Can Invokana Be Taken For Diabetes?

Posted on Thu, 17 Sep 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 Answered on

Thu, 8 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have Diabetes, type 2, and have been on several medications. Victoza was the last, however, my insurance would not cover it and it was very expensive. I'm on a fixed income and it was way to hard to keep paying for Victoza. The doctor then tried to prescribe Byetta and I found the same problem, very expensive. We have not reached our deductible with our insurance so we are paying out of pocket. I'm currently also on Glimepiride. I wondered if trying Invokana would help and, if so, do you know the cost.
Thank you XXXXXXX ( YYYY@YYYY )

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (27 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it's very expensive!

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I can say that invokana is very expensive and it's not the best next choice for you. A cheap (and effective) drug is metformin. Expensive (not as much as victoza though) alternatives exist as well. Insulin is one of the (lantus for example). Insulin is the best way to treat high glucosylated hemoglobins and difficult cases.

The decision about further escalation of the dosage depends on your glucosylated hemoglobin and self-measurements at home. The duration of your diabetes is also a crucial bit of information. Long standing diabetes (more than a decade) do not usually respond to drugs like glimepiride.

I'll be glad to comment more on your case, if you'd like to provide more information.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar