VICTOZA users

[Nilla]

Re: VICTOZA

Hubby started on 1.2 on Tuesday was sick Wednesday all day, felt fine yesterday and is still fine, his bloods are great but he is having to make himself eat as its really taken his appetite.

Chris try ginger biscuits

 

[Chris171262]

Re: VICTOZA

Today for the 1st time I don`t feel sick How nice is that have had some egg on toast and still dont feel sick

I still have the sore throat and bad cough which is all part of the side affects according to Dr :?

Blood sugar was 7.8 this morning as well so even that is better yesterday it was still above 10 :!:

Have I turned a corner :?: and will it all return when my dose increases :evil:

Well i have till the 16th then Dr will decide if I have to go on next level........

 

[xxxleonadxxx]

Re: VICTOZA

Hi all,

I have not been on-line in a while and have been tardy in my keeping up with the site (sorry lol).

Anyway, after trying VERY hard to sustain taking victoza it looks like its yet another failure for me. Blood levels are still high, insulin doses still high, still taking loadsa metformin, gliclazide and everything else the hospital pharmacy can ram into my already rattling body ....... Byetta failed dismally and I had high hopes for victoza but no luck.

They say I have both type 1 and type 2 (i'm greedy lol) AND to add insult to injury i'm ALLERGIC to insulins (all of 'em) and can only just tolerate lantus (with lots of other meds to combat the reactions) .... I am now seriously overweight, seriously depressed, sickened off by an employer who believes that I am bionic and refuses to allow reasonable time off for my appointments (I have used nearly all my annual leave already booooo).

My consultant is stuck .... and i've gave up!!!!!!

I had high hopes for victoza but have experienced every side effect it has to offer. Sick on a daily basis but still gaining weight too. I struggle everyday with work and have to do a mad dash through 3 locked doors to get to a toilet that I then have to ask for the key too to be sick (graphic sorry). My appetite has not been reduced by victoza, to be honest its actually got worse. I used to be a small eater and lived off my soup ... now, heck I can eat (but deliberately don't :cry: ). I can no longer go to the gym as I almost pass out doing even the simplest of exercises. I still walk everyday and climb 6 flights of stairs at least 6 times a day. My joints have started to hurt and this is a new thing, docs just say it'll be fine.

Quite literally I'm now falling apart (sounds dramatic I know) I am struggling with dealing with all my issues and feeling as though no-one is listening, however I know that they are and are just struggling with how best to progress.

I also have a private prescription which I take for 'off label' use, I have stopped taking this as the price of my prescription has gone to £100 every 4 weeks now ..... and I refuse to pay that for something which I don't even think is working

Sorry for the rant folks .......

 

[Nilla]

Re: VICTOZA

I'm sorry its not working for you, I guess it won't suit all the people that take it.

Hubbys sugars dropped really low so we were told to drop a Glicazide and if they went back up to add it again so I am now playing around with dropping it morning or night, dropped the night one and his sugars went up a bit so trying dropping it in the morning this week. His side effects from Victoza have gone and he has gained a bit more appetite and says he feels better than he has for a long time, indeed he stripped a room and mowed the large lawn yesterday so alls good.

i know what you mean about your employer hubby has had a written final warning for taking the 2 weeks off ill and for going home early when he felt really ill, his employer refuses to let him have time off for blood tests so he has to use holiday entitlement as well.

 

[cugila]

Re: VICTOZA

Leona.
I'm sorry to hear that things aren'ty working out for you. It is a shame that neither Byetta or Victoza seem to be working for you. I would like you to answer a question for me, please don't be offended.

Can you post a typical days diet. Your food and drink intake with timings, quantities etc. There may be something in that detail that can help us offer you some better advice. I have noted in some of your previous posts that you don't seem to be eating regularly......that in itself will not be good for your blood glucose control. I am just interested to see what exactly is going on here.

Ken

 

[xxxleonadxxx]

Re: VICTOZA

Hi Ken,

My food intake is quite erratic and i am the first to admit that my eating patterns are far from regular.

I have learnt over the last wee while that carbs hate me but that I also need to eat some.

A typical day for me would be:

Brekkie: fruit (usually around 9 - 9:30) - consisting of oranges or melon (sometimes both lol)
Lunch: Soup (usually 12:30 - 1:30) - will either vary between cup-a-soups, homemade or tomato. I'm not very good at varying my lunch. I snack on carrot sticks and once n a while I have a yogurt
Dinner: chicken or ham salad. Possibly fish but I have to be in the mood lol :wink:

This would be a good day for me in the eating stakes. In a day where I feel ****** (which is to be fair more often than not now :? ) I probably won't eat at all.

Today has been one of those days, I just don't feel like eating. I try to eat but it just doesn't happen

 

[xxxleonadxxx]

Re: VICTOZA

bit of premature posting there ........ lol

I have spoken with my dietician and also my consultant. My diet is not one of their major concerns. they are happy with what I eat, just feel that I should eat a bit more (go figure getting told to eat more lol)

I used to (and still do every so often) get the specially prepared meals delivered to the house and controlled my intakes this way, but to be fair this got boring and I just couldn't eat what they sent too :roll:

I just cannot find a happy medium at all boooooo.

 

[Nilla]

Re: VICTOZA

I am not a professional at all with diets just someone who has to deal with people after death but from what I can see your diet is almost starvation! Your body is probably thinking you are starving and thats why you arent losing weight, I would eat more if you could.
Hubbys typical food for the day is
Brekkie - Brown bread with cheese in as hes driving at that point, banana or other peie of fruit
Lunch - Salad mixed with tuna or ham, small bag of crisps and a yoghurt
Tea - usually meat or fish with veggies and a few new potatos or a jacket spud, sometimes a few chips. or Spag bol, Shepherds pie, casserole etc

 

[cugila]

Re: VICTOZA

bit of premature posting there ........ lol

I have spoken with my dietician and also my consultant. My diet is not one of their major concerns. they are happy with what I eat, just feel that I should eat a bit more (go figure getting told to eat more lol)

I used to (and still do every so often) get the specially prepared meals delivered to the house and controlled my intakes this way, but to be fair this got boring and I just couldn't eat what they sent too :roll:

I just cannot find a happy medium at all boooooo.

I have to disagree with your HCP's. If there is no other medical reason then your diet may need some attention. If they are telling you to eat to the NHS 'healthy diet' it might just not be right for you. I found that after years of eating the NHS way, getting worse and worse BG control and fatter by the minute........it was that dietary advice that was virtually killing me !

Once I ditched it and went my own way, I improved dramatically and Bg levels, weight, fitness, vitality all improved quickly and without too much effort. Carbohydrates are the things that need to be reduced......this isn't low carbing as in high fat, just reducing the things that cause much of peoples problems. Fruit has to be carefully controlled as they will have an effect on your levels.

You HAVE to eat more regularly. By not eating or eating too little this in itself will cause your body to 'liver dump' throughout the day and increase your Bg levels even with no food.

I really do think you need to sit down and start a food diary. Enter every item you eat and drink, with the correct carb values. Weigh everything to get accurate figures. Take Bg readings before and after meals (1 and 2 hrs) . Then compare those readings and you will see exactly what is going on.

I can't offer much more advice than that. If the advice that Sue and I gave you earlier isn't working for you.....maybe somebody else has some other ideas ?

Ken

 

[Nilla]

Re: VICTOZA

Hubby is now on week 4 of Victoza and his blood sugars are always below 5 even 2 hours after eating, he has dropped from 4 glicazide a day to just one at night and I am wondering if that one is one too many. A few mornings I have woken up to the bed shaking as he was having a hypo, he is struggling to eat a lot on Victoza but if taken off it he will start eating silly I think and have problems again. He now craves very tasty foods and from a person who hated lasagna he now asks for one lol.

Just wondered if his blood sugars are going too low as we are newish to all this

 

[Jude]

Re: VICTOZA

Is anyone one the 1.8 dose of Victoza?

I am now in my fourth week on Victoza and have tolerated it quite well. I am feeling much better in myself but feel that although my fasting numbers have decreased, the numbers in the day and evening are staying elevated. The diabetic nurse told me that the Consultant has to agree the higher dose and I am not seeing him until 13th October. Advices please.

Jude

 

[clairy clutterbuck]

Re: VICTOZA

Hi all, apologies for not being on for a couple of months but have been rather poorly on and off. I wanted to post an update as I have been on victoza for 8 months now and as one of the longer users thought it might be helpful to say how I am getting on. I had my most recent results last month: HBAC1 down from 8.4 to 5.9. Cholesterol 5.4 down to 4.5. Blood pressure 140/80 down to 120/65. Weight dropped from 133kg to 116kg which is a 38lbs loss. (although I was 168kg and got to 133kg before the victoza). One of my friends called me skinny (ok so she is a good friend :wink: ) and another said I now have a tiny ass (an even better friend :lol: ) Thyroid levels have dropped to 0.6 from 1.8 so am watching that.

All the side effects have now gone apart from I am still being sick very regularly with severe stomach pain and I feared I would have to come off victoza. Having been on it a while I have had a chance to work out the main causes and one of them is misjudging the quantity I am eating. Most days I have very little but sometimes I can manage a little more, eat out and get yakking and forget how much I have had, or just fancy something inbetween meals and almost immediately I have tipped over the edge the pain starts and off I rush. Certain foods are also a trigger. This is just me though and I appreciate it may not be the same for all.

The docs also think a contributory factor to the sickness in my case is a rather large umbilical hernia which has become more exposed as I have lost weight and they think that when I exercise or do gardening etc it twists and because the victoza releases the food in the stomach more slowly and there is more in the stomach and the only way out is UP!! lol So the exciting news is they are fixing this on 4th October and as I have now lost over 8 stone they are doing a tummy tuck as well and the even better news is I should lose over 2 stone overnight!! way hay!! The consultant thinks it will also help improve my diabetes.

Without victoza none of this would be happening so although I have suffered side effects I wont be giving up the victoza until my weight is all off and then I might switch to something else if the sickness doesnt ease. Skinny I might not be but skinny is coming soon!! Glad to hear most people are having such great results and to those who have a few problems good luck and try and persevere. Sorry this is a long chatty email but I can type as fast as I can talk - not good :lol:

 

[Jackie1966]

Re: VICTOZA

Hi and good morning to you all,
Today I will be increasing my Victoza dose to 1.8 from 1.6.
But, as it is such a small increase will I notice any difference do you think?
The reason for the increase is I'm finding the appetite suppressent side of the injection to be hardly noticeable for me, and I've not lost any weight for about a month now.
Do you think upping it will help things?
Thank you,
Jackie

 

[Type2rider]

Re: VICTOZA

Good morning all,
I have started on the lower dose of Victoza 2 days ago. The results were noticable straight away.
I almost had a hypo last night :cry: I have to adjust my diamicron and glucophage to avoid this.
My average blood sugar yesterday was 6/7 with a low at 3.9.
I feel slighty sick and feel my digestion has slowed down. So far so good I hope I can tolerate it and loose weight. I go for a walk after diner every night and it helps.
I'm a bit worried about going for a cycle tomorrow. I will see how it will work.
Good luck to everybody and we will all get get our diabetes under control keep , keep fighting people!

Fred Legrand
---------------
Type2rider

 

[Hobs]

Re: VICTOZA

Hi and good morning to you all,
Today I will be increasing my Victoza dose to 1.8 from 1.6.
But, as it is such a small increase will I notice any difference do you think?
The reason for the increase is I'm finding the appetite suppressent side of the injection to be hardly noticeable for me, and I've not lost any weight for about a month now.
Do you think upping it will help things?
Thank you,
Jackie

To rise in dose from 1.2 to 1.8 is actually a 50% increase being a rise of 0.6 ( there are only 3 calibrated dosages on each pen... 0.6, 1.2, and 1.8)

Some notice significant weight loss and some not so significant, while others notice almost no weight loss whatsoever. The most important effect of Victoza for the majority is the reduction in BG readings and any other beneficial effects are a bonus. The important thing for you other than better BG is to use what appetite suppressant value there is to make sure you do not gain any further weight: But I hope that the 1.8 dose will suit you better and slow weight reduction becomes a reality. Weight that comes off too quickly all too often creeps back on, where slow reduction usually stays off

Good luck and please come back in a few weeks and let us all know how the increased dose is affecting you.

 

[Jude]

Re: VICTOZA

Would somebody please reply to my question of yesterday.

Thank you. Jude

 

[clairy clutterbuck]

Re: VICTOZA

Hi Jude, I am no expert on the dosages but having read through some of the older posts again from the beginnng to refresh myself on how everyone is getting on it looks as though a lot of people have been told the effectiveness of a 1.8 dose and a 1.2 dose are similar so not many have been put on a 1.8 dose. I am sure one of the moderators will be able to advise but have a read through all the pages, takes a while but there is so many interesting comments and so much advice.

 

[videopro]

Re: VICTOZA

Re: VICTOZA
by Jude » August 26th, 2010, 4:38 pm

Is anyone one the 1.8 dose of Victoza?

I am now in my fourth week on Victoza and have tolerated it quite well. I am feeling much better in myself but feel that although my fasting numbers have decreased, the numbers in the day and evening are staying elevated. The diabetic nurse told me that the Consultant has to agree the higher dose and I am not seeing him until 13th October. Advices please.

JudeJude

My DB Consultant refused to up my dose from 1.2 to 1.8. Instead She has put me onto a Pioglitazone tablet a day, aswell as my 4 Metformin per day

 

[Hobs]

Re: VICTOZA

Anyone else suffering with facial spots and a few hidden in the head hair??

I started to get them within a few days of starting the Victoza but was assured it was simply my system's reaction and they would slowly decrease and disappear as time passed. Well mine have NOT!
OK, its really only a minor irritant I suppose and a tad unpleasant to look closely in the mirror, but I was hoping to have been able to shave the beard off by now, as I'm months down the line.

 

[vivkaroo]

Re: VICTOZA

hi jude long time no speak sorry hey well pleased for you your on our team eh i read your previous notes well i have dropped down to 0.6 for a couple of week i was told dont ever use the 1.8 unless told by specialist apparently my dn said not meant go on 1.8 i am back hopefully on 1.2 next week you no my past history of byetta etc but my stomache started to swell but think it was a bug hopefully feel ok now dont think it was the victoza i have never felt sick at all on victoza still kept stone 4lbs off feel good just a slight hiccup i feel but hey you keep going jude but dont watever you do dont take 1.8 without the specialist permission that was what i was told we keep fighting on dont we my bloods are 5 to 7 (8/9 at the most so i dont worry too much did another course on diabetus interesting learnt a lot just had my little grandson 5 for few days bit tired hope things are real good for you jude you keep chin up hun you take care jude lots love vivkaroo (patsy) xxxx