For the past seven years, a number of patients diagnosed with type-2 diabetes have been prescribed an oral medication known as Onglyza to treat their condition.

Along with diet and exercise, Onglyza has helped balance blood sugar levels in many type-2 diabetics where other medications were unsuccessful.

One of the main draws of Onglyza use is that it effectively regulates blood sugar without causing hypoglycemia as many other medications do.

Also, patients taking Onglyza do not gain as much weight as others do taking different type-2 diabetes medications to treat the condition.

While the medication can be very helpful for some, it is clearly not without Onglyza complaints.

For some, the Onglyza complaints are mild and transitory, resolving soon after the body becomes accustomed to the medication.

However, for others, Onglyza complaints include very serious conditions that can be more serious than the diabetes itself.

Onglyza’s Method of Action in the Body

Onglyza (saxagliptin) differs from other oral medications used to treat diabetes. Its predecessors worked to treat diabetes by helping the pancreas secrete more insulin and decrease the amount of glucose produced by the liver.

Onglyza inhibits the breakdown of GLP-1, a compound that naturally occurs in the body. By preventing breakdown, the body is allowed to retain the compound. It then lowers the levels of blood glucose when it is elevated, and not indiscriminately, like other diabetes medications.

Overall, Onglyza and other drugs in its class appear to be better at balancing glucose levels overall.

Onglyza Complaints: Severe Side Effects

While Onglyza has been successful for many patients who were not otherwise helped by other oral diabetes medications, Onglyza complaints of severe side effects have patients and physicians second-guessing the use of the drug.

Specifically, Onglyza complaints surrounding severe side effects focus on an increased risk of heart failure and problems with the pancreas, namely pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

Onglyza Complaints of Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Cancer

It wasn’t long after Onglyza was on the market that the FDA issued a warning about Onglyza in the increased risk of developing pancreatitis associated with the drug’s use. The FDA issued a warning in 2011, just one year after the drug was released.

It is assumed that because the drug stimulates the cells in the pancreas, it can cause inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is sometimes a precursor to pancreatic cancer, as information can cause changes cells of the pancreas.

Onglyza Complaints of Heart Failure

Following a number of Onglyza complaints of heart failure resulting from the drug’s use, the FDA issued a warning in 2015 that Onglyza carried an increased risk of heart failure.

Not to be confused with a heart attack, heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot keep up with the body’s demands for blood. A number of patients have been hospitalized due to heart failure following Onglyza use.

Filing Onglyza Complaints against the Drug Manufacturer

If you or a loved one has taken Onglyza and has developed heart failure or problems with the pancreas, including pancreatitis, you may be able to take legal action against the manufacturer. An experienced Onglyza attorney can review your case at no charge and can help explain your legal options to you.