Medication for diabetes leading to complications

The NHS has warned UK patients taking a commonly prescribed medication to seek urgent medical attention if they notice any of three specific symptoms.

These can indicate serious complications due to consumption of dapagliflozin.

Also known under its brand name Forxiga, dapagliflozin is primarily used to treat type 2 diabetes, but it is also prescribed for heart failure and chronic kidney disease.

Exact number of how many patients are prescribed dapagliflozin in the UK each year are not available, but it is among the more expensive medications, with the NHS spending approximately £300million annually on it in England alone.

As per Express, dapagliflozin is also available in combination with other diabetes treatments, under brand names such as Xigduo (dapagliflozin with metformin) and Qtern (dapagliflozin with saxagliptin).

However, the NHS cautions on its website that "like all medicines," dapagliflozin can cause some unwanted side effects. They are:

• You have a very dry or sticky mouth, feel very thirsty, sleepy or tired, are not peeing (or peeing very little), and have a fast heartbeat – these may indicate dehydration.
• You have a high temperature (or feel hot, cold or shivery), get a burning sensation when you pee, have pain in your back or side, or blood in your urine – these could be signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI).
• You get severe pain, tenderness, redness, or swelling in the groin or perineal area accompanied by a high temperature or feeling unwell – this may be a sign of a serious infection called Fournier's gangrene.