Trulicity , Type 1 and Weight Loss

Maybe you’re right. I’m going to give Trulicity a few more weeks. The biggest problem is the cycling. If I can fix it by elevating my glucose ahead of time, I’ll keep going.

My biggest concern is that I am supposed to be training for a century ride, and I can’t even ride ten miles right now without uncorrectable hypoglycemia.

The nausea and other symptoms subsided after the weekend. I guess it was just a reaction to the new higher dose.

I spoke with my endocrinologist about the problem of low blood sugar not recovering when cycling. She told me to reduce my basal to 50% two hours before my ride. Well, last night was my first ever “group” ride and I didn’t want to be stuck on the side of the road with a group of seasoned cyclist wondering what to do. So, I reduced my basal to 25% for two hours before the ride, and ate a cliff bar which is about 40 grams of carbs about an hour before the ride. My blood glucose rose to 325 - I know … way to high. But, I was expecting it to drop over the next hour and a half of cycling. Also, I wanted to try it once with no risk of a hypo. Well, problem was, it didn’t drop. halfway through the ride, I had to take a correction bolus.

At least I know I can ride again. The rest is just fine-tuning the insulin.

I think I’ll keep taking Trulicity for now.

AAAHHHH … Here’s a new symptom flatulence plus frequent belching of the worst kind - with a strong smell of rotten eggs / sulpher. My poor family !! We have a travel trailer and tend to go on frequent mini-vacations - sometimes at quite a distance. This past weekend, being Canada Day weekend, my poor family was stuck in the car with me for almost 8 hours. The belches kept coming - everyone would moan and put down all the windows. And the taste … Ugh !! What a disgusting horrible taste !!

Funny story on car ride! HAHA! I have been taking a teaspoon of baking soda in water and it helps get rid of the air in my stomach before I head to yoga. I find certain foods are causing it more, like spicy foods and tomatoes. Too much acid. The baking soda does the trick. I will probably put some in my car for emergencies. I bought some little pills at the health food store but they did not work. Chewables organic. I read chewing gum can help too. I am still at the 5 pound weight loss 14 units of Tresiba per night. Down from 19 units per night.

Michael are you on a pump? Reducing basal 50% two hours before a ride? What is the basal? I take Tresiba basal once per day at night. My numbers are staying flat throughout day. No need for bolus for 6 weeks! My fasting as 113 today! This is very good for me…I am wondering about your basal? I try to keep carbs to less than 20 or so per meal, but sometimes it is 30 carbs per meal. Still have not gone above 200 in many weeks. I am looking forward to A1C test in a couple weeks.

Happy Canada Day! Love Canada! Grew up in Alaska…too hot here in Colorado!

Yoga62 … I brought my kids to a theme park for the Canada Day weekend and spent two full days on roller coasters. I think that might have something to do with it. I have a bottle of Tums in the console of my car - but, they didn’t work well enough.

My basal is about 1.8u/hr of Humalog. I reduce it by 80% and eat a small snack before cycling. My glucose was at 300 for the entire ride - but at least I can ride. Now I have to play with it to get reasonable, safe and predictable sugars. Don’t know how to do that with varying lengths of rides yet.

Ya … Ya … Canada’s great … until January. January to March - well …cold, cold, cold and my cycling is on a stationary trainer in front of a TV.

Hi sorry to jump in, I am a T1D 43 years and endo wanted me to try Trulicity both for blood sugars and weight loss. He gave me 4 pens to try and I had no issues other than decreases appetite (yay)…got the prescription filled with same dose and took it Saturday so my 5th injection. Heartburn is so bad all of a sudden I can’t stand it!! Would it come on so strong after being on it for a month? It’s awful and I’m not certain I want to take my injection Saturday :((

Any suggestions? I see baking soda so will try that when I get home from work…took Zantac 150 mg but it’s not doing much, ugh. could the sample be different than the actual prescription?

I experienced absolutely no symptoms during my first two weeks. They started after doing a particularly strenuous cycling event. This past weekend, I experienced increased symptoms after spending two days on roller coasters on a hot day with little water to drink.

It seems that the symptoms are particularly bad the day after the injection, and the week after increasing the dose. I have found symptoms to be exasperated by increased physical activity and perhaps by dehydration.

I agree day after injection symptoms much worse. i took weekly shot tonight. I start to feel hungrier on the 6th day and more on the seventh day before I take the shot. The shot goes in so fast and then retracts quick I wondered tonight if it actually went in correctly. I am getting tired of injecting into my stomach. I think the up and down and inversions definitely make the stomach worse, as with heartburn. Still less insulin daily, no bolus and five pounds lighter. I am seeing my endo in two weeks and will discuss.

The baking soda in water works very well for me. I have to avoid certain foods. There is a lot on the internet about foods that tend to cause heartburn and acid reflux, etc. Might read those too. I notice yoga and inversions causing me more stomach upset…funny you had no symptoms the firs weeks…could be on the sample differing as well…

No updates from Michael and David?? Hope things are going well. I have had less heartburn past weeks wondering if same for you since we have all been on this medicine about the same time? I see endo on Tuesday and going to discuss options for something else that might help more with weight loss and less insulin.

I still don’t need any bolus during day and numbers staying consistent. Look forward to my A1C hoping for a 7 number!

Happy Weekend!

Well, the big update is that I just got my latest A1C result back: 5.2! I can’t believe how low it is. My last A1C was 6.1, so it’s almost dropped a full point. The difference this time was that I was on Victoza for the first month and then switched to Trulicity for the last two. So the A1C covers the last three months on those two medications, and I believe that Trulicity has a lot to do with my improved control.

I’m still on the lower dosage, and most of the side effects have disappeared. I had a little bit of heartburn the other day, but the nausea has gone away, which had been the worst of all the side effects.

I have an appointment with my endo in a few weeks and discuss with him staying on the lower dosage or increasing to the higher one. I’d prefer to stay on the lower dosage seeing as everything seems to be going well. We’ll see what he says.

Stay strong out there, everyone.

My big update … well the last week was a wash !! I caught a virus and was sick as a dog for the past week resulting in elevated blood sugar. I don’t see my endo until September, but don’t hope for much better than a 7 A1C, which would be quite an improvement. For decades, my A1C hovered around 8. Over the past two to three years, it has crept up to just over 10, which is partially what started me on this journey.

Why I say that I am not hoping for much better than a 7 is the cycling. The only way I was able to manage cycling while dealing with gastroparesis caused by Trulicity was to allow my blood sugar to go up while riding. I typically let it go up to 15 (270) before a ride, and eat 50 grams of carbs. Shortly into the ride, my BG drops to around 8 (140). After the ride, it could go up to 20 (360).

Obviously, due to the gastroparesis, Trulicity isn’t a long-term solution for me. But, I am consistantly losing 2lbs a week - and have lost a total of 16 lbs in 9 weeks. I am willing to keep going at this, as long as the weight continues to drop off - until I reach my 50lb goal.

WOW! That is amazing weight loss! Congrats! I lost only 5 lbs. I saw endo today and am trying Victoza. The Trulicity did not seem to be working anymore. My numbers started creeping upward. I had an A1C of 8.0 today. This is down from 9.1 last time.

Will look for your updates. Good luck!

It’s almost like Trulicity unlocked the ability to lose weight. I still have to work-out. I see my weight drop significantly every time I go for a ride.

Hello…I am also a Type 1 and my endo started me on Trulicuty after a month on Metformin 500 mg 2x day. Only took my first shot 4 days ago. 1st day nausea which subsided on 2nd day, but on third day and fourth day I had terrible diarrhea after a quick spike in BG. 1st time after a low BG and second time 30 minutes after a meal. Have you experienced anything like this? Anyone? Also my endo told me last week that the FDA approved use with Type1’s not that long ago here in the States.

PS I have also noticed loss of appetite and lower BG across the board. Now when I spike it’s only up to 200 rather than 300-400. My BG is coasting around 100! Never felt better in that regard!

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I’m a new member who’s had Type 2 for quite a while.After years of pretty good control (thanks to regular exercise) my hip imploded about 18 months ago. As a result I couldn’t walk (which was my exercise of choice),I gained a lot of weight and my A1c skyrocketed.I was then referred to an Endocrinologist at a large,very well known hospital.She increased my metformin and started me on Trulicity.Several times she referred to it as “a miracle drug” in terms of appetite and weight loss.Bottom line…in the 6 weeks I’ve been taking it my appetite is way down and I’ve lost 5 pounds.

IMO it’s either that the doctor’s words represent a case of “power of suggestion” or Trulicity actually is capable of curbing appetite to a noticeable degree.

Just my personal experience…

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So, this is actually a pretty well-known side effect of eating carbs (especially when combined with fats and salt). Carbs + insulin tend to promote the feeling of hunger in most people, and it’s pretty easy to get into an overfeeding loop.

You mentioned in a previous comment that you tried LCHF and found it too difficult to stick to due to carb cravings. This is true for most people for a period of adaptation: it almost always goes away after a couple of weeks. It’s also why many people start LCHF at a caloric surplus or maintenance level. In other words, many people start eating LCHF while not dieting, in the sense of not cutting calories. Once the body becomes better adjusted to not eating carbs, then daily calories are reduces step-wise until weight loss starts. It’s a pretty effective and very well understood pathway to weightloss at this point. It also tends to have less long-term negative side-effects than pure, steep calorie restriction (which often ends up in “bouncing” and binge-eating).

I’m very curious to hear how combining Trulicity and LCHF works for you, if you choose to lower your carb consumption.

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Been a since I gave an update. I just took my 18th shot and the symptoms have subsided, the weight-loss has stopped, and the blood glucose levels have started to rise.

On the plus side, I’ve lost 20 lbs and my HBA1C has come down from 10% to 8%.

So, the endocrinologist told me that my body has adapted to Trulicity making it less effective. I’m stopping Trulicity and trying another off-label med - Jardiance.

Got two more shots of Trulicity and a big ride on the 16th. I think I’ll start after the ride and see how it goes.

Trulicity wore off for me too. Been on Victoza for near 2 months and it is not wearing off yet, I have lost 11 pounds!! I feel lighter, less “bloated” and have cut insulin from 19 units to 10 units per night. I don’t have highs about 170 after meals, I don’t need any bolus insulin, and side effects have worn off. Not having heart burn anymore. I don’t enjoy Victoza making all food taste weird, my diet has changed, no interest in meat or “hard” foods, mainly soft foods are more appealing. I will continue it for now, hoping to lose another 15-20 pounds over upcoming months and get back to my pre-insulin weight last summer (125). I also started at the local rec center and have started swimming and varied exercise classes as I was not getting enough aerobic with just yoga.

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I know the thread has been dormant for a bit, but I wanted to say that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I’m on Day 4 of Trulicity. I’m LADA, diag 8/2016 after being considered T2 since 1993. So far, Trulicity was like flipping a switch. Appetite gone, calorie intake down, insulin use cut in half and MUCH tighter control.
The thing that bothered me and that I had problems finding out was what to expect. My Endo really didn’t know or wasn’t telling and there wasn’t a whole lot of info out there. I’ve been through the disappointment of ‘honeymood’ periods before and, while I was anticipating some kind with Trulicity, seeing such improvements and having them go away would normally be crushing.
Hearing everyone experiences will be helpful as I start my Trulicity journey, especially as I structure my diet and exercise plans.
Once again, my thanks to everyone - these threads do make a difference.