• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2026 Survey »

Anyone on the Ascend Plus trial?

Su8 said:
Oh well done you - just a thought but charity shops are great for getting clothes you're only going to wear for a short while - then you can happily donate them back when they get too big and everybody wins. Keep posting.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've been visiting them. Picked up a pair that are so not size 16, whatever they say - I'll have to take them back. Nearest shop is happy to receive my too-big trousers, and tells me their own summer stock will be being put up during the week, so I'll take a bag down tomorrow.
 
Update: I bought 2 pairs of cheapo size 16 trousers on Amazon, not quite believing they would go anywhere near me - and they are now too big! Weight this morning 78.85 kg!

I was going to come on here and ask when I could expect the next 6-pack of tablets, as I've just started the penultimate one, and will finish those before the end of our upcoming holiday - I'll take the last pack with me, of course, but was concerned about the replacement. And before I got round to it, I got an email saying it had been posted, and they arrived next day!
 
Melenee said:
I am 2 weeks into 7mg and am absolutely miserable, the nausea is so bad often retching. I don't think it is worth it if it makes us miserable. I have spoken to my doctor about anti nausea tablets as ginger, or eating small amounts regularly doesn't work. Let's hope the anti nausea tablets work
Click to expand...
Hi, I am two years into my trial and definitely on the placebo as I don’t get the symptoms I had at the start. I am prescribed ondansetron as I get nausea with gallbladder issues. They were a life saver for the nausea with the first lot of real semaglutide. A lot of doctors won’t prescribe them as they’re expensive (what a paramedic told me when I had sepsis but he said they are the gold star of anti nausea meds) but if you can get them they’re definitely a help, especially if you are on the semaglutide.
 
I did find after 2 weeks on 7mg the nausea became manageable but I was very lucky in not getting bad side effects. It's a bigger leap to 14mg so if the anti-nausea pills help, you might want to speak to the ascend plus team about staying at 7mg in two months time. They're very helpful.
 
Now, here's an interesting development. Just before I went on holiday I had my regular screening for diabetic retinopathy. Always before they have said I am developing it and they need to keep an eye on it, come back in six weeks/three months/six months, etc. But this time, the letter that was waiting for me when I came back from holiday said there were no signs of it, and I needn't come back for another year! I did have an operation to remove an epiretinal membrane last summer, but I was screened fairly soon afterwards with the usual result. I have checked with the AIs, who say that it can heal spontaneously if one's diabetes is better managed - I can only assume that with the oral semaglutide, this is exactly what has happened! Has anybody else had a similar experience?
 
Last edited:
Mrs Redboots said:
Now, here's an interesting development. Just before I went on holiday I had my regular screening for diabetic retinopathy. Always before they have said I am developing it and they need to keep an eye on it, come back in six weeks/three months/six months, etc. But this time, the letter that was waiting for me when I came back from holiday said there were no signs of it, and I needn't come back for another year! I did have an operation to remove an epiretinal membrane last summer, but I was screened fairly soon afterwards with the usual result. I have checked with the AIs, who say that it can heal spontaneously if one's diabetes is better managed - I can only assume that with the oral semaglutide, this is exactly what has happened! Has anybody else had a similar experience?
Click to expand...
The results of my diabetic eye screening vary year by year. My own optician is scathing about them, saying that a) he's seen no damage at all and b) the people reading the scans are not as well trained as he is. The diabetes team gave me the scare story (because don't they love those) that diabetic retinopathy is progressive and irreversible. The way that I keep getting positive and negative results, and the reassurance from my own optician, doesn't seem to back that up
 
tioca said:
The results of my diabetic eye screening vary year by year. My own optician is scathing about them, saying that a) he's seen no damage at all and b) the people reading the scans are not as well trained as he is. The diabetes team gave me the scare story (because don't they love those) that diabetic retinopathy is progressive and irreversible. The way that I keep getting positive and negative results, and the reassurance from my own optician, doesn't seem to back that up
Click to expand...
Yes, and they never seem to agree on how to do the scan. Some people just take a couple of photos (and will turn the flash down at your request, although one refused point-blank and, I think, turned it up to its fullest, which was most unpleasant); others take half a dozen. On one infamous occasion, the technician came rushing after me and said it hadn't saved properly and was all to do again, and she was one that took at least a dozen photos of each eye.... Oh well, I'm as glad that they _do_ scan - better safe than sorry, after all, and I don't have to go back for another year. And after last summer and early autumn was pretty much a wash-out due to various eye operations and convalescence therefrom, I'm glad for a break!

Annual health check on Monday week - first I've had since being on the trial. Looking forward to the results of my blood tests!
 
AllieRainbow said:
I remember feeling absolutely gutted once I realised it must be the placebo, when it was really working for me. I will still be filling in questionaires for the duration fo the trial although I withdrew from the trial once I realised it was the placebo from the CGM results over several weeks.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I personally think the trial was badly designed, for those of us who were given insight into what was possible and then had it taken away. I knew that this could happen when I started the trial, but I didn't expect to feel so good on the run-in drugs. I now feel much more dissatisfied that if I'd never tried it. I believe they could have run the trial in a way that didn't give us hope, then dashed our hopes by taking away a medication that many of us have no means of accessing again.

I am still battling on all fronts to try to get it prescribed on the NHS, but if that fails I'm on online pharmacy waitlists for when it's approved for weight loss in a few week's time (under a different name). However I'm still unsure, even if I can afford it, who will provide overall care for my T2D if I get it privately. I doubt the useless "diabetes specialists" at my GP practice will offer any support.

Ultimately, my mental and physical health comes first. I've seen what can be achieved and I'm angry at how those of us on the placebo have been treated. Perhaps I should have known better. I was also part of a breast cancer screening trial. I was judged to be at high risk based on their scoring system and was given annual mammograms. The trial has ended and there is no path on the NHS for annul mammograms (despite a strong family history) because my local authority uses a different risk score to the clinical trial and to other health authorities. So all I've been left with is the knowledge I'm deemed high risk by a more advanced scoring system, but with no ongoing support. I question the ethics of these trials where you're given knowledge but no support.
 
tioca said:
I am still battling on all fronts to try to get it prescribed on the NHS, but if that fails I'm on online pharmacy waitlists for when it's approved for weight loss in a few week's time (under a different name). However I'm still unsure, even if I can afford it, who will provide overall care for my T2D if I get it privately. I doubt the useless "diabetes specialists" at my GP practice will offer any support.
.
Click to expand...
Your local pharmacy may well offer support - mine does. I don't think the major chains do, but if you have a local pharmacy that's not part of a chain, or only a few branches, it's well worth enquiring. I do agree that this trial is poorly designed, as it's too obvious who is on the drug and who isn't!
 
Frustration - they have published all the results of my tests earlier in the week except the one I really wanted to know, which was my HbAC1! I'll have to wait to speak to the doctor on Monday. Grrr. However, have officially lost 10kg over the past year (12 kg over the past 2 years), so I'll take that as a win for the oral semaglutide. All the same, could have done without a hypo before breakfast this morning - I suppose because of the heat.
 
tioca said:
Ditto. I personally think the trial was badly designed, for those of us who were given insight into what was possible and then had it taken away. I knew that this could happen when I started the trial, but I didn't expect to feel so good on the run-in drugs. I now feel much more dissatisfied that if I'd never tried it. I believe they could have run the trial in a way that didn't give us hope, then dashed our hopes by taking away a medication that many of us have no means of accessing again.

I am still battling on all fronts to try to get it prescribed on the NHS, but if that fails I'm on online pharmacy waitlists for when it's approved for weight loss in a few week's time (under a different name). However I'm still unsure, even if I can afford it, who will provide overall care for my T2D if I get it privately. I doubt the useless "diabetes specialists" at my GP practice will offer any support.

Ultimately, my mental and physical health comes first. I've seen what can be achieved and I'm angry at how those of us on the placebo have been treated. Perhaps I should have known better. I was also part of a breast cancer screening trial. I was judged to be at high risk based on their scoring system and was given annual mammograms. The trial has ended and there is no path on the NHS for annul mammograms (despite a strong family history) because my local authority uses a different risk score to the clinical trial and to other health authorities. So all I've been left with is the knowledge I'm deemed high risk by a more advanced scoring system, but with no ongoing support. I question the ethics of these trials where you're given knowledge but no support.
Click to expand...

Two years plus, I had great results on the run in tablets and felt great increased energy, lower blood sugars, but unfortunately I am on the placebo. I am so disappointed and back with high blood sugars, feeling sluggish etc.
Because my BMI is 19.5 no chance of getting the medication through GP or privately frustrating to know there is something to lower blood sugars and make me feel human again but it’s out of my reach.
I can’t help wonder what happens to diabetes on this treatment if they become BMI normal do they get taken off it.
I will stick with trial to the end even on placebo in hope the results give benefit to others in the future
 
Do you still bother to take the tablet?
I stopped after about 6 months as I couldn’t see the point.
The run in was great for my blood sugar results.
My BMI is 27 so might be allowed on the tablet or injection but not been offered yet.
 
Royboy64 said:
Do you still bother to take the tablet?
I stopped after about 6 months as I couldn’t see the point.
The run in was great for my blood sugar results.
My BMI is 27 so might be allowed on the tablet or injection but not been offered yet.
Click to expand...

Yes still taking the tablet, complete waste of time but I signed up to 5 years so will continue in hope the results of trial helps people in the future.
I do think as I know I am on placebo it should be possible to stop taking the pill and remain on the study
 
Royboy64 said:
Do you still bother to take the tablet?
I stopped after about 6 months as I couldn’t see the point.
The run in was great for my blood sugar results.
My BMI is 27 so might be allowed on the tablet or injection but not been offered yet.
Click to expand...
A consideration in studies like this is that they need enough people to keep taking the placebo so that they can validate the results. They need validated results so they can justify prescribing the medication in the future for the patients who might benefit from it.

I really feel for those of you who benefited from the run in drugs and now reckon you are getting the placebo but the whole point of medical trials is that they need as many people as possible to keep taking their meds, whether placebo or not. (I'm not on this trial but have been on several other ones for various medications.)
 
theresaxx said:
Yes still taking the tablet, complete waste of time but I signed up to 5 years so will continue in hope the results of trial helps people in the future.
I do think as I know I am on placebo it should be possible to stop taking the pill and remain on the study
Click to expand...
Do you still wait 30mins before food?
Benefit reducing my blood sugar was great do miss that
 
tioca said:
Ditto. I personally think the trial was badly designed, for those of us who were given insight into what was possible and then had it taken away. I knew that this could happen when I started the trial, but I didn't expect to feel so good on the run-in drugs. I now feel much more dissatisfied that if I'd never tried it. I believe they could have run the trial in a way that didn't give us hope, then dashed our hopes by taking away a medication that many of us have no means of accessing again.
..... I question the ethics of these trials where you're given knowledge but no support.
Click to expand...
I found the run-in OK and noticeably effective. I eventually found the 14mg dose was to powerful for me - no way was it a placebo. I lost over 10% of my body weight.
I asked the Ascend team to put me on 7mg - which they might have done - although I now suspect that I am on Placebo 7mg. My weight has increased, but I am still 5Kg less than before Ascend+.

I accept that for a Double Blind Trial a large fraction of participants might be on a Placebo or a reduced masking dose. After all the trial is not treatment and the objective is to look at long term cardiac and stroke reduction.

Hopefully at he end of the period - if I survive - Oral semi-glutamide agonists will become available one way or another
 
They say it's 50:50 whether you are on the placebo or not. Thankfully I'm on the real thing, and have lost 11 kg since I started on the run-in a year ago. However, that's not what they want to measure - the idea is to see whether you have a heart attack or a stroke while on the medication or even on the placebo. So, although it's a bore, if you are on the placebo it's as well to go on taking the tablets, or, if you don't want to, to discuss with them about remaining on the trial, so that they can compare the health of those who are on oral semaglutide with those who aren't.
 
JohnN6 said:
I found the run-in OK and noticeably effective. I eventually found the 14mg dose was to powerful for me - no way was it a placebo. I lost over 10% of my body weight.
I asked the Ascend team to put me on 7mg - which they might have done - although I now suspect that I am on Placebo 7mg. My weight has increased, but I am still 5Kg less than before Ascend+.

I accept that for a Double Blind Trial a large fraction of participants might be on a Placebo or a reduced masking dose. After all the trial is not treatment and the objective is to look at long term cardiac and stroke reduction.

Hopefully at he end of the period - if I survive - Oral semi-glutamide agonists will become available one way or another
Click to expand...
You should be able tell by the taste in your mouth.
Tablets are available now.
 
Back
Top