Managing Type 2 Diabetes With Farxiga

Medically Reviewed by Goldina I. Erowele, MBA, PharmD on June 28, 2024
6 min read

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It can be diagnosed at any age and increases your risk of several other health problems. Farxiga (far-see-guh) is just one of the many prescription medicines available to treat type 2 diabetes.

The active ingredient in Farxiga is dapagliflozin. You may also hear it called a “flozin.” It belongs to the class of medicines called the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. SGLT2 proteins are found in your kidneys. These proteins help your body reabsorb sugar. Farxiga blocks the SGLT2 proteins and reduces the reabsorption of sugar. You get rid of the sugar when you pee. 

You name it, Farxiga has probably been studied that way. It has been studied by itself and along with many other types of medicines to lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, including the following.

Farxiga has been compared to a placebo containing no medicine and to many other treatment options for type 2 diabetes. Most of the people in these studies had a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) above 7% and below about 10% or 10.5%. Studies typically lasted 24 to 28 weeks and included a wide variety of people with respect to age, gender, race, body mass index (BMI), and how long they had type 2 diabetes. Across the board, Farxiga, either alone or with other medicines for type 2 diabetes, significantly lowered blood sugar levels.

There are several ways to gauge how well a medicine lowers your blood sugar levels. You can look at individual blood sugar levels, often either fasting blood sugar levels (nothing to eat or drink for the last 8 to 12 hours) or post-prandial blood sugar levels (blood sugar levels a couple of hours after you eat). You can also look at HbA1c percentages, which is more of the big picture (how your blood sugar levels have been over the last 2 to 3 months). And you can look at how many people get to a certain HbA1c level. Though HbA1c goals can be different for each person, studies for medicines used to treat diabetes commonly look to see how many people get to an HbA1c of less than 7%. The chart below gives you a summary of how well Farxiga lowers blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes in the studies.

 About how much did fasting blood sugar levels go down 
(in milligrams per deciliter [mg/dL])?
About how much did HbA1c go down?About what percentage of people got their HbA1c below 7%
Farxiga 5 mg alone24 mg/dL0.8%44%
Farxiga 10 mg alone29 mg/dL0.9%51%
Farxiga 5 mg with other diabetes medicines21 to 61 mg/dL0.6% to 1.2%32.5% to 52.4%
Farxiga 10 mg with other diabetes medicines22 to 60 mg/dL0.45% to 2%31.7% to 46.6%

Your results may differ from what was seen in clinical studies.

Farxiga starts to lower your blood sugar levels right away. You will notice the biggest drop when you check your blood sugar levels at home over the first 4 weeks that you take it. You will continue to see improvements in your blood sugar levels (though less dramatic) over the next few weeks to months. It will take a little bit longer (usually about 8 to 12 weeks) to see improvements in your HbA1c because it represents your average blood sugar levels over the past 2 to 3 months.

We know that Farxiga helps to lower your blood sugar if you have type 2 diabetes. But you might notice a few other benefits if you take Farxiga.

Weight loss: Farxiga is not approved for weight loss, but people who take it lose a little bit of weight. In the diabetes studies, the average weight loss for people taking Farxiga was between about 3.5 and 7 pounds.

Blood pressure: Farxiga is not approved to lower blood pressure, but people who take it seem to see their blood pressure go down a little bit. In the diabetes studies, people taking Farxiga lowered their blood pressure by about 3 to 5 mmHg.

Hospital admission for heart failure: If you have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or use of tobacco products, Farxiga is approved to decrease your risk of being admitted to the hospital for heart failure.

Protect your kidneys: If you have chronic kidney disease, Farxiga is approved to reduce the risk that your kidneys will get worse.

Genital (vagina or penis) yeast infections: These are a common side effect of Farxiga, especially if you have had a yeast infection before. These infections are more common in females than in males. If your genitals itch and you notice a smelly discharge from your genitals, you may have a yeast infection. Talk to your health care provider about what to do. And consider these tips to lower your risk of getting a yeast infection while taking Farxiga.

  • Wear cotton underwear.
  • Keep your genital area dry.
  • Avoid genital deodorants.
  • Use water-based sexual lubricants.
  • Keep your blood sugar in check.

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): You might get low blood sugar with Farxiga. Most people notice low blood sugar symptoms when their blood sugar is 70 mg/dL or lower. Hypoglycemia is considered severe or most concerning when you are either not aware that your blood sugar is low or when it falls below 54 mg/dL. You are more likely to have hypoglycemia, especially severe hypoglycemia, if you also use insulin or take other medicines for diabetes that increase your insulin levels. Your health care provider may lower your dose of insulin or other diabetes medicines when you first start taking Farxiga to decrease your risk of hypoglycemia. 

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA): DKA is possible with Farxiga. It is a serious complication of diabetes that happens when your body does not have enough insulin, the protein that helps your body use glucose (sugar) for energy. Instead of using glucose, your body breaks down fat for energy, releasing ketones. Small amounts of ketones are not harmful, as you might see with the ketogenic diet. But if your body makes too many ketones, they build up in your blood and cause damage. This makes your blood too acidic, which is called ketoacidosis. DKA can be life-threatening. Your health care provider may ask you to check for ketones in your blood or pee at home. This can help you catch things early before ketoacidosis develops.

Farxiga requires a prescription from a health care provider. Your primary care provider or endocrinologist may prescribe Farxiga. You can get it at any pharmacy. 

There is a savings card available from the drugmaker that may allow you to pay $0 for your prescription. Whether you are eligible depends on whether you have prescription insurance, and what type of insurance you have. You can find out more by calling 855-3FARXIGA (855-332-7944) or at https://www.farxiga.com/savings-support/.