Short answer: Synjardy is taken twice daily with meals, and Synjardy XR once daily with a morning meal. The starting dose depends on current medicines, with empagliflozin 10 mg a day as the usual total. Empagliflozin can go up to 25 mg a day and metformin up to 2,000 mg a day, raised gradually. Starting is not recommended with an eGFR below 45. A missed dose is taken as soon as possible, without doubling.
This is what the FDA label says. Follow your prescriber. Your prescriber may use a different dose or pace than the label's standard schedule.
What Synjardy is approved for: Synjardy combines empagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, with metformin, a biguanide. Along with diet and exercise it is approved to improve blood sugar control in adults and children 10 years and older with type 2 diabetes; Synjardy XR is for adults (section 1). In adults with type 2 diabetes the empagliflozin part also lowers the risk of heart death in established heart disease, heart death and heart failure hospital stays in heart failure, and kidney decline in chronic kidney disease. It is not recommended for type 1 diabetes.
Source
SYNJARDY (empagliflozin and metformin hydrochloride) tablets and SYNJARDY XR (empagliflozin and metformin hydrochloride extended-release) tablets, for oral use, prescribing information and Medication Guide. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. DailyMed, version published August 27, 2026. DailyMed setid 0fdd0255-0055-65f3-b2c0-db8fbb87beae
Synjardy is taken by mouth twice daily with meals. Synjardy XR is taken once daily with a meal in the morning and swallowed whole, not split, crushed, dissolved or chewed (section 2.2).
Synjardy comes as 5 mg or 12.5 mg empagliflozin with 500 mg or 1,000 mg metformin. Synjardy XR comes as 5, 10, 12.5 or 25 mg empagliflozin with 1,000 mg metformin extended-release (section 3).
Kidney function and fluid status are checked before starting, and fluid loss is corrected first (section 2.1).
The table below is the label's schedule, from the Dosage and Administration section. Numbers are copied exactly; the section is in brackets.
| Switching from | Starting total daily dose |
|---|---|
| Metformin HCl | A similar total daily dosage of metformin HCl and a total daily empagliflozin dosage of 10 mg |
| Empagliflozin | The same total daily dosage of empagliflozin and a total daily metformin HCl dosage of 1,000 mg |
| Empagliflozin and metformin HCl | The same total daily dosages of each component |
| Maximum | Empagliflozin 25 mg and metformin HCl 2,000 mg per day |
The recommended total daily empagliflozin dose is 10 mg. For more blood sugar control it may go to 25 mg in people tolerating 10 mg, and metformin may go to 2,000 mg, raised gradually to reduce stomach side effects.
In children 10 and older, Synjardy (not XR) is taken twice daily with meals, set by the current regimen, up to empagliflozin 25 mg and metformin 2,000 mg a day.
Starting Synjardy is not recommended with an eGFR below 45 mL/min/1.73 m2, and it is contraindicated below 30.
It is stopped at the time of, or before, an iodinated contrast scan with an eGFR below 60, a history of liver disease, alcoholism or heart failure, or intra-arterial contrast. eGFR is rechecked 48 hours after.
It is held for at least 3 days, if possible, before surgery or procedures with long fasting, and restarted once the person is stable and eating and drinking.
Tablets are stored at 20 to 25 C (68 to 77 F), with excursions from 15 to 30 C allowed.
If a dose is missed, it is taken as soon as possible, and the next dose is not doubled. The Medication Guide adds: if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take two doses at the same time.
More on this: missed a dose of Synjardy.
From metformin alone, Synjardy starts at a similar metformin dose plus empagliflozin 10 mg a day. From empagliflozin alone, it starts at the same empagliflozin dose plus metformin 1,000 mg a day. From both, it starts at the same dose of each.
In Dose Track you set up Synjardy as a protocol with the dose and schedule your prescriber gave you. A protocol can hold dose steps, each with its own dose and length in days or weeks, so a step-up plan like the one on the label can be entered once and the app moves to the next step on its own. Reminders follow the schedule, and every dose is logged with the date and time, so you can see which step you are on and when your last dose was. The app follows what you enter; it does not choose or change a dose.
This page is what the FDA label says, in plain words. It is not medical advice. Follow your prescriber, and ask them or your pharmacist about anything here.
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