Many people who suffer from type-2 diabetes need medication to help control their symptoms. However, many patients have wondered if the dangerous side effects of Kombiglyze XR are worth the benefits of taking this drug.

What is Kombiglyze XR?

Those with type-2 diabetes often need help in controlling the blood sugar levels in their bodies. There have been many drugs developed to help people suffering from this disease to control their blood sugar levels.

Kombiglyze XR, or saxagliptin and metformin HCl extended release, works by doing several things. It decreases the sugar absorbed in the gut, it increases the amount of insulin produced after the patient eats a meal, it makes the body more sensitive to insulin and it reduces the sugar made by the liver.

Kombiglyze XR was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010 for use with type-2 diabetes patients. It is manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca.

It was reported that during clinical trials for Kombiglyze XR and its very similar drug counterpart, Onglyza, many side effects of the two drugs were reported.

The most commonly reported side effects of Kombiglyze XR or Onglyza were upper respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infections, stomach pain, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, low blood sugar and headache.

But there have been many serious and possibly fatal side effects of Kombiglyze XR that have also been reported.

Serious Side Effects of Kombiglyze XR

The medication insert for Kombiglyze XR lists the following severe side effects as a possibility for those who take the medication: skin reaction, fluid retention, allergic reaction, joint pain, inflammation of the pancreas and heart failure.

Heart failure associated with Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR is a serious possible side effect that has been studied in different clinical trials. One study, the SAVOR study, found a link between saxagliptin (the main drug in Kombiglyze XR) and an increase in heart failure.

This study looked at approximately 16,500 patients tried to determine if saxagliptin could help prevent heart conditions as well as helping type-2 diabetes patients control their blood sugar. Researchers did not find that saxagliptin helped the heart. Instead, they found an increase in hospitalizations for patients due to heart failure.

Another study, the EXAMINE study, showed that there was in increase in heart-failure related hospitalizations for saxagliptin patients versus those who were given a placebo.

Some researchers believe that those patients who are already at an increased risk of heart failure or whose hearts are in some way compromised, should not be candidates for Onglyza or Kombiglyze XR.

Patients on saxagliptin drugs should watch for heart failure symptoms like the increased need to urinate, dizziness, fatigue and rapid or irregular heartbeat. The side effects of Kombiglyze XR and Onglyza also include serious problems with the pancreas including a possibility of an increase in pancreatic cancer among saxagliptin patients.

If you or someone you love has experienced serious side effects of Kombiglyze XR or Onglyza, you may benefit from contacting an experienced attorney to discuss your legal options.