Victoza versus insulin

soraya73

Member
Messages
6
Hi

My mum has had Diabetes Type 2 for around 30 years, she is, at the moment, on metformin and other oral medication. However, she has been advised to go on to Victoza. I have been researching this drug online and I am still- after trawling the internet- unsure whether this is a wonder drug or not. I understand it is a relatively new medication and therefore the long term effects are unknown, but the risks of pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and thyroid cancer does concern me.

Now I believe the only other alternative is Insulin and I did ask the nurse why she should take Victoza and not go straight to insulin, but I never really got to the bottom of the why. Do you think Victoza is a good option? Would going straight to insulin be more problematic?

thanks
 

Sparklygal

Active Member
Messages
33
Hi there soraya. Is your mum overweight? victoza can help some people get weight off because it slows down the absorption of food in the gut making you feel fuller for longer. Is your mum's blood sugar under control? victoza can help with this too. it's not for everyone though like most drugs, some people get very sick on it. I had nausea for the first week or two then it settled down.
 

soraya73

Member
Messages
6
Yes it appears some people love the results and some people have really bad side effects (though I believe they tend to go after a few weeks).

I still dont understand why Victoza is recommended and not insulin though. Is insulin harder to administer? or is it purely because Victoza aids weight loss?
 

Sparklygal

Active Member
Messages
33
Maybe they want to see how she gets on with victoza before trying insulin. it may be that they see insulin as a last resort kinda thing? Personally I'd rather take victoza than insulin as it can cause you to gain weight which is the last thing i need. How does you mum feel about it all?
 

soraya73

Member
Messages
6
My mum is really undecided and I feel really bad for causing her indecision, as I was the one who researched Victoza on the internet and found the articles stating the long term possible risks.

At the moment I think she may go ahead and try it, but obviously the potential long term diseases linked to Victoza are not great. Having said that, I believe the studies are not 100% conclusive so as with many new(ish) drugs it's all a bit of a gamble.
 

BlindFaith

Well-Known Member
Messages
260
I've been using Victoza for about 5-6 weeks now and although my HbA1c has gone from 118 to 83 (13%-10%) my daily BG levels when tested at home using my meter are still in the teens with an occasional high teen/twenties number.

I will say that it's done nothing for my weight at all but I'm being kept on it because of the HbA1c result.
 

soraya73

Member
Messages
6
Thanks for your replies. My mum has an appointment tomorrow. The thing is she tests her blood before breakfast and it is generally around 5 after lunch it is around 4.5- 5.5 and before bed it is around 3.5 surely this is too low and wont victoza lower it even more??