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Type 2 and new medication

D

Deborah12

Member
Messages
7
Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone else is in the same boat as me. My GP put me on gliclazide and empagliflozin in November and since I have gained two stone, I go to the gym 5 times a week and try and go for a two mile walk every other day, I portion control all my food and I don't drink alcohol or fizzy juice.

Today my gp wanted me to try and a new medication of Rybelsus, i dont know how I feel about this as she said it was good for helping to stop over eating, that is something I defo don't do but the weight gain since being On this gliclazide has really got me down and quite depressed about it.

Has anyone else tried this medication?
 
I’m on it but on other medication as well. My weight has certainly gone up but I don’t know if this was reason why. I’m still on glic and doing low carb diet with support of diabetic nurse. The weight is coming off and my meds have been reduced. Perhaps worth a try? My carbs are around 50g most days and I make sure I’m eating plenty of healthy fats so not suffering. 25 lbs down so far but there are others on this site far more knowledgeable that me and some very informative threads worth looking at
 
The thing about Gliclazide is that it's designed to stimulate your beta cells to produce more insulin, the fat storage hormone.
If you turn off the insulin tap you might have greater success.
Portion control is one thing but have you tried low carb eating ?
 
I have been on Glic for 7 years now and during that time I dropped from 17 stone down to 10 stone, and my weight has been static for at least 5 years now. I too low carb, but not severely (around 120g per day) and I eat large portions with loads of fat, but the weight does not budge. (weighed this morning = 61.8kg). I have also been on Dapagliflozin for a while but it made me very unwell and I have stopped it now. And my weight during that time crept up to 64 kg - not major, but noticeable. It may be the empagliflozin doing the damage.
So I concur that glic and low carb diet works for me too.
 

Thanks for replying, I have tired low carb and been on the 800 calorie a day diet from the dietician, but nothing is shifting the weight that I have gained since being on gliclazide, I started the rybelsus today and was told to one take one gliclazide Instead of 4, i hope this helps as I'm getting so upset about putting weight on when I am doing everything I can to get rid of it
 
I dont think the gliclazide is working for me, i think that's been the weight gain issue.
 

What kind of things are you eating?
 
Deborah12 said:
I dont think the gliclazide is working for me, i think that's been the weight gain issue.
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I will hazard a guess here. The Glic is working and getting your pancreas to output more insulin, but you have very high level of insulin resistance, so the insulin is forcing the glucose and fat into adipose tissue because it is not able to shift it any other way. It is a sledgehammer and the nut syndrome. Unfortunately the new drug does the same thing as the glic, in that respect, but does it by overriding the pancreas controls. Whereas the glic persuades and is moderated by the action of the body, the new med is not regulated so may well cause even more insulin to be output. If Insulin resistance is your main problem, then this med may make it worse from the diabetes point of view.

However, the new med acts quite well for weight loss, so I understand. It does so by forcing you to eat smaller portion sizes and thus reduce calories. If you overeat then the med will tell you so, and force you to take notice. It is a nagging medication. Losing weight may be the answer to the IR problem, in the longer term since that has been shown as a technique needed to reduce IR, However it will be fighting the extra insulin output, so it will be interesting to find out which wins.
 
Ronancastled said:
@Deborah12
You seem like a strong candidate for Ozempic, have your team suggest it to you.
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The rybelsus is Trulicity in a pill. Its the oral version. It is the only Glutide member available for oral use.

Correction: I should have said Ozempic not Trulicity.
 
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Deborah12 said:
I have been given this new medication along with still having to take one gliclazide and one jardiance tablet per day, do you think this is a lot?
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You talked about portion control, but it seems you are probably still following your usual diet, and this I presume is based on My Plate or Eatwell, or SAD. Therefore you possibly need high medication. you have not shared your glucose levels with us so we are in the dark. Since you have not indicated that you are diabetic, is it just weight loss you are wanting to improve? I am surprised the 800 cal diet did not work. The Rybelsus emulates that diet (it also emulates bariatric surgery after effects) so it too may have minor impact. As I pointed out in a previous answer, the glic is duplicating an action that the Rybelsus also does, so may be redundant now, and especially so if you happen to suffer from insulin resistance.
 
I'm in the US and I'm on Ozempic. I had an A1c done in January and that came in at 6.5 (just inside the diabetic threshold). Last 6 years I controlled my T2DM via daily exercise of either 90 minutes cycling or 75 min uphill hiking. I'm down now nearly 2 stone, but more exactly 25lbs. I've got 15 more pounds I want to lose. That'll bring my BMI back to about 21-22. My current dosage after 32 weeks is only 0.72mg/week (because in the USA this stuff costs an arm and a leg).

Folks elsewhere on the planet are going full bore on Ozempic or Wegovy. Personally I think less is more and since I'm totally paying for my medication out of pocket, I'm careful about upping my dosages and my MO for weight loss. Yes as @Oldvatr mentions, the base drug is Semaglutide, which is a GLP-1 Agonist.

In the US Semaglutide is marketed in 3 different names.

1) Rybelsus (tablet form) taken daily
2) Ozempic small inject-able pen taken weekly. Initially sold with a weekly maximum of 1mg/week. Since then it has been relaunched with a 2.0 mg/week. (Side note larger doses can give you more weight loss but also more nasty side effects.) Originally designed for Type 2 diabetics. I've seen some T1 diabetics now get prescription from endocrinologists for Ozempic and they are really benefiting from it.
3) Wegovy. larger dosing of Semaglutide of up to 2.4 mg/week. Designed and FDA allowed for morbidly obese patients. Because of the large dose it can be very rough on bowels / diarrhea / vomiting nausea/ upset stomach.

Initially I took small doses (as recommended) then upped my dose to 0.5mg/week. I stayed at that level for about 18 weeks. If the drug is working and your losing about 1lb per week, just keep taking the drug.

I emailed Professor Roy Taylor about Ozempic and he's of the opinion that I'll put the weight back on when I come off the drug. He may be right. I've yet to exit. Yet I'm determined to give this drug a good go of exiting gracefully!

Good luck to everyone who gets on Ozempic / Semaglutide..
 
Deborah12 said:
What kind of things are you eating?
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Veg and salad, not root,meats cheeses nuts,stir fries, cream. My portions are a lot smaller and I don’t get as hungry as I used to. Have also tried fasting and only eating when I’m hungry. Loads of ideas from low carb threads
 
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