ozempic

J

JaneF64

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all,
Has anyone any experience or advice regarding the ozempic pen. I'm now on my third week and my sugar levels are higher than ever and my side effects are horrendous, not being able to function 3 days after I have the jab. Does it get better? I'm wondering whether it is worth continuing. I've spoken to my diabetes nurse and she seems to think it's normal. I'm about to get my dose increased and really worried that I will feel even worse. Any thoughts would be appreciated!!
 
Hi @JaneF64

Welcome to the forum.

Just thought I’d point you in the direction of a previous thread where this treatment was discussed. It does seem like others start off feeling some side effects but that they ease over time. I hope yours do too. What sort of symptoms have you been getting?


forum.diabetes.org.uk

ozempic

Hello everyone - I havent been on here for ages! Hope you are all getting on ok. Have any of you heard of ozempic or had any experience of taking it? My hba1c has crept up to 59 and my diabetic nurse has suggested that I start to take this in addition to metformin. Apparently, it's a weekly...
forum.diabetes.org.uk forum.diabetes.org.uk
 
I would negotiate a postponement of increasing your dose to give your body time to adjust. This is not like a daily medication where you can stop if the side effects get to much as once you inject your weekly dose it is stuck in your system and from what some people say, it can be pretty brutal.

What have you done diet wise to help control your diabetes? If you have not reduced your carbohydrate intake then to me, that would be far preferable to try than taking medication which makes you feel ill. Eating low carb takes a bit of getting your head around when you have been used to piling your plate with bread and pasta and potatoes and rice and having breakfast cereal on a morning etc, but once you figure out what to buy and how to cook it, it all becomes much easier and quite enjoyable.
Do you have a Blood glucose meter to test your BG levels at home and therefore see which foods cause you the most problems? If not, we highly recommend you get one and use it to test before and 2 hours after each meal to see the effect that food has on your BG levels and then modify the carb content of that meal next time you have it to get a better result.
If your surgery are unable to provide you with one, they can be purchased and are relatively inexpensive at approx £15 for a basic model. On the forum we recommend the ones with the cheapest test strips as being the most cost effective and for that reason the SD Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 are the most widely self funded models.
 
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I my surgery have mismanaged my diabetes from day 1. I was never properly diagnosed and only when my hb1ac went to 119 after a routine blood test did they act. Their response was to whack as many drugs in me as possible. From my side I have lost 2 stone and completely changed my diet. I no longer eat any sugar or drink alcohol and eat a really low carb diet but my morning b levels are always 10 and above and my last hb1ac was 84 which the Dr cannot explain which is why I was prescribed ozempic. My worry with it is that the diabetic nurse had to juggle both my weight and height so I would be eligible for it as my BMI was too low. I just don't think it is suitable for me but I really don't want to inject insulin
 
An ordinary type two should - probably - see lower levels when on a low carb diet - as long as they have got it right and not been advised badly - eating brown carbs thinking they are good.
It might possibly be an indication that you need more tests to check that you are actually a type two and nothing else is going on. If you are not making enough insulin then that should be considered, particularly as you are feeling so ill on your present medication. Please pester your doctor or nurse for more checks.
 
If those are the steps you have already taken then I agree with Drummer that you may well be misdiagnosed and are actually Type 1 or LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults).
It is not right that they are trying to make you fit the profile for drug prescription instead of actually making sure they have the correct diagnosis. Especially when this drug is making you ill. Push them to do C-peptide and GAD antibody tests to check if you are Type 1. Most health care professionals assume you are Type 2 if you are a mature adult with a high HbA1c, especially if you are a bit overweight. Many have not even heard of LADA and believe that Type 1 only exhibits in children. Seek a second opinion if they pursue this course of medication or ask to be referred to a specialist diabetic clinic.
Unfortunately I think it is likely that you are going to need insulin because if you are LADA or Type 1 you are not producing enough yourself and putting that off and making you suffer the side effects of these other medications is not fair or appropriate.
 
Welcome to the forum @JaneF64

It sounds like you have already taken the steps to reduce the carb intake, but that you are still getting high levels of BG. I think it would be worth asking for additional tests to check whether you are in fact T1 or LADA. This would then lead to the prescription of insulin as you will not be making sufficient for you to manaage even the glucose that your liver releases to keep ticking over.

Let us know how you get on.
 
Welcome to the forum @JaneF64

Sorry to hear that your diabetes diagnosis hasn’t been handled well.

Does your Dr know how little carbohydrate you are eating? Stubbornly high BGs and unintended weight loss should raise some flags. It does sound like you could do with some additional checks and tests to male sure your diabetes type is correct.

Is it only your morning readings which are high? It could be that you are experiencing a strong ‘dawn phenomenon’ (a throwback to our cave dwelling forebears where the liver dumps stored glucose into the blood stream as the day is starting to ‘fire up the burners’). Some people find eating as soon as they get up switches off the liver dump, and for others having a lowish carb snack last thing (eg a cracker and decent chunk of cheese) keeps the liver happy overnight.

Good luck and let us know what happens if you get those extra checks organised.
 
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