjardy (empagliflozin with metformin) and Glyxambi (empagliflozin with linagliptin).
Key facts
- You'll usually take empagliflozin once a day.
- Empagliflozin starts to work after about 1 to 2 hours to reduce your blood sugar levels, but it may take up to a week for it to work fully.
- If you're taking empagliflozin with other diabetes medicines, it can sometimes cause low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia). It's a good idea to carry some sweets or fruit juice with you in case this happens.
- Unlike some diabetes medicines, empagliflozin does not make you put on weight. In fact, some people find they lose weight.
- If you have diabetes, you're entitled to free prescriptions for all your medicines, not just your diabetes ones.