Jardiance for congestive heart failure: pros and cons?

@deniseheart how long was your voice gone? That’s crazy!

@1966sandy1966 my voice was gone about two weeks while taking Jardiance. It came back when the medication was stopped.

@deniseheart So sorry to hear that, but glad it came back. Seems like an unusual side effect,

@1966sandy1966 Thanks so much for the info. I actually qualified for assistance from Novartis, which has been so helpful for me.

@katiekateny I've been taking Jardiance now going on my third month and a couple weeks ago wouldn't you know I got the dreaded yeast infection the dr. warned me about. After two pills and lots of topical med, I think I've finally got it cleared up. Have you had this problem? You say you've had no side effects, so I would guess not. Have you taken any particular precautions against it? They tell me if it keeps coming back, I'll have to stop Jardiance.

My big question is kind of like yours - how do we know this is doing any good? I haven't noticed a big difference in exercise tolerance, maybe because my PH is mild. They have now started me on a "water" pill three times a week so I guess I'll be peeing even more! I do feel like I have been bloated at times and last week gained 4 lbs over night (but it was gone in a couple days). I guess I don't mind taking a "band aide" but I wish there was obvious proof it was doing something.

@carculmer Just my two cents here, for what it's worth. I'm sure you know this, and doing it would be instinctive, I think, but hopefully scrupulous efforts at maintaining your personal hygiene "down there" would help prevent future yeast infections. That might include washing yourself after every bathroom trip- that's what I would do, anyway. The Jardiance increases the amount of glucose filtered in the kidneys and excreted in the urine, so the increased sugar provides fuel for the yeasts and bacteria in the area. I keep thinking of my brother, who took one of the SGLT-2 inhibitors ( not sure it was Jardiance) for his diabetes and died of complications from an untreated perianal abscess. He had other conditions and factors that would have contributed to and complicated this process, but the warning for infections in the genital area are very real.

Could be the diuretic you're now taking will do as much as any of the other meds you take for PH- especially if it's caused by left-sided heart dysfunction. I had increased pulmonary artery pressure over the last couple years, never had the right-sided heart cath but repeated echocardiograms showed significant decreases in the estimated pulmonary artery pressure- from 65 to 58 and the last one was 34 ( within the normal range for their echos), after I began taking the furosemide ( 20 mg/day). My cardiologist explained this PH was due to left-sided dysfunction, and he recommended life style measures, ie, diet, exercise and of course the medication to control my blood pressure and other issues contributing to this cardiac issue. Looks like he was right on about it.
As for exercise tolerance, I couldn't run a marathon these days if my life depended on it. I always figure you do what you can do, short runs of exercise, stop and catch your breath when you need to, and then resume until you have to stop again. I've taken to dividing my exercise routine into two sessions of about 20 minutes per day ( I have a combination elliptical/recumbent bike I use, with weights for my arms and legs). You do what you can for as long as you can, slow down or stop when you need to, and keep going. Walking is good too- doesn't have to be fast or for long periods of time, just do what you can and work up gradually as you are able. At least that works for this old lady!

thank you

@gak
So you were prescribed Jardiance for CHF without diabetes?
Do you have any numbers for your A1C before and after, or your blood glucose numbers?
Thanks

Metformin taken to lower blood glucose certainly causes loose stools or worse in many/most, so it might well be caused for some by anything that does so as Jardiance does - though presumably through different paths than Jardiance.

@carbcounter
Thank you for reaching out.

I do not have before/after A1C or blood glucose numbers.

I stopped Jardiance for thirty days and it made no difference in my bowel movements, but thank you for the information.