Diabetes management is a rapidly-changing field. It seems like every few days there is a new medication being advertised. If you are a diabetic, it’s important to understand how to manage your medications before and after surgery.
SGLT2 (sodium-glucose transport protein 2) inhibitors are a new class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes. They are also known as “gliflozins.” If you are on a medication and the generic name of it ends in “flozin” you are likely on an SGLT2 inhibitor. They work by preventing the reabsorption of glucose from the blood that gets filtered by your kidneys, causing excess glucose to flow out in the urine.
It is recommended that these medications be stopped 5 days prior to surgery, and not to be resumed until a reasonable amount of calories are consumed on a daily basis. This would typically be around 4 weeks post-operatively (unless instructed otherwise).
Current medications in this class include:
- Invokana (canagliflozin)
- Invokamet (canagliflozin and metformin)
- Farxiga (dapagliflozin)
- Xigduo XR (dapagliflozin and metformin)
- Jardiance (empagliflozin)
- Glyxambi (empagliflozin and linagliptin)
- Steglatro (ertugliflozin)
If you are on one of these medications, please make sure you formulate a plan with your provider at your pre-op visit!