Today marks day 10 of my type 2 diabetes treatment with the injected medicine called victoza. If you can indulge me for a second I need to vent about how awful some of the side effects have been. I have been lucky so far and responded well to the other medicines I’ve taken. This was not the case with victoza.
To begin with I have no appetite at all for anything. Everything looks and tastes gross. While this might seem like a good thing, it really isn’t. I also get full extremely quick- one apple will completely fill me up. I feel nauseous most of the time and nothing seems to settle my stomach. (Plus, I can’t eat any of the simple carbs that a sick stomach wants- such as saltines crackers or ginger ale).
Without being too graphic I have had vomiting and other gastrointestinal problems. Not wanting to experience these side effects, I have become naturally hesitant with forcing myself to eat.
The most depressing side effect of all occurred yesterday. As most of you know I love entertaining and had such a good time planning my party for the royal wedding. Unfortunately I overdid it and felt awful yesterday. I was truly miserable, in bed, all day. I couldn’t eat and then when I did I immediately began retching. All day I was either in the bathroom or my bedroom. I had a splitting head ache and my entire body hurt. Sorry for the overshare but it was a terrible day. (I still haven’t eaten today. I’m nervous to have a repeat of yesterday).
Most of all it was emotionally discouraging and spiritually testing. I know God has His purpose behind these trials but I couldn’t help but ask Him some questions yesterday- When am I going to be back to myself? When am I going to be able to lead a full life? Will I ever be able to throw a party without being bedridden for 2 days? Why is my body breaking down on me? Will true health ever come? How come I seemed healthier at 313 then at 254? What’s the purpose behind all of this pain?
I wish I knew the answers to all these questions but I don’t. I’m still searching but am also confident in God’s plan for me. I know this will all make sense some day…
From everything I’ve read online about 1/3rd of victoza patients suffer from nausea and vomiting for the first month of treatment and then they adjust. I don’t know if I can do this for a month. We will see. It has helped me to lose a lot of weight fast (in 10 days lost nearly 10 lbs but I don’t know if that is from not eating anything or the meds!). Surprisingly my sugars have not been noticeably lower (in the 90-110 range which is about what they were with just diet).
I have an appointment with my endocrinologist the first week of June and if I am still having these side effects then I may want to stop with the victoza.
Please say a prayer for me that I will begin to respond better. I want to get back to my regular life so badly. It’s beyond frustrating. Who knew the road to health was so paved with peril?
Thanks to Megan for calling me yesterday- providing the one bright spot. Love you! The rest of my family has been in Europe for the last 2 weeks (I know tough life!) and I must say I’m excited for them to back. Even though they don’t live in Utah I have missed their support over the phone during these tough weeks. Poor Megan and Emily have had to absorb all of my venting! Thanks!
Evil Victoza
Hang in there. Health issues are the worst. I’ll be thinking of you and hoping everything gets better.
thanks. I need all the thoughts and prayers I can get!
Hang in. I have been on Victoza since September and I have lost 42 pounds. It has changed my life. I am so grateful this medication. I need so much less food to live and I don’t feel deprived in the least. The side effects do go away.
Are you injecting at night? I find that helped a lot, in the beginning.
Ideally, you really try to tune in to what your body feels. You do have to give up most of your previous eating habits, and only eat what feels right, and then only eat small amounts. If you were or are very overweight, your sense of what is the right amount has become skewed, and now you are going way in the other direction. But try to think of it as a gain, not a loss: how wonderful that an apple is so fulfilling!
Thanks for the comment. Did you have vomiting? My doctor recommended I stop the shots for the time being. I couldn’t keep any food down and he thinks there may be other problems. I know it is good to eat less but a girl can only live so long with no food being held down. I’ve lost 60 lbs on my own so may just keep up with diet and exercise. We will see.
I’m glad you’ve had success. That’s encouraging. Please keep looking at my blog as I will be interested in your continued feedback.
I did in the very beginning.
I wonder if the smallest dose, at bedtime, is where you should stay for a while until you habituate. The reason to take Victoza is not purely for weight loss, per se. The way your blod sugar is regulated really does make a difference if you give it a chance. And Victoza targets visceral fat and minimizes muscle loss, because it makes your hypothalamus reprogram your metabolism. You can’t do this without liraglutide. Really, I cannot say enough for this medication. Worth toughing it out. Not evil!
Thanks again for the feedback. I plan on trying again once my doctor gives me the go ahead. He thinks I may have an infection on top of the side effects making things more difficult (nothing can be simple for me!). We did some tests and should know soon.
How long did it take you to adjust?
the only reason I said it was evil is I was so sick that day. I don’t know when I’ve felt worse. I may have a H pylori infection which is kind of like an ulcer.
This makes everything more complicated but is treatable with antibiotics. My crazy health!
It’s true, you may simply have a bug. It took me three to four weeks to adjust completely, and at times I can still have a nausea moment, usually when I have either gone too long without eating or have eaten a little too much.
I do know, from a long chat with the NovoNordisk drug rep who happened to be in my doctor’s office, that it is reasonable to stay on the lowest dose as long as one is reacting to it (both in the side effect sense and also in the low appetitie sense), and that some people never move past the 1.2 dose. If you get full benefit from the .06 dose, stay there. That gives you the margin to move up when you start to resist the effects of the drug. Ditto the 1.2 dosage — move up to 1.8 only when you need to.
Yeah I can’t imagine doing a higher dose for a while! We will see. Really thanks for your perspective.
One last question- if you are only eating an apple how do you have the energy to work out? Do you feel like it is something you can keep up forever, eating so little?
I eat more than an apple — and I try to get enough protein every day. But my point is if an apple is filling, then stop eating at that time. Know your limits, really pay attention how you feel. I have often thrown out the second half of a banana instead of finishing it mindlessly, for example. One nutritious food easy to tolerate is a softboiled egg with a piece of multigrain toast.
I do feel I can keep eating this way indefinitely. I feel good.
that makes sense. Good job! Will let you know how the second trial of victoza goes. I will probably start again next week.
My 1st question is did you start with the smallest dose? If not, try that then work up. I am up to full dose and I love it. I still get a little sickly feeling, but if I eat some crackers I am fine. My sugars went from being in the mid 200′s to the mid 100′s. I have lost 20 in 2 months. I LOVE this drug. I hope you do well on the next go around. Maybe even talking it every other day until your body adjusts. However, I do know that there are a small amount of ppl that cannot take it. I pray that you feel better and back to yourself soon.
Thanks so much for your comment and insight. I was on the smallest dose. That’s an intriguing idea of taking it every other day at first. I will discuss that with my doctor. My blood sugars were only in the 200′s if I deviated from the low glycemic diet. The problem was even when my sugars were low I didn’t feel well- I was feeling hypoglycemic at normal rates. The doctor thought the victoza would help with that.
I must say the experiences I’ve read online are all positive for victoza so I’m hopeful I will adjust. Thank you for your prayers. I need all the help I can get. What a road! How has the road to weight loss and diabetes diagnosis been for you? Just curious. You can just email if you don’t want to post it for all to see.
Thanks again.
My diabetes were pretty well controlled until I developed Fibromyalgia. Since then, its been difficult. I only started to lose weight with the Victoza but it has motivated me to eat even less and keep my BS normal. The 1st two weeks I felt awful. I was so tired. My Dr, nurse, and Rph said that when you have high BS for so long and thengo to normal, your body goes thru an adjusting period. I am back to myself. I really hope that this works for you. Keep me updated!
same with you. The fibromyalgia would be rough. Is it related to the diabetes?
I feel for you. I just started this med on Weds and was fine. Ate almost normally. Yesterday, though, I took the smallest dose in the a.m., and by mid-late afternoon was feeling awful. Didn’t eat much all day, which was good (I think eventually I would adjust and eat better, but for now, since I have at least 50 lbs to lose, I’m loving that it has taken my appetite away, at least from what I’ve seen in only two days). I was up all night, off and on, with terrible heartburn, then this morning I threw up over and over again. Only now, a few hours later, am I slowly starting to feel human again. So I’m worried. I really want to take this drug, both for my sugar levels, and to lose weight. But I can’t live through weeks or more of this nausea, weakness, and especially the vomiting. I’m going to try taking it at night and see if that helps. And Saltines! Hope you can get back on it and work through the time it takes your body to adjust – and I hope the same for me! Good luck to us both!
I feel your pain. Truly. I had to stop because the doctor thought I had a virus in addition to the side effects. I am now on day 3 of starting again and it has gone better. I know what you mean though I am having the same battle of wills that you are having. The weight loss and blood sugar regulation are great but at what cost? Do I pick a solution that it will go faster but make me feel horrible or do I pick at it slowly with diet and exercise. Tough call. Keep me posted on your progress.
I think going at it slowly and trying to diet and exercise is the best way to go, especially since going at a low dose will hopefully make it less likely that we’ll feel so crummy! I’m going out of town for a week and contemplating just not taking it during that time, then trying again. Don’t want to ruin my vacation! But will check back with you later this month and see how we’re doing!
I know I am wondering about vacation. Since it has to be refrigerated I am wondering how you can take it on a plane? Anyone know?
Do the injections at bedtime!!!
That’s some advice I’ve heard on several websites, so I’m going to try that when I re-start. Thanks!
Once it’s opened, it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
I didn’t realize that. thanks.
[...] I had so many comments on my ‘Victoza is Evil‘ post that I felt I must own up to my better response this time. Hopefully it continues and [...]
Victoza might be evil again. I had to stop taking it for my surgery and then when I started again I am having the nausea and vomiting again. Strange? No fun.
[...] easily (even the anesthesia from the eye surgery made me sick). As I reported in one of my posts a medicine called victoza made me particularly sick a couple of weeks ago. I literally [...]
I understand… I have been on Victoza, full dose since November. I get sick every other day and the eggy burps make me wanna stop. But my A1C and levels are great. I am really going to use it to its full potential and try to limit my carbs a lot this summer to add to my weight loss. I also take metformin 500 3x a day. Hang in there. Glad to have found you.
Thanks. That sounds tough. I am not as strong as you to put up with such things. I tried the victoza twice and just couldn’t eat I was so nauseous all the time. I almost went to the hospital it was so bad. After a long chat with my doctor he put me on onglyza and took me off of metformin and victoza. Its been great. No bad side effects and only one pill a day. My blood sugars have been good but I’ve had to be more of a stickler on the diet because it doesn’t lower appetite like victoza. Still, I think it is the right choice for me. Good luck! Keep in touch.
[...] week was not quite as successful because of some stomach upset. I have stepped up my dosage of victoza and once again my body did not like it. I was doing so well for weeks that I thought I could up [...]
i’ve been on Victoza for 11 days now & I haven’t had any real side effects to speak of & while it does suppress my hunger considerably I haven’t had any weight loss to speak of.
Maybe it’s not doing much for me?
I would take notes of how you feel, when you take the shots and be specific. The doctor thinks I’m crazy but I found when I was taking metformin and victoza I had the strong reactions. When I went to just victoza I was fine. I found with each increase in dosage I lost some weight but not as much as some people (my body hangs on to the pounds like nothing else!). My sugars have become regulated and my A1C has gone down, so that’s what is important . I have been very strict on the diet and exercise a lot regularly. I would give it a few months and like I said take good notes. If victoza is working for you Onglyza is another choice but it is more expensive. Good luck and keep me posted.
I’m on Metformin, Glimpiride & Victoza
I am too but since I began to take Victoza 3 days ago and my stomache feels like fire inside, do not know what to do. Any advice for me?
Make sure you eat early so you have as little food in your stomach as possible when you take the shot. I found I couldn’t tolerate both metoformin and victoza. I had to go with one or the other. Take careful notes of how you feel, when you take the medicine, what symptoms you have ect. Good luck!
i know that victoza says to do .6 dose for a week, then 1.2, then finally 1.8. you don’t have to jump up like that. i started at .6 for a week-it made me feel a little sick in the mornings and did seem to keep me full, but when i upped to 1.2 it made me feel sick again.i backed down to .6 but then once ifelt ok there, upped it just a couple clicks every couple days. it took me over a month to get up to the full dose. during that time i lost around 7 pounds. since then i’ve kind of stabilized..my bs are lower, but i gained the weight back..thinking it’s not working for me. one of my friend’s daughters though lost 100 pounds in her first year on it. i think it’s just one of those things that works for some or not others.
thanks for your comment and for sharing your experiences. I actually tried victoza again in July and had a better response. For some reason I did much better when I was not taking metformin and victoza together. Its like my body can only handle so much.
The victoza has definitely helped me with my sugars; however, I have not lost weight. My body sure has a hard time giving up its extra fat! I just keep plugging away and doing the best I can.
Keep me posted on how you are doing!
l too had the almost same reactions to horrible victoza.My doc loved the results ,a1c went to 6.4.Quickly lost 30 lbs.Could not get past 1.2 mg tried 3 times to get to 1.8. Not possible.Never wanted to eat Stopped enjoying food.Think about it,nothing tasted good,litterally had to force myself to eat anything! Then there is the stomiach (episodes ) happens at illeast 2-4 timed a day(still does!) feels like my stomach is literally disappearing,I can only lean over and hold my stomach unable to do anything for about 3_10 seconds feel exhausted for a couple minutes afterward.This NEVER happened before evil victoza.I stpped victoza 8 months ago,last april.When will side effects stop.I loved food,loved too eat,don’t now Still unable to eat more than a little at a time.On janumet now,spend a Lot of time on toliet now.Is there any diabectic drug I can tolerate ? Tired of it all.
Try onglyza. I responded much better to it. Also, are you taking metformin and victoza? I found I responded much better to both when I was only taking one or the other, the combination of the 2 was bad.
It’s important to listen to your body more than listen to your doctor. They give what works for 90% and I’ve found often I don’t fit into that group. Take very careful notes of everything you eat and any symptoms you have. It is your best defense with the doctor.
Most of the time they give victoza because they want things to happen faster but just tell your doctor (as I told mine) that you are in this for the long haul and will take the time needed to get a healthy A1C and weight. I have a five year plan. It took me 2 years to lose 50 lbs and I hope to be under 200 lbs in 2 more years. We will see. The pounds thing isn’t as much my focus as other goals like swimming in open water races.
There are some months I’ve done everything right and still gained weight so be patient with your body. You can only do so much and then you just have to let your body respond. Forcing it to take some medicine that it obviously doesn’t want is crazy.
Keep me posted on how you do!
[...] Difficult Victoza Response [...]