VICTOZA users

[Hobs]

Re: VICTOZA

New to this forum and new to posting messages too. Been on Victoza for four days with few side effects except very tired. Could sleep on a clothes line. Has anyone else experienced this? Really helpful to read all the posts as I feel quite alone. Very few people in my area on this drug according to the diabetic consultant I see. :?

Yes I am extremely tired now I am on full dose. I started off feeling tired on the 2nd day that had worn off by the 7th, but as my GP decided I was to be on the lower dosage for 10 days, I have only just gone up to the 1.2 standard dose and the extreme tiredness is back. I am so inactive the weight loss does not make any sense, but I have lost 4lbs already. I got up this morning, injected the full 1.2 @ 9 and by 10 I was asleep in my chair until noon. I looked in on the computer and fell asleep again after an earlyish lunch, and really only was with it again @ 5.
I don't know how long this period will last but I suppose it will wear off as it did with the 1/2 dose.
The important things are the lower BG readings and the weight loss.... you are not alone :wink: !

 

[Shakespeare]

Re: VICTOZA

Thanks Hobs! Sometimes this whole thing gets you down and its nice to find support.Waiting for the chilled feeling that some other posters have. Hope it hits me. Wonder how long it takes. I was advised to take Victoza at night to lessen the nausea and so have done that. No nausea but wonder if i'm getting the best from the drug.

 

[anxietysucks]

Re: VICTOZA

My doc has told me that there's a trial for another version of this or something so he's referring me for it. Just waiting for the appointment letter. Hope it's as good as Victoza seems.

 

[keithmills]

Re: VICTOZA

That's brilliant news Keith, I haven't weighed myself for a few days now so hope I may have lost a couple of pounds...keep up the good work.

I wonder if Victoza was named after Victory! maybe it was a eureka moment when they discovered the drug also helps with weight loss?

thanks for you feed back it help when you are not on your own

 

[nana_lil]

Re: VICTOZA

Day 3 for me and am feeling fine although everything I eat (which is not much ) is going right through me(TMI sorry).......blood sugars are lowering and I seem to be losing weight already :shock: ......got to phone the nurse tomorrow and tell her how I am and maybe increase the 0.6 dose.

I have got to say that at this moment in time.........I am impressed :lol:

Lil
xx

 

[ramundow]

Re: VICTOZA

This is my third day on victoza at times I have felt I was like alice in wonderland here but not here I have not been to the toilet in 2 days but have felt less hungry than I normally do,it is true I have felt strange and not with it but high doses of insulin morning and evening have helped me pile on the weight and according to the diabetic doctor I have become insulin intollerent. :shock:

 

[ramundow]

Re: VICTOZA

I do not have to pay for my medication being diabetic daily I take 13 different pills each day for my heart and prostrate insulin and now victoza so I feel very lucky no way could I afford any of this medication omn my income, in fact I have not been able to work for 9 years I would live to work but getting about can be difficult some days hoping hte new drug victoza helps me loose weight as I had become insulin intollerent. :roll:

 

[kay957]

Re: VICTOZA

It is now day 16 of being on Victoza, although I feel great and BG levels very good, I am suffering from shakes, only at night though! I check my sugars and they are normally about 7.0 before going to bed, this has happened for the last couple of nights, I also get a sense of falling when trying to get to sleep, has anyone else had this? I am wondering if it's just me or the drug?

 

[Hobs]

Re: VICTOZA

It is now day 16 of being on Victoza, although I feel great and BG levels very good, I am suffering from shakes, only at night though! I check my sugars and they are normally about 7.0 before going to bed, this has happened for the last couple of nights, I also get a sense of falling when trying to get to sleep, has anyone else had this? I am wondering if it's just me or the drug?

Now that's strange that you should mention this as I too have just started to get 'strange' events. I thought I was getting hypo with many of the symptoms, but when my wife managed to get some blood out of me (I could barely think) the reading we 5.9 but felt a lot better after a rushed slice of toast & a cuppa... then when I went to bed I felt kinda strange & dizzy. By the morning I felt the room was spinning every time I moved my head as I could not stand still without using 2 sticks and even then walking progress was slow. She called the GP and a locum arrived, mumbled summat about new drugs and too short a trial period and left a script for Stemetil (prochlorperazine) which she collected straight away. I took 4 followed by 2 and again 2 last night and I'm no longer dizzy or feeling as though I'm falling when I lay down. The Doc mentioned that Vertigo could be an unlisted side effect. I am now on 3 Stemetil today and then 2 and finally 1 unless it starts up again.
The chemist did tell my wife that if we cant get hold of GP in future, Stugeron an OTC med will work exactly the same @ £2.60 per pack.

I'm not saying that my problems are the same as yours, but it does seem to be a coincidence.

The locum also mentioned that as I take beta blockers (Sotalol) for an arrhythmia, a hypo can occur at a higher BG level and that can vary with the individual, and my diabetes may have even been brought on my beta blocker treatment in the first place ... I tell ya..its a minefield out there....good luck with your GP!

 

[Hobs]

VICTOZA...news just arrived @ my inbox

News Release: Diabetes UK

New Oral Victoza May End Daily Injections

An oral drug being developed by Novo Nordisk shows that it can boost the body's own insulin production and may banish daily insulin injections for millions of people with diabetes


The drug is about to be tested on 155 British patients as part of a trial that could transform treatment of the disease.

It is an oral form of Victoza, a medicine already FDA approved for use in diabetes, which 'turbo-charges' insulin production in the pancreas, the organ responsible for making the hormone. But in its current form, it has to be injected.

If trials are successful, it could mean many diabetics are freed from the burden of daily injections to make up for the body's inability to make enough insulin.

Type 1 diabetes affects 2.5 million in the U.S. and often starts in childhood. The pill is unlikely to replace daily insulin jabs for these patients, as this form of diabetes often destroys the pancreas beyond repair. But it could help more than the 24 million in the U.S. who have Type 2 diabetes, a much more common condition that tends to affect people from middle age onwards.

Victoza, launched in Britain last year, and recently in the U.S. belongs to a new class of medicines called glucagonlike peptides.

These drugs, which are injected at the same time every day, send out a signal for the pancreas to increase insulin output when blood sugar levels have risen too high. They also help by triggering weight loss. One major trial last year suggested that they are almost twice as effective as some other anti-obesity drugs. But the fact that patients still need to inject themselves is seen as a potential barrier to its widespread use.

Now Novo Nordisk, the company that makes the drug, has turned it into a pill and is recruiting 155 patients in Britain to try it out in a trial, which is expected to last a year.

If it works, it could mean simply popping a tablet once a day instead of painful injections. However, there have been concerns that the drug might raise the risk of thyroid cancer.

A pill version of glucagon-like peptides would improve patient choice and could mean a huge improvement in quality of life.

 

[kay957]

Re: VICTOZA

It is now day 16 of being on Victoza, although I feel great and BG levels very good, I am suffering from shakes, only at night though! I check my sugars and they are normally about 7.0 before going to bed, this has happened for the last couple of nights, I also get a sense of falling when trying to get to sleep, has anyone else had this? I am wondering if it's just me or the drug?

Now that's strange that you should mention this as I too have just started to get 'strange' events. I thought I was getting hypo with many of the symptoms, but when my wife managed to get some blood out of me (I could barely think) the reading we 5.9 but felt a lot better after a rushed slice of toast & a cuppa... then when I went to bed I felt kinda strange & dizzy. By the morning I felt the room was spinning every time I moved my head as I could not stand still without using 2 sticks and even then walking progress was slow. She called the GP and a locum arrived, mumbled summat about new drugs and too short a trial period and left a script for Stemetil (prochlorperazine) which she collected straight away. I took 4 followed by 2 and again 2 last night and I'm no longer dizzy or feeling as though I'm falling when I lay down. The Doc mentioned that Vertigo could be an unlisted side effect. I am now on 3 Stemetil today and then 2 and finally 1 unless it starts up again.
The chemist did tell my wife that if we cant get hold of GP in future, Stugeron an OTC med will work exactly the same @ £2.60 per pack.

I'm not saying that my problems are the same as yours, but it does seem to be a coincidence.

The locum also mentioned that as I take beta blockers (Sotalol) for an arrhythmia, a hypo can occur at a higher BG level and that can vary with the individual, and my diabetes may have even been brought on my beta blocker treatment in the first place ... I tell ya..its a minefield out there....good luck with your GP!

I am going to reduce my victoza back to 0.6 just to see if that makes a difference, I will let you know the out come.

 

[Gster71]

Re: VICTOZA

hi to all its day 5 for me on victoza and ive got to say i feel reaally good more energy i wake up feeling good.as for side effects i have'nt had any really more in my head thinking am i going to have any! i went out saturday night friends birthday and was slightly worried off the drink aspect ect but felt i did'nt really want to after a couple of drinks and just had diet coke and wished i brought the car! :lol: so any way so far so good uping the dosage on sat as requested and see if anything changes.i also find i dont really think as much about eating and when i do i only feel like small bit which believe me is not like me! but i think i feel better for that alone.good health to everyone!

 

[cpp]

Re: VICTOZA

day14 dose 1.6 weight loss 17lbs, bs levels still a bit on the high side, but i expect it is because I was taken straight off a high dose of insulin to start Victoza.Started to see a movement so maybe when I go to the Diabetic clinic at the hospital, they will need to put me on the higher 1.8 dose. Feel good and I cant get over the weight I have lost,as I too am immobile

 

[Hobs]

Re: VICTOZA

day14 dose 1.6 weight loss 17lbs, bs levels still a bit on the high side, but i expect it is because I was taken straight off a high dose of insulin to start Victoza.Started to see a movement so maybe when I go to the Diabetic clinic at the hospital, they will need to put me on the higher 1.8 dose. Feel good and I cant get over the weight I have lost,as I too am immobile

Sheeesh! Loosing 17lbs in only 14 day is simply amazing...very well done indeed!

As for your BG levels still being high, are you on any metformin etc as well as the Victoza? I was on 4 x 500mg metformin before the Victoza but the DN lowered my dose to 3 x 500mg with the jabs. At first my BG rose but it soon started to fall; and now I am on 1.2 Victoza the levels are starting to look more acceptable and I can produce a very welcome 8mmol 2hrs after eating...that's something I have not been capable of for a long time.
Good luck @ the hospital and keep up the good work!!

 

[Hobs]

Re: VICTOZA

hi to all its day 5 for me on victoza and ive got to say i feel reaally good more energy i wake up feeling good.as for side effects i have'nt had any really more in my head thinking am i going to have any! i went out saturday night friends birthday and was slightly worried off the drink aspect ect but felt i did'nt really want to after a couple of drinks and just had diet coke and wished i brought the car! :lol: so any way so far so good uping the dosage on sat as requested and see if anything changes.i also find i dont really think as much about eating and when i do i only feel like small bit which believe me is not like me! but i think i feel better for that alone.good health to everyone!

Isn't this Victoza summat fantastic?!
I no longer snack and my portion sizes look as though I will need seconds, but sometimes I cant even manage whats in front of me :shock: .
The only snack I have now, is a couple of digestives with the before bed cuppa. I feel I need something small to eat at 22:30 and 2 digestives fill the need very well ... I cant believe one simple jab can provide so much ...applause for Victoza and all of us who are persevering and benefiting.

 

[nana_lil]

Re: VICTOZA

got to agree with last poster.........am on day 8 now still on 0.6mg although should increase to 1.2 after speaking to dn this am. Losing weight (can't believe I am ) and feeling fine! Tested this am and was 6.9 as opposed to 16 which I was last week at this time! This is making life so much easier for me

Hope everyone else is having as good results.

Lil
xx

 

[paulwm0]

Re: VICTOZA

hi new to the site i have been on victoza from the day it came to uk. was on byetta before victoza it made me very ill but victoza is awesome. i feel good all my readings are perfect also i have lost loads of weight.

 

[kay957]

Re: VICTOZA

Day 19 on Victoza, I had to reduce the drug back to 0.6 on tuesday because I was getting the effects of a hypo (but wasn't) the DN suggested the 0.6 and see what happens?. I am managing well on that dose, lost weight again this week, another 2lbs, slowly but surely the weight is going and on the lower dose. Feel great on the drug, the best thing since sliced bread i'd say!

 

[cugila]

Re: VICTOZA

Day 19 on Victoza, I had to reduce the drug back to 0.6 on tuesday because I was getting the effects of a hypo (but wasn't) the DN suggested the 0.6 and see what happens?. I am managing well on that dose, lost weight again this week, another 2lbs, slowly but surely the weight is going and on the lower dose. Feel great on the drug, the best thing since sliced bread i'd say!

Hi Kay957.
What was your Bg reading when you had the hypo effects and more to the point what were your readings prior to this event. Sounds like you may have been getting the 'false hypo' effect when Bg readings have been high, then drop to a level which the body wrongly thinks is 'normal.' Hence the warning signals start and you feel bad.

That would mean that the drug is doing it's job and lowering Bg levels, this would all settle down once the levels were lower all the time.

I don't understand why the DN would tell you to lower a dose which is working properly ??? Seems rather strange to me. The feelings disappear gradually. I have had thenm a lot recently because of a drug which has messed up my Bg control. Neither I nor my Endo, or DSN have ever considered reducing Meds....last thing you need to do !

Ken

 

[keithmills]

victoza

hi ever one i have been on victoza for 3 months for the first week i was on 0.6 then upto 1.2 i was lossing weight then xmas came along i stop lossing weight i was not eating much more than befor i put on 8lbs was told by my team to go up to 1.8 and finding it hard to keep on the straight and narrow but lossing weight again but slower than befor am i doing it right or is there not a right from wrong.. :roll: i am waiting on any replies ..