New diabetic drug associated with weight loss. An update on SGLT 2 inhibitors

There are now 2 oral drugs used to treat diabetes in a new class called SGLT 2 inhibitors. They are Invokana and Farxiga. These pills block an enzyme in the kidney and result in sugar being spilled into the urine. This can account for 150-300 calories lost in the urine per day. In addition to lowering blood sugar, theyhave a diuretic effect, and can lower blood pressure.
There has been some concern that these drugs may be associated with bladder cancer. The problem is that it is well established that diabetics have a higher risk of MANY cancers including pancreas, liver, colon, kidney and bladder. Diabetics take diabetic drugs, and non-diabetics don't. A reasonable comparison would be to note that people who take cholesterol drugs have more heart attacks than those that do not. Obviously, young healthy people with normal cholesterol do not take these drugs, and high risk older people with high cholesterol do. You are selecting out a group of people that inherently are at higher risk for certain diseases.

That said, I have now tried these medications in the office, and am seeing significant weight loss AND improvement in blood pressure. I have tried them on non-diabetics, and they spill similar amounts of sugar.Side effects can include yeast infections and UTIs because of the presence of sugar in the urine. Taking cranberry pills may help prevent this.