• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Victoza

D

donna212

Newbie
Messages
3
Location
Hertfordshire
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi everyone, I was rushed into hospital two weeks ago. I was previously a diet controlled type 2 diabetic. I have many medical conditions and this means I can take no oral anti diabetic medications. Anyway I went into DKA rare I know but I also had lactic acidosis and was in adrenal crisis. So they had me on sliding insulin and then started me on victoza. I went into my Gp in tears today that I would not be injecting this drug into my body anymore and if insulin is the only way then so be it. I have had terrible side effects that I was told would go away by week two. They haven't and are getting worse. I have been constipated for two weeks straight, I'm on the maximum amount of laxatives and still nothing. I cannot physically eat because I'm nauseous and my stomach feels like it's full of gas permanently. The abdominal cramps wake me up at night sweating and in tears. I cannot walk around and I'm so light headed and dizzy. Today was meant to be a day to up the dose no way. I also found out today that my Gp cannot do anything and it's my diabetes specialist team I should of rung. Bear in mind up until two weeks ago my diabetes was under the care of my Gp so I didn't know this. She's told me to inject till Monday when they will change it this is because the team don't work over the weekend, just because she's very worried my sugars will rise rapidly on nothing at all. But I cannot do this I will monitor my sugars closely but I cannot bring myself to take anymore of this drug. I'm so miserable and feel I've let my consultant down he had to get special approval to put me on it as it's so expensive and he really does not want me on insulin because I may gain weight. But I gave it my best shot and I cannot do it. Has anyone had such a horrible time on this drug.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi Donna, I take Victoza and insulin together, and I had a lot of problems with the Victoza at first but it does settle down after a few weeks, but every now and then if I have a high carb meal then I get chronic wind. But never suffered with constipation if anything the complete opposite hope they sort you out soon. Good luck


Type 2 diagnosed 24/01/2013.
NovoRapid, Lantus, Victoza, Metformin (sr), Simvistatin
 
Hi, Donna,
Don't despair! There are other alternatives out there, drugs in the same family as Victoza, but which you may well tolerate better. When I passed the point at which maximum doses of Metformin and Gliclazide were failing to control my BG, I was put on Byetta (one of these drugs in the same family as Victoza). I had a terrible time with it (don't get me started - you don't want to know all the gory details!); so they switched me onto Victoza, and after a couple of weeks I found I could tolerate it, and now its just routine and side effects have completely subsided. There is every chance that Byetta will work for you where Victoza hasn't... talk it over with the team. (Incidentally, Byetta has to be injected twice a day, but there is another derivative, Bydureon, I think, that only has to be injected once a week.)
So don't give up yet. Chin up, hang in there, I'm sure they'll get you sorted, and all this will become just a horrible memory.
 
Hi. Obviously I don't know about your other conditions, but the best way forward for you is surely to try to reduce your weight? This may avoid the need for Victoza or Byetta. Insulin is a good solution to excessive blood sugar but only if you are near normal weight. If your have insulin resistance then you can get into a vicious circle and that's what your GP is trying to avoid. If you are not already low-carbing then do start. Set yourself a daily limit of, perhaps, 150gm to start with and see how it goes. Although avoiding those lovely carby foods is not always easy it will be better than the position you are currently in. I'm on insulin but still keep my carbs down to avoid weight gain but I was lucky to be slim to start with.
 
Hi I've lost three stone I've been very sick. I have adrenal insufficiency like addisons disease and asthma. I'm on a low fat low carb diet anyway. I take steroids and the diabetes is steroid induced. This is why so many meds are contra indicated. Because of the steroids I have to watch my diet anyway. He doesn't want me on another drug that may cause weight gain as the steroids are difficult to control as it is. It's not so much he wants to not put me on it because of my weight now it's because of the fact that I am taking other drugs that do cause weight gain and we have to work hard to control that. He will of course put me on insulin if there is no option. I cannot be unmedicated as I went into DKA even after losing 3 stone from my other illnesses. I will look into the other options thank you for your replies.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi Donna. Thanks for the explanation which clarifies a few things. Yes, steroids are a nightmare ref diabetes and I can understand the GP having difficulty finding the best way thru. You mention you are both low-fat and low-carb. I don't know the balance you have between the two but as fat does not really cause weight gain or blood sugar gain to any extent, if your other conditions allow it, do decrease the carbs further and relax a bit on the fats? I'm not suggesting reducing the carbs too far so that you go into ketosis with the risk of the next stage DKA. Only you know your current dietary balance.
 
Thanks I could reduce carbs further the low fat is because I have very high triglycerides. This is not diet related and they believe it is a genetic abnormality. The same way I keep building lactic acid which means I end up with lactic acidosis very often. They are doing specialist blood tests for both these things. But it means I cannot eat a lot of fats even good fats as my body doesn't break it down normally. Sorry I should of explained better in the first post I'm very complicated I was just feeling so unwell and upset I just wrote what came into my head lol I can't even understand half of what's wrong with me!

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Back
Top