FAQs About FARXIGA

FARXIGA is a prescription medicine used in adults with type 2 diabetes to:

• improve blood sugar control along with diet and exercise
• reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure

FARXIGA is a once-daily pill, taken in the morning, with or without food.

FARXIGA should not be used to treat people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in your blood or urine).

Do not take FARXIGA if you:

• Are allergic to dapagliflozin or any of the ingredients in FARXIGA. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include:
  • Skin rash
  • Raised red patches on your skin (hives)
  • Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing

If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking FARXIGA and contact your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.

• Have severe kidney problems or are on dialysis

FARXIGA works with the body to flush sugar away in urine. In a clinical trial of adults with type 2 diabetes, FARXIGA 10 mg was shown to remove approximately 70 grams of sugar in the urine per day at the end of a 12-week period.

FARXIGA is part of a class of type 2 diabetes medications called SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2) inhibitors. It blocks some of the sugar reabsorption in the kidneys.

FARXIGA (far-SEE-guh) is a once-daily pill taken in the morning with or without food.

In studies, FARXIGA:

• Removed some blood sugar through the urine*
• Significantly lowered A1C

Additionally, FARXIGA may help you:

• Lose weight—on average 3%^†
• Reduce systolic blood pressure^†

FARXIGA is not a weight loss or blood pressure drug.

Individual results may vary.

^*With FARXIGA at 12 weeks.

^†When used with metformin.

And, if you’re not reaching your A1C goal on metformin alone, read this important information about FARXIGA.

For some people, taking metformin alone can lower their A1C to goal. For others, adding FARXIGA may be the extra help they need. A study has shown that adding once-daily FARXIGA to metformin therapy helped some patients lower their A1C more than metformin alone.

And, although not a weight loss or blood pressure drug, FARXIGA may help you lose weight and lower systolic blood pressure.

Individual results may vary.

FARXIGA can cause serious side effects, including:

• Dehydration. FARXIGA can cause some people to become dehydrated (the loss of body water and salt). Dehydration may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, lightheaded, or weak, especially when you stand up (orthostatic hypotension). You may be at a higher risk of dehydration if you:
  • have low blood pressure
  • take medicines to lower your blood pressure, including water pills (diuretics)
  • are 65 years of age or older
  • are on a low salt diet
  • have kidney problems

• Vaginal yeast infection. Women who take FARXIGA may get vaginal yeast infections. Symptoms of a vaginal yeast infection include:
  • vaginal odor
  • white or yellowish vaginal discharge (discharge may be lumpy or look like cottage cheese)
  • vaginal itching

• Yeast infection of the penis (balanitis). Men who take FARXIGA may get a yeast infection of the skin around the penis. Certain men who are not circumcised may have swelling of the penis that makes it difficult to pull back the skin around the tip of the penis. Other symptoms of yeast infection of the penis include:
  • redness, itching, or swelling of the penis
  • rash of the penis
  • foul smelling discharge from the penis
  • pain in the skin around the penis

Talk to your healthcare provider about what to do if you get symptoms of a yeast infection of the vagina or penis. Your healthcare provider may suggest you use an over-the-counter antifungal medicine. Talk to your healthcare provider right away if you use an over-the-counter antifungal medication and your symptoms do not go away.

• Take FARXIGA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it
• Do not change your dose of FARXIGA without talking to your healthcare provider
• Take FARXIGA by mouth 1 time each day, with or without food
• When your body is under some types of stress, such as fever, trauma (such as a car accident), infection, or surgery, the amount of diabetes medicine you need may change. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these conditions, and follow your healthcare provider’s instructions
• Stay on your prescribed diet and exercise program while taking FARXIGA
• FARXIGA will cause your urine to test positive for glucose
• Your healthcare provider may do certain blood tests before you start FARXIGA and during your treatment
• Your healthcare provider will check your diabetes with regular blood tests, including your blood sugar levels and your A1C
• Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for treating low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Talk to your healthcare provider if low blood sugar is a problem for you
• If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time
• If you take too much FARXIGA, call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest emergency room right away

FARXIGA can cause serious side effects, including:

See the What is the most important information I should know about FARXIGA? section.

• Ketoacidosis (increased ketones in your blood or urine). Ketoacidosis has happened in people who have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, during treatment with FARXIGA. Ketoacidosis is a serious condition, which may need to be treated in a hospital. Ketoacidosis may lead to death. Ketoacidosis can happen with FARXIGA even if your blood sugar is less than 250 mg/dL. Stop taking FARXIGA and call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms:
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • stomach area (abdominal) pain

  • tiredness
  • trouble breathing
  If you get any of these symptoms during treatment with FARXIGA, if possible check for ketones in your urine, even if your blood sugar is less than 250 mg/dL.
• Kidney problems. Sudden kidney injury has happened to people taking FARXIGA. Call your healthcare provider right away if you:
  • reduce the amount of food or liquid you drink, for example, if you are sick and cannot eat or
  • you start to lose liquids from your body, for example, from vomiting, diarrhea or being in the sun too long.
• Serious urinary tract infections. Serious urinary tract infections that may lead to hospitalization have happened in people who are taking FARXIGA. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any signs or symptoms of a urinary tract infection such as a burning feeling when passing urine, a need to urinate often, the need to urinate right away, pain in the lower part of your stomach (pelvis), or blood in the urine. Sometimes people also may have a fever, back pain, nausea or vomiting
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). If you take FARXIGA with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar, such as a sulfonylurea or insulin, your risk of getting low blood sugar is higher. The dose of your sulfonylurea medicine or insulin may need to be lowered while you take FARXIGA. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include:
  • headache
  • shaking or feeling jittery
  • irritability
  • fast heartbeat

  • weakness
  • drowsiness
  • sweating

  • confusion
  • dizziness
  • hunger
• A rare but serious bacterial infection that causes damage to the tissue under the skin (necrotizing fasciitis) in the area between and around the anus and genitals (perineum). Necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum has happened in women and men who take FARXIGA. Necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum may lead to hospitalization, may require multiple surgeries, and may lead to death. Seek medical attention immediately if you have fever or you are feeling very weak, tired, or uncomfortable (malaise) and you develop any of the following symptoms in the area between and around the anus and genitals:
  • pain or tenderness

  • swelling

  • redness of skin (erythema)

The most common side effects of FARXIGA include:

• vaginal yeast infections and yeast infections of the penis
• stuffy or runny nose and sore throat
• changes in urination, including urgent need to urinate more often, in larger amounts, or at night

These are not all the possible side effects of FARXIGA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

You may report side effects related to AstraZeneca products by clicking here.

Before you take FARXIGA, tell your healthcare provider if you:

• have type 1 diabetes or have had diabetic ketoacidosis
• have kidney problems
• have liver problems
• have a history of urinary tract infections or problems urinating
• are going to have surgery
• are eating less due to illness, surgery or a change in your diet
• have or have had problems with your pancreas, including pancreatitis or surgery on your pancreas
• drink alcohol very often, or drink a lot of alcohol in the short term (“binge” drinking)
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. FARXIGA may harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking FARXIGA, your healthcare provider may switch you to a different medicine to control your blood sugar. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to control your blood sugar if you plan to become pregnant or while you are pregnant
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if FARXIGA passes into your breast milk. You should not breastfeed if you take FARXIGA

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Store FARXIGA at room temperature between 68°F and 77°F (20°C and 25°C).

Please see Important Safety Information and Medication Guide and US Full Prescribing Information.