As I often say, newer prescription drugs aren’t always better. In fact, they’re rarely better.
And that’s certainly the case with a new class of oral Type II diabetes drugs, which were found in a new study to significantly increase your risk of suffering a potentially deadly “diabetic emergency.”
Let’s dive right in…
It takes seven years to really learn about new drugs
As you know, I recommend avoiding most prescription drugs on the market. And you should be especially wary of trying any new drug that hasn’t been on the market for at least seven years. Because at that point, millions of people on the open market have tried it out, not just a few thousand in a clinical trial, and we typically have a more complete picture of a drug’s side effects.
Indeed, the new class of Type II diabetes drugs called sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors—which includes canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and ertugliflozin—was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just over seven years ago in 2013. And doctors have written about 1.7 million prescriptions for them annually ever since.
They’re supposed to work by forcing the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through the urine. But in the seven years since the FDA approved them, the agency has issued warning after warning for serious side effects—ranging from increased risk of urinary tract infections to bone fractures to gangrene.
And now, the new study shows that people who take them run a significant risk of developing a potentially fatal complication that had been seen more often in people with Type I diabetes…but rarely in people with Type II diabetes.
Here’s why…
New drugs raise risk of deadly complication of Type I diabetes
When someone has Type I diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, the beta-islet cells of the pancreas can’t make insulin. And when they don’t have insulin to push sugar from their blood into their cells, the body turns to burning stored fat for energy.
However, as a byproduct of this fat-burning process, the body produces ketones. And if someone with Type I diabetes goes untreated and doesn’t get their insulin injection, these ketones can build up in the blood to dangerous levels, causing a potentially fatal complication called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Experts consider DKA a “diabetic emergency” that requires hospitalization. But it’s rarely seen in people with Type II diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, because they usually still make enough insulin on their own to prevent it. (Remember, with Type II diabetes, the pancreas still makes insulin…but the cells become resistant to its effects.)
But the new study found that SGLT2 inhibitors actually cause DKA in people with Type II diabetes…
300 percent higher risk of suffering DKA
The new study followed more than 200,000 men and women with Type II diabetes who took SGLT2s to control their blood sugar. Over the study period, more than 500 of the men and women developed DKA. Which means these drugs increase DKA risk by a staggering 300 percent!
So, essentially, the new drugs perform the terrible trick of turning stable, manageable Type II diabetes into potentially fatal Type I diabetes!
The worst part is that there’s no reason for anyone with Type II diabetes to ever take one of these drugs, as there are dozens of safe, effective, and natural ways to control your blood sugar without putting your life at risk.
You can learn all about these remedies to prevent—and even reverse—Type II diabetes in my online learning tool, the Integrative Protocol for Defeating Diabetes. To learn more, or to enroll today, click here now.
Source:
“Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and the risk for diabetic ketoacidosis.” Annals of Internal Medicine, 9/15/20. 173(6): 417-425. doi.org/10.7326/M20-0289