Qtern®

What is Qtern?

Qtern is an oral antidiabetic treatment that contains two complementary active ingredients. It’s used to treat type-2 diabetes – a condition that usually develops in adulthood as a result of either your pancreas being unable to produce as much insulin as it should, or your cells losing sensitivity to insulin (or both).

Insulin is an essential hormone for regulating your blood sugar because it takes the glucose (sugar) you eat from your blood and helps to store it in your cells to be used as energy. If your body doesn’t produce or use insulin properly, it can lead to hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) which can cause long term problems to your health.

Sometimes your blood sugar levels can be controlled with diet and exercise alone, but when this doesn’t work treatments are recommended. Qtern isn’t usually a first-line treatment for diabetes – it’s typically only prescribed when monotherapies (single ingredient treatments such as metformin) haven’t been enough to maintain low blood sugar levels for you.

How does Qtern work?

Qtern’s two active ingredients work together to lower your blood sugar levels. Saxagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor, prevents the breakdown of incretin – a hormone that stimulates insulin secretion. This then causes incretin to stay active in your system for longer, which increases both your basal and mealtime insulin secretion.

The other active ingredient, dapagliflozin, is an SGLT-2 inhibitor – which works by increasing the amount of glucose that gets excreted in your urine. It does this by blocking the action of a protein responsible for the reabsorption of glucose in your kidneys. This also creates a diuretic effect – reducing your blood pressure and improving your heart’s health (alongside lowering your blood sugar).

What doses of Qtern are there?

There’s only one dose of Qtern, which has 5mg of saxagliptin and 10mg of dapagliflozin. You might be advised to take a different amount of tablets per day depending on your condition, which will change your daily ‘dose’.

How to take Qtern

You should always take Qtern exactly as prescribed by our doctor.

The recommended dose is one tablet per day, which should be swallowed whole with a glass of water.

You can take Qtern with or without food, and although it doesn’t need to be taken at the same time each day, you might find it easier to remember to take it if you do.

How long does it take Qtern to work?

In the short-term, Qtern typically reaches peak concentrations in your system within two hours.^[1] So it should start lowering your blood sugar levels quickly, but it will usually take at least a few weeks for your HbA1c (the test of your average blood sugar levels over the last 2-3 months) to decrease.

If your diabetes doesn’t give you a lot of symptoms, you might not feel much different from taking Qtern, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be working to help your condition.

What should I do if I make a mistake when taking Qtern?

If you accidentally take more Qtern than you should’ve done, seek medical help straight away.

If you forget to take your dose of Qtern, you can take it when you remember – so long as it isn’t too close to your next dose. If it is, simply skip that dose and carry on as normal. Don’t double up on doses to make up for missed ones.