The loss of a limb represents a big change for a diabetes patient. Patients with diabetes might have to cope with amputation because of the complications with that condition already.

For that reason, most people with diabetes are looking for ways to decrease their amputation risk. Taking a medication that enhances those dangers could increase the risk for any patients who are classified as high-risk already.

Invokamet and Invokana side effects have become prominent in recent years after multiple research projects indicate a higher risk of lower limb amputation. These drugs contain the generic drug, canagliflozin.

Some hospital medical groups and physicians are trying to remove patients from Invokana and Invokamet after results from a cardiovascular outcome trial identified that it doubled the risk of a person having a lower limb amputated.

A number of different policy shifts have been developed in health care organizations associated with drugs like Invokamet and Invokana. Some physicians have begun switching patients to other diabetes medications, particularly if that patient has high risk factors like a previous amputation.

Additionally, some consumers have already chosen to investigate their legal options to pursue compensation as a result of amputations.

According to A Sweet Life, six academic researchers looked at the outcomes from two different studies including one that involved a clinical trial prior to the drug’s approval by the FDA in 2015. One of those studies indicated that patients had a twice as high chance of suffering from a lower limb amputation, such as losing a toe or a foot while taking their diabetes medication as recommended.

The second study was a post-market study required by that same agency in order to identify the cardiovascular risks from the drug. Although that study identified that the drug reduced the chances of a major cardiovascular event over the course of five years, the risk of amputation was high with Invokamet and Invokana side effects.

When comparing those patients taking Invokana versus a placebo, amputations of the forefoot and the toes occurred approximately twice as often. Some other amputations required a cut above the ankle.

Additional clinical trials and data collection may still be carried out as a result of these outcomes. Any patients who are concerned about the possibility of facing an amputation risk are recommended to speak to their physician immediately.

Those patients who are already at risk of undergoing amputations should be especially concerned about the risk factors associated with taking Invokamet and Invokana.

The FDA required a boxed warning for Invokana side effects in May 2017. A black box warning is required by the FDA when patients need to be aware of serious problems and side effects. The black box warning is also intended to advise physicians about the risks so a proper decision can be made about benefits versus dangers. Any black box warning highlights the severity of potential issues patients could experience.

Other treatment options may be more appropriate than Invokamet and Invokana for those patients in high risk categories.