Hi All - I started VICTOZA yesterday morning (0.6/day). So far, so good. I really like the appetite suppression! I've been on Humalog and Lantus for a number of years, along with Metformin. My Endo told me that most of his formerly insulin-dependent Type-2 patients are totally off insulin 2 months after starting VICTOZA. Has anyone experienced that?
Also, I read in the VICTOZA brochure that you don't have to test your BS once you are under control with VICTOZA. What do you think of that?
Welcome Don and thanks for the post. I had a good drop in my A1C and my overall numbers. The biggest area of improvement is my morning wake-up numbers. Most of the time I am around 80-82. I am a T-2 and also take 1500 mg of Metformin a day. The less carbs you eat the better this stuff works.
I have had hypos, not a true hypo but I have gone into the lower 60’s on this stuff, so there is some kick to it. I have to eat a small carb before I go to bed at night.
I dont know about you but I will test my BG and not follow a brochure even though I am in good control.
Hi Pauly - Thanks for the reply. Your A1C looks great! How long have you been taking Victoza? Lost any weight? Are you still taking insulin? If so,any prospect that you will eventually be able to say goodbye to insulin? I agree re continued testing, notwithstanding the brochure! I look forward to your comments!
Hi Don, I am not on insulin so i cannot help you there, just the metformin,
I have a seen a couple of T-1’s on the board using it now for insulin resistance and to lessen their insulin dosing. You should see a decrease I would think in your dosing as you loose weight and become less IR. Maybe some T-1s can add to this post.
I have been on Victoza since April. I have lost about 35 pounds so far. I dont have much of a appetite any more so it does cut back your appetite.
Pauly, I’ve been on victoza since the 1st of Aug.Do you still feel sick sometimes, I find every so often I get nauseas,is this normal when your on this?
Yes, that is somewhat normal I find. I eat something small a cracker, small glass of milk or a glucose tablet. I know you feel sick and dont want to eat, but I do it and it takes the sick feeling away. Try it and see if it helps. It does for me.
I take my shot in the morning. I find the greatest effect at my dinner time meal.
I think it is unreasonable to think that if you are actually insulin deficient, you can get off insulin, but who knows maybe you still have a lot of insulin production left. In either case, you should reread the patient information. It suggests that you:
17.5 Laboratory Tests
Patients should be informed that response to all diabetic therapies should be monitored by periodic
measurements of blood glucose and A1c levels, with a goal of decreasing these levels towards the
normal range. A1c is especially useful for evaluating long−term glycemic control.
You are on an MDI regime, you need to keep testing to support that regime. It may be that in the long-term you will be lucky and can go off the MDI, but it would not be appropriate to think that you should not keep monitoring your blood sugar as guidance on keeping your diet in check.
i have been on victoza since feb 8 and i am enjoying the fact that my sugars went from the 400-500 range to 100-150 range i have been diabetic since 1990 and don’t remember ever having normal sugars ( only when pregnant unexplainable to me) but now for the last month i have felt free like someone has taken the blinders off i was losing my eye sight and everything. i have had some stomach issues but was worse with metaformin i went from taking 75 units of levermir and 40 units of novalog to taking 40 units of levermir and 5 or 6 units of novalog and i feel great!!! and i can’t wait for my a1c because my last one was 14 and the doctor was very concerned with my progress i think she was getting discouraged also but, she never said it.
Hi Jean64! I alos started on Victoza in Aug. 2010 & still have nausea from time to time…wondered if this was still happening to you? I’m on the 1.2 mg dose & afraid to increase it because of being sick a little every day - also very minimal weight loss. How’s it going for you now? Thanks!
I was shocked that my 2 hr PP was a whopping 71 ! LOL
Oh, and about testing. I would test anyway. Reason - even with Victoza, you still need to watch what you eat, and it is possible that you CAN go hypo.
What if Victoza stopped working and you weren’t testing. You could be either extremely high and not even know it.
You want to at least test in the mornings.
Oh, with my evening meal, I didn’t take insulin or anything. My 2 hour PP was 153.
I assume that once I get to the 1.2 per day, I may not need insulin. But even so, I would want to take a little insulin, just as a backup plan. Even if it’s just 2-5 ui per meal.
Even non diabetics can handle that small amount.
Note: My last A1C was yesterday, March 8th, 2011. It came back at 5.1, and that was WITH high spikes into the 200+ range! Insulin works great for me, but I don’t like the idea of spiking that high, even for a short period.
