These Diabetes Medications Could Double Your Amputation Risk

Published on January 27, 2020, by Matthew Sharp

Personal Injury

These Diabetes Medications Could Double Your Amputation Risk

Diabetes medications containing SGLT2 inhibitors, such as Farxiga and Jardiance, may double a patient’s risk of lower limb amputation.

Dangers of Diabetes Drugs

Recent health studies show that popular diabetes medications like Farxiga and Jardiance present serious amputation risks of lower limbs, a risk that’s already greater for people with diabetes. While these drugs provide help with the management and treatment of diabetes, their dangers may far outweigh their advantages.

Farxiga and Jardiance are part of a class of drugs called sodium-glucose co-transporter2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. New research shows that SGLT2 inhibitors may double the risk of lower limb amputation, compared to the risk from other diabetes drugs.

Farxiga Health Risks

Farxiga lists numerous possible side effects including: stuffy and/or runny nose; sore throat; influenza; nausea or vomiting; constipation; urinary changes and/or infections; genital yeast infections; high cholesterol; and pain in extremities. Less common, but more serious side effects include: low blood sugar (hypoglycemia); acidic blood (ketoacidosis); kidney damage; and bladder cancer.

Jardiance Health Risks

Jardiance lists numerous possible side effects (similar to Farxiga) including dizziness; dehydration; muscle weakness; joint pain; upper respiratory tract infections; nausea and/or vomiting; urinary changes and/or infections; and genital yeast infections. Less common, but more serious side effects include low blood sugar (hypoglycemia); acidic blood (ketoacidosis); pancreatitis; and Gangrene.

Farxiga and Jardiance are commonly used to treat type-2 diabetes which causes body functions to fail because the body can’t produce proper insulin levels. When the disease begins, the pancreas often makes an excess of insulin to compensate for inefficiency, but as the disease progresses the pancreas has difficulty keeping up. As a result, blood sugars elevate out of normal range and create serious dangers for heart attacks and strokes, renal failure, nervous system problems, and impaired vision. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), some people can manage type-2 diabetes successfully with exercise and a healthy diet, while others require diabetes medications and insulin.

In August 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warnings that Farxiga and Jardiance have been linked to cases of Fournier’s Gangrene, a rare but deadly flesh-eating bacteria of the genitalia and perineum area. Before the introduction of SGLT2 inhibitors, Fournier’s Gangrene was very rare with only 19 reported cases over 30 years. Because of expanded FDA warnings, thousands of class actions and civil lawsuits have been filed by personal injury lawyers against the manufacturers of Invokana, Farxiga, and Jardiance.