Victoza Victories And Side Effects

I have been on Victoza for over 6 months. I am 8 pounds away from my first goal weight. Yes, I had a lot of weight to lose, but now only have a total of 58 pounds left to go! I had lost much of my weight before starting on Victoza but could not lose any more weight. I would maintain the weight that I had lost and could lose no further until taking Victoza.

I posed questions to my Endocrinologist today. What is the end goal for my taking of Victoza? Can I eventually stop taking Metformin, Glybyride and Victoza at all one day? Will I be able to maintain my weight loss without Victoza one day? Here are the answers he gave me to me (only). Each person's situation may be different.

He said that he is switching me to a new form of Metformin which is time-released and taken by pill only 1 time per day. That was good news. I am already off 1/2 of my Glyburide medication. I require 1/2 a tablet to one full tablet in the evening sometimes, depending upon what the glucometer tells me. If my blood sugar is (for instance) 138 before eating and I know I will consume one carb choice, I know I may have to take 1/2 a Glyburide or 1 Glyburide tablet, depending upon what the carb is.

He said some people do get completely off the Victoza and Metformin. It has happened. Is it difficult? Sometimes. He says that people who are not able to adhere to the food dos and don'ts have difficulty retaining their weight loss. They let things go. They return to eating moderate levels of carb to high levels of carb, which does not work for those of us who are "allergic" to many carbs and thus they gain back some or all of their weight, and then some. The discipline of portion and carb limitation will always be there for some of us. He is one of the most world-renowned Endocrinologists in the United States, if not the world. No name can be given here because I do not want to reveal my location or specific area.

This is the first time in my life that a doctor has actually LISTENED TO ME when I tell them that at one time I was not a food addict. I told him I got frustrated and depressed and gave in to medicating with food. I got help for that through a program so that now I have more control over portions and cravings. He was happy to recommend the Victoza for me because of my new discipline with food. He thought I would do really well with it, and I have so far. Knock on some wood.

Do I have side effects? Jiminy Crickets! Yes. But this is only the second time in my entire life that I believe I will reach a good goal weight! I am treating the side effects as they come up. He had me cut back on my dosage when I feel the fatigue. I cut back on it as directed and begin bumping the dosage back up again the way he tells me to. The fatigue does subside so that I can continue exercising, which makes the medication truly effective in dropping the pounds. I am having some nausea, which is new for me on this. I take Kaopectate. Pepto Bismol made me throw up for some reason. I keep hydrated because I get diarrhea. It does go away eventually. I constantly scrutinize my food plan because I find I'm getting tired of doing Atkins constantly, truthfully. So I get tighter control of my sugar free carb stuff (which are sometimes higher in carb than is allowed on my diet sheet).

I was having panic attacks. He says that has nothing to do with Victoza, which is likely very true--won't go into that part. I experience worse depression and had to change meds, again one that is not as likely to cause weight gain. That helped a lot. I had sleeplessness some nights so I take the generic of Xanax (.5) of a mg. at nighttime, as needed.

I am experiencing some short-term memory loss. just annoying small things. Someone tells me something I ask once. I may ask again. That's very different. My doc says that is not caused by Victoza. I'm not super young, but fairly active and read a lot and I volunteer. I each day without fail, varying the pace and distance.

You guys are my support on here. I am on the Assistance Program for Victoza, however long that will last, I don't know. I have never been able to be insured. Any insurance that actually covers anything to keep me alive, I could not afford--would be $700 or $800 a month. I am not able to work. Someone was helping me to get Victoza at first before the assistance kicked in. I had already had one stroke when very young and my blood sugar was heading towards the 300's easily before I began taking Victoza. This was controlling what I eat and exercising (strict control) and I started gaining weight and could not lose any more. I was beginning to not maintain the vast amount of weight I had lost. This was scary. Who wants to go back up towards 400, not me. I was enjoying moving around and walking and volunteering. So I went on Victoza gladly.

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Just wanted to add more to my former post. I posted that I had been on Victoza over 6 months time. It is important to know that those who are taking Victoza now will be a part of a 5 year study for this drug. My Endocrinologist said that by the time a 10 year study has progressed, then they will know more and likely have made improvements to Victoza. They are working on making a Victoza "patch."

I intend to stay positive and just treat these side effects as they occur.

Those that are posting here need to be aware that leaving your email address, you will get spam from this. People wanting to write you, people wanting to help you make millions--so don't respond to those. Click "SPAM."

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I have never had any weight loss with Victoza and was on shots for 5 years for diabetes and it got my A1C down to 5.2. I take trulicity for maintenance once a week. Other meds I take should make me lose weight but I don't. Wellbutrin and Adderall which neither gives me weight loss but again that is not what I am using them for as I have medical issues. Metformin was a nightmare. I ended up with blisters all over my body especially in sensitive places and it took over 2 weeks for them to heal! I called it the "devil from hell!"

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