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Anyone on the Ascend Plus trial?

Hi. Sorry, I haven't had time to read the whole thread. I've just been randomised too and I believe it's the placebo. No bitter taste or anything like there was before. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is actually given the real tablets for the trial. Anyway, it did help me to lose nearly 2 stone and so it won't have been a complete waste.
 
I got an email to complete the randomisation questionaire today, so hopefully I will be getting the first lot of trial tablets soon. Fingers crossed it will be the real thing!
 
Charles T said:
Well done Growler, perseverance paid off and you have given me hope for which I thank you.
For those suffering from constipation I found that a stool softener such as Dulcoease worked for me with a very low dose after the initial course -- follow the instructions. Have lost half a kilo so far and nausea has passed.
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Hello Charles. The one thing I found was eating small meals often and taking half of a travel pill (anti-sickness) if I felt nauseous. I hope you get on with them.
 
Jackie2168 said:
Hi. Sorry, I haven't had time to read the whole thread. I've just been randomised too and I believe it's the placebo. No bitter taste or anything like there was before. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is actually given the real tablets for the trial. Anyway, it did help me to lose nearly 2 stone and so it won't have been a complete waste.
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Hi Jackie. I think I’m on the real thing as the tablets still taste bitter, dropped a lot of weight and my appetite is reduced. You’ve done so well to lose that amount of weight. Has it improved your diabetes results?
 
Since starting the trial again am now on 7mgs. Side effects ok at the moment.
 
Yesterday - Friday - I got the first pack of randomisation tablets. I completed the randomisation questionaire on Monday, so it was very quick. I have taken the first tablet this morning - which will be either the 14mg semaglutide or the placebo.

I have been using a cgm sensor to monitor my progress over the last few weeks, so I should be able to see what the effect is on my BG, and work out which tablet I am on.

I switched to a keto way of eating part way through the run in period, so I can see what effect the 3mg and 7mg had on BG, which was souped up by the switch to keto. I am hopefully having the hbA1c done on Monday, so I should see a good improvement on my previous one.
 
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Bongos said:
Amazing ! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, that is really helpful as there is no indication on the original letter
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On my 2nd day of my 1st bottle of run in tablets, so far no side effects and also no bitter taste when taking tablets. Is it too early to tell if I will get side effects?
 
I think I must be on the real deal as I have noticed a significant drop in calories consumed. My appetite is definitely affected much more than it was on the 7mg run in dose, and BG continues to drop, although a cold I have had for a week did slow it down as I have had raised BG for a few days.

My weight is dropping fairly consistently too. I noticed a drop in weight and BG on the 7mg, nothing on the 3mg. I am now one week into the 5 year trial.
 
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I have been on the trial for 18 months. No side effects. I have found I have lost a little weight - but not a vast amount. However, my appetite for food has diminished, the desire to drink too much wine (!) has disappeared completely and I have halved the amount of insulin I use. Oddly enough there appears to be no method of reporting this to the trial admin. Their reviews comprise my reporting whether or not I have had a heart attack or stroke in the last year.
 
It's interesting that most people get a definite response to the run-in dose of Semaglutide so, when we go on the real trial of drug or placebo, it is pretty obvious which arm we are on. I haven't started on the trial dose yet so it will be interesting to see if I get the real deal or the placebo. Mentally, it will be quite hard to stick with it for so many years if we are convinced that we are taking the placebo. Having said that, some trials have shown that people respond positively even when they have been told that the drug they are taking is a placebo.
 
schrauder said:
It's interesting that most people get a definite response to the run-in dose of Semaglutide so, when we go on the real trial of drug or placebo, it is pretty obvious which arm we are on. I haven't started on the trial dose yet so it will be interesting to see if I get the real deal or the placebo. Mentally, it will be quite hard to stick with it for so many years if we are convinced that we are taking the placebo. Having said that, some trials have shown that people respond positively even when they have been told that the drug they are taking is a placebo.
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Yes, there is also a chance I am on the placebo and I am just thinking it is the real drug. I was thinking that yesterday and decided I will stick with it either way. I feel like it is having an effect so it works. I did not have any side effects that could not be caused by other factors during the run in, and my weightloss has increased since the trial started but other factors could be in play.
 
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I was randomised into the placebo arm and continued to take the tablets for another 8 months until I had to stop them to get my GP to prescribe the real thing. I do other medical research and thought it was important to carry on with the placebo to give them comparison data. I am still completing their questionnaires.
 
Growler12 said:
Hello Charles. The one thing I found was eating small meals often and taking half of a travel pill (anti-sickness) if I felt nauseous. I hope you get on with them.
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Thanks for the advice..still smaller meals is doing the trick and I am now becoming accustomed to the 7mg dose. I find that a minimum of half a large glass of water with the pill appears to reduce the immediate feeling of being satiated immediately. Weight down nearly 3kg now.
 
Hi everyone, I’m now going into my 3rd week of the 3mg run in tablets. I have had no side effects, no bitter taste and no weight loss. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it only when you are on the 7mg you start to notice changes?
 
Hi Bongos, for myself I have felt slightly nauseous, mildly constipated from the outset and plus feeling very full and up to now lost almost 6kg - so my experience is very different to yours! I have also discovered that a Ginger shot helps with both nausea and satiation as well as tasting amazing!
 
Charles T said:
Hi Bongos, for myself I have felt slightly nauseous, mildly constipated from the outset and plus feeling very full and up to now lost almost 6kg - so my experience is very different to yours! I have also discovered that a Ginger shot helps with both nausea and satiation as well as tasting amazing!
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Hi Charles is that whilst being on the mg? I thought you had the semiglutide while on the run in trial and was only once you have completed that that you could potentially be on the placebo. I haven’t noticed any difference
 
Bongos said:
Hi Charles is that whilst being on the mg? I thought you had the semiglutide while on the run in trial and was only once you have completed that that you could potentially be on the placebo. I haven’t noticed any difference
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I am now on the 7mg having completed the 1st 3gm bottle, still on the run-in -- I find it very odd that you are not feeling any side effects.
In your shoes I would telephone the Ascend helpline (number in the leaflet) and see what they say? Pleass do tell us the response?
 
Bongos said:
Hi everyone, I’m now going into my 3rd week of the 3mg run in tablets. I have had no side effects, no bitter taste and no weight loss. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it only when you are on the 7mg you start to notice changes?
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I found that I had no side effects on the 3mg, very few on the 7mg, mainly less food noise, and a slight lowering of BG, and now on the trial I am fairly certain I am on the 14mg, side effects are feeling full much quicker leading to smaller portions of food, no food noise, and BG continuing to get lower.

I feel fortunate not to have had any nausea at any of the doses.

I am also doing keto/very low carb (less than 20-30g/day), and exercising after meals, so a fair bit of the BG drop will be to do with those. The big weight gain on Week 4 was due to unrestricted carbs over the weekend. i am only eating when hungry, and logging food to make sure I am gettting enough protein and balanced nutrition as it would be easy to under eat.

Due to the keto and the Rybelsus I am generally eating 2 meals a day, with a small protein/fat based snack half and hour after the tablet to halt the dawn phenomenom, then lunch around 1-2pm, and an evening meal around 6-7pm, with no food until the next day.

Start: Ave Gl. N/A GMI N/A Std Dev. N/A - first week of 3mg - 238.4lb/BMI 34.2
Wk 1: Ave Gl. 19.1mmol/L GMI N/A Std Dev. 2.4mmol/L - last week of 3mg - 239.4lb/BMI 34.3
Wk 2: Ave Gl. 18.0mmol/L GMI 11.1% Std Dev. 2.4mmol/L - HbA1c 121 - first week of 7mg - 239.2lb/BMI 34.3
Wk 3: Ave Gl. 16.2mmol/L GMI N/A Std Dev. 2.3mmol/L - 238.4lb/BMI 34.2 (Holiday eating at the weekend)
Wk 4: Ave Gl. 12.1mmol/L GMI 8.5% Std Dev. 1.9mmol/L - Start of Keto WOE - 242.4lb/BMI 34.8
Wk 5: Ave Gl. 10.8mmol/L GMI 7.9% Std Dev. - 1.1mmol/L - Start of exercise - 232.8lb/BMI 33.4
Wk 6: Ave Gl. 9.2mmol/L GMI 7.3% Std Dev. - 1.1mmol/L - 233.0lb/BMI 33.4
Wk 7: Ave Gl. 7.9mmol/L GMI 6.7% Std Dev. - 1.2mmol/L - Rybelsus 14mg/Placebo - 230.8lb/BMI 33.1
Wk 8: Ave Gl. 8.1mmol/L GMI 6.8% Std Dev. - 0.9mmol/L - Had a cold - 227.8lb/BMI 32.7
Wk 9: Ave Gl. 7.6mmol/L GMI 6.6% Std Dev. - 0.8mmol/L - Slight cold - 224.6lb/BMI 32.2

The BG numbers are from my Dexcom One+ sensor, and I have been using a sensor since Week 1 above.

So no real weight change on the 3mg dose. There was a drop on the 7mg, but that seems to have been mainly the Keto WOE. The weight loss seems to have accelerated a bit with the 14mg/Placebo, so I think given the side effects I am probably on the 14mg Rybelsus rather than the placebo now.

I am posting on my profile every 4 weeks with updates on the effects of the trial/Keto WOE.
 
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