The diabetes licence

The UK licence covers adults with type 2 diabetes that is not well enough controlled, alongside diet and exercise. Foundayo can be used on its own or with other diabetes medicines. This licence sits apart from the weight management licence. Your assessment should look at your current glucose control, past treatment and wider health.

The ACHIEVE programme supplies the diabetes evidence, and each study used different background treatments. Match each result to the group of people studied. No single HbA1c reduction applies to everyone. The UK tablet strengths on sale also differ from the hard capsules used in the trials.

Your other medicines may need a review

Adding Foundayo to insulin or a sulfonylurea raises the risk of hypoglycaemia. The UK label covers dose changes and blood glucose self-monitoring for these combinations. Plan any change with your diabetes team. Do not change doses on your own because your appetite has dropped.

If you have diabetic retinopathy, you need monitoring for any worsening. A fast improvement in glucose sometimes makes retinopathy worse for a while. Blood pressure, kidney health, fluids and drug interactions also belong in the review, especially if you take several long-term medicines.

Know what to do when you are ill

Your diabetes sick-day plan should cover glucose monitoring, fluids, when to get help and what to do with each prescribed medicine. Each medicine carries its own sick-day advice. Advice about a GLP-1 medicine does not automatically apply to insulin, metformin or an SGLT2 inhibitor.

Get advice promptly for vomiting, being unable to keep fluids down, severe weakness, confusion or other worrying symptoms. If you take insulin, do not stop without medical advice. Take your full medicine list when you seek urgent care so the team can weigh up illness and treatment together.

Judge benefit beyond the scales

HbA1c reflects your average glucose over time. A single glucose reading tells you something different. Weight, symptoms, hypoglycaemia, the effort of treatment and heart risk factors fill in the rest. A medicine that improves one number but causes repeated dangerous lows needs a review.

Keep up routine diabetes care, including eye screening, foot care and the monitoring your team agreed. Losing weight does not remove all risk of complications. If you change treatment privately, send your usual diabetes service an accurate update so reviews and prescriptions stay in step.

When NHS and private clinicians share your diabetes care, agree who orders HbA1c tests, who reviews glucose records and who changes your other medicines. Without a named lead, each service may assume the other has checked an important result, or prescriptions may continue after the plan has changed.

Questions to take to your appointment

Ask which glucose targets and review intervals suit you, whether your insulin or sulfonylurea doses need changing and how to manage illness. Make sure your records state the licensed use, the tablet form and the interaction review.

If a pharmacy supplies glucose monitoring equipment, make sure you know when to use it and how to act on the results. A meter without an agreed plan leads to confusion. Ask your diabetes team which readings call for routine contact, same-day advice or urgent assessment in your situation.

Sources

Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.

  1. Foundayo UK Summary of Product Characteristics medicines.org.uk
  2. Foundayo UK patient information leaflet medicines.org.uk
  3. MHRA UK authorisation announcement gov.uk

Spotted something out of date? Report a mistake.