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A scale and a pill: Does Jardiance cause weight gain?
Drug Info

Does Jardiance cause weight gain?

Type 2 diabetes itself is more likely to cause weight gain than Jardiance
Sarah Bradley writer headshot
By | Jul. 9, 2024 Medically reviewed by Josephine Bawab, Pharm.D.

Key takeaways

  • Jardiance is a medication prescribed for people with Type 2 diabetes. It can help lower blood glucose levels by increasing the amount of glucose excreted in the urine.

  • In studies, Jardiance has been associated with a small amount of weight loss and typically doesn’t cause weight gain because it doesn’t affect appetite or digestion.

  • Some people may notice a small amount of weight gain over time after stopping Jardiance because they are no longer excreting 300 calories per day in their urine; however, tracking caloric intake and getting regular exercise can help you avoid this potential side effect.

In this article:

People with Type 2 diabetes often have difficulty controlling their blood sugar levels, even with dietary changes and regular exercise. Jardiance (empagliflozin) is an oral medication that can help people with Type 2 diabetes maintain lower blood glucose levels, which not only aids in their overall diabetes management but can also lower their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels are associated with weight gain. By lowering your blood sugar, Jardiance can promote weight loss in some people with Type 2 diabetes. It generally does not cause weight gain, but some people have reported gaining weight after they stop taking Jardiance. We talked to experts to find out how likely this is, as well as what else you should know about weight changes while taking Jardiance.

How does Jardiance affect weight?

Jardiance is a type of medication called a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. It lowers blood glucose levels by preventing glucose from being reabsorbed in the body and increasing the amount of glucose excreted in the urine. 

“Because Jardiance works in the kidneys, it doesn’t have much effect on appetite or digestion,” explains Laura Morris, MD, family medicine physician at University of Missouri Health Care. Still, many people taking Jardiance report experiencing a small amount of weight loss, probably because the amount of glucose excreted each day while taking Jardiance translates to about 300 fewer calories per day.

“It’s also more common to experience this weight loss soon after starting Jardiance because of the initial increase in loss of fluids,” says Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based dietitian and author of 2 Day Diabetes Diet. However, even a modest weight loss isn’t guaranteed on Jardiance. “If a person eats beyond their caloric needs, they may see little to no weight loss,” Palinski-Wade adds.

Weight gain after stopping Jardiance

In general, you shouldn’t expect to regain weight you’ve lost while taking Jardiance if you end up discontinuing the drug, since it doesn’t directly impact appetite or digestion. “It also isn’t associated with large amounts of weight loss in most people,” Dr. Morris says. Therefore, it’s not common for people to noticeably gain weight after stopping the drug.

If you do gain weight after stopping Jardiance, it may not actually be related to the drug. Some people with Type 2 diabetes require multiple medications to control their glucose levels, which could include older classes of diabetes medications that are known to cause weight gain, like insulin, thiazolidinediones, and sulfonylureas. Dr. Morris says that it can be difficult to know which medications are truly causing your side effects when you’re taking a combination of drugs.  

It’s also important to consider your caloric intake when you stop taking Jardiance. Your body is getting rid of a small number of extra calories per day through your urine when you’re on this medication, and Palinski-Wade says that an excess intake of dietary calories can slowly lead to mild weight gain once you’re no longer excreting those extra calories in your urine.

Other Jardiance side effects

Like all prescription drugs, Jardiance carries the risk of some side effects. The most common side effects you may experience when taking Jardiance include:

  • Urinary tract infection (UTI)
  • Vaginal yeast infection
  • Increased urination
  • Nausea
  • Joint pain
  • Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

Less commonly, some people may experience severe side effects when taking Jardiance. Anyone taking a diabetes medication is at risk for something called diabetic ketoacidosis, a buildup of chemicals called ketones in the blood. Other severe side effects of Jardiance include kidney infection, extreme anxiety or jitteriness, and a specific type of genital bacterial infection called Fournier’s gangrene.

How to manage Jardiance side effects

The most common side effects associated with Jardiance are the increased risks of UTIs and yeast infections. Palinski-Wade explains that staying hydrated, which flushes out bacteria, and practicing good vaginal hygiene—like wiping front to back and avoiding tight-fitting clothing that can trap moisture—can help you cut down on your risk of infection.

If you’re experiencing any nausea on Jardiance, that could also contribute to slight changes in your weight. Some people eat less healthy foods (like simple carbohydrates and carbonated beverages) when they’re nauseated, and an excess amount of these foods could contribute to weight gain over time. On the other hand, nausea can suppress appetite, and feeling constantly queasy might cause some people to lose weight.

To combat nausea, Palinski-Wade recommends eating small, more frequent meals and focusing on eating and drinking more slowly. She also says you can try taking Jardiance with meals instead of on an empty stomach.

Jardiance alternatives 

According to Dr. Morris, the most common medications used to treat Type 2 diabetes include metformin, other types of SGLT-2 inhibitors, GLP-1 inhibitors like Ozempic and Mounjaro, and a class of drugs called DPP-4 inhibitors, which includes Januvia and Tradjenta.

“None of these drugs are directly associated with weight gain,” Dr. Morris notes. In fact, all of them are associated with either modest or significant weight loss, with the exception of the DPP-4 inhibitors, which don’t typically cause any change in weight. 

If you’re concerned about taking a Type 2 diabetes medication that could cause weight gain, Dr. Morris says that insulin of all types and older medications (e.g., glipizide, glyburide, or glimepiride) that are sometimes prescribed for Type 2 diabetes are more likely to cause weight gain than the newer classes of Type 2 diabetes drugs.

If you’re looking for an alternative to Jardiance that’s also an SGLT-2 inhibitor, you can talk to your healthcare provider about Invokana (canagliflozin), Steglatro (ertugliflozin), or Farxiga (dapagliflozin).

How to avoid Jardiance weight gain

As we’ve noted, you shouldn’t expect to gain a significant amount of weight after stopping Jardiance since the drug doesn’t affect your appetite or digestion (and doesn’t cause a significant amount of weight loss to begin with). However, some people report a small weight gain after stopping Jardiance, most likely because they are no longer expelling an extra 300 calories per day through their urine.

According to Palinski-Wade, in order to maintain a steady and consistent weight loss, you need to focus on a healthy lifestyle. She recommends keeping a food journal to help you stay on track with your meal plan goals and getting regular physician-approved physical activity for long-term weight management.