Can you take Jardiance and Ozempic together?

In this article:

• Can you take Jardiance and Ozempic together?
• Taking Jardiance and Ozempic together
• Is Jardiance or Ozempic better?

In this article

• Can you take Jardiance and Ozempic together?
• Taking Jardiance and Ozempic together
• Is Jardiance or Ozempic better?

Before Ozempic became a hugely popular treatment option for people with Type 2 diabetes, there were drugs like Jardiance—oral medications shown to help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar levels, manage their weight, and reduce their risk of heart disease.

Now, with Ozempic and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists on the market, some healthcare providers are adding these new drugs to existing treatments for people with Type 2 diabetes—combining Ozempic with Jardiance, for example, to maximize the benefits of both medications. 

Ozempic (semaglutide) is an injectable medication taken weekly. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat adults with Type 2 diabetes and to lower the risk of heart attack or stroke in patients with Type 2 diabetes and known heart disease. Ozempic works by changing the way your body processes glucose, slows down digestion, and suppresses appetite, all of which lead to better blood sugar control and more significant weight loss results. 

Jardiance (empagliflozin), on the other hand, works differently. As a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, it stops glucose from being absorbed by the kidneys so your body flushes it out in your urine instead. Because you have less glucose, your body’s blood sugar levels go down—and along with excess glucose, an additional 300 calories are excreted per day, leading to a modest amount of weight loss.

Although the drugs work differently, they have similar effects: both lower blood sugar, aid in weight loss, and have protective effects on your cardiovascular system. But they are part of two different classes of drugs, and it’s considered generally safe to take them together. Here’s how and why they may be combined, and what you can expect if you’re taking them both.

Can you take Jardiance and Ozempic together?

You can take Jardiance and Ozempic together if you and your healthcare provider agree you aren’t seeing the results you want on just one of these drugs. According to Timothy Daniel, MD, internal medicine provider at Village Medical in Pearland, Texas, the current standard of care for people with type 2 diabetes is to consider prescribing two or more different medications if a person’s blood sugar is still high after a certain number of treatment days with a single medication. This is called combination therapy.

For example, someone taking Ozempic or Jardiance who needs additional blood sugar control—especially if they have other health conditions like heart disease or chronic kidney disease (CKD)—can safely add the other medication to their treatment plan and take both drugs at the same time, according to Dr. Daniel. Because they are in two different drug classes and work differently in the body, there’s no significant interaction between them. 

The other good news is that there are no special dosing considerations when combining Ozempic and Jardiance. Dr. Daniel says your healthcare provider will most likely follow the usual dosage schedule for each drug, starting Ozempic at 0.25 milligrams and slowly increasing to 2 milligrams (if you tolerate the drug well at a higher dose), and starting Jardiance at 10 milligrams and moving up to 25 milligrams if needed.

How effective this combination is, however, is still unknown. “Ozempic is a relatively new drug, so much of what is known about how well it works in combination with other drugs, including Jardiance, is based on the clinical experience of healthcare providers,” says Erika Luren, founder of Parasol Aesthetics.

“Finding clinical trials which specifically show results of combining the two is limited or [non-existent],” she explains. “When such exciting results are accomplished off-label and in the real world so quickly, there is lag time [in producing] rigorous statistics in studies to support all the possibilities of [these] medications.”

Taking Jardiance and Ozempic together

We always recommend talking in-depth with your healthcare provider about best practices for combining drugs, but for anyone curious about what to expect when taking Jardiance and Ozempic together, the main concern is the potential for twice as many side effects, says Luren.

On its own, Jardiance side effects include a higher risk of urinary tract infections and yeast infections, while Ozempic side effects include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain. There isn’t much overlap between the two medications in terms of side effects, but taking them together could leave you with more side effects than taking only one drug by itself. 

Taking any two medications that produce a similar effect can magnify the end result. “And taking Jardiance and Ozempic together could cause a ‘double whammy of hypoglycemia,’ so it’s important to monitor your blood sugar when starting or increasing these drugs,” Luren says. Your healthcare provider may instruct you to test your blood sugar at home or be mindful of potential hypoglycemia symptoms like increased heart rate, dizziness, sweating, or anxiety.

If you are experiencing more intense side effects, it may be easier to adjust your Ozempic dosage to find relief. Ozempic side effects can often be mitigated by taking a lower dose of the drug, staying hydrated, and choosing to eat smaller meals that are low in fat and sugar. You can also reduce the risk of side effects from Jardiance by lowering your dose if your healthcare provider recommends it.

If you can get results with lower doses of these medications, though, that’s a good thing: “It’s always best to use as little [medication] as needed to get the desired results and reach your health goals,” Luren says. 

Is Jardiance or Ozempic better?

Both medications are approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, but Luren says there isn’t always a straightforward answer when choosing the best one. You and your healthcare provider need to talk about your current health status as well as the results you’re both hoping to achieve with medication before you decide which one is better.

Ozempic and Jardiance come in different forms (a daily pill and a weekly injection), have different safety profiles, and have different costs. Without insurance, Jardiance costs more than $854 for a one-month supply, and Ozempic costs $1,316 for a one-month supply. 

*Average cost at the time of publication

While both drugs can successfully treat Type 2 diabetes, Luren says Jardiance is better for managing comorbidities like heart disease and CKD, while Ozempic has shown far better weight loss results in recent studies. To determine whether Jardiance or Ozempic is better for you, talk to your healthcare provider.