Victoza

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Gillian2102

Gillian2102

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi,

Has anyone else been prescribed Victoza injections and if so do you have to take metformin too? I've had really bad side effects from metformin in the past so had to be taken off it. As bloods went sky high I'm on victoza but now told by Diabetic nurse I have to take metformin with it. I'm worried all the reactions to metformin will come back... Which included being sick daily, hot flushes, heart palpitations etc.

Any info on this plus success of victoza would be welcome.

Thanks
 
Hi Gillian, We have quite a few members who have had good results from Victoza. Some people do experience side-effects initially, mostly nausea, but these generally pass within a couple of weeks. If you are unable to tolerate Victoza then there are alternatives of a similar nature called Byetta and Bydureon.

Have you only been on metformin until now? I ask because normally they try you with other oral medications before starting you on Victoza as it is relatively expensive (they usually try the cheapest first!). Also, was it ordinary metformin or did you try the slow-release version? If you haven't tried the latter then you may find that you tolerate it better.

I'm not aware of any necessity to take metformin if you are taking Byetta, although I'm not a doctor and it may depend on your own personal needs and situation, which your nurse/doctor will obviously know better - I don't think it is an absolute requirement is what I'm trying to say! Seems a strange move to insist you take a medication that has caused you so many problems :confused:
 
There's some research now that says if you take basal insulin WITH Victoza, it's a) more successful in lowering your BG and b) lessens the nausea associated with Victoza one heck of a lot.

But - it's new - so it could be ages (years) before it filters through the NHS and gets to GPs ......
 
Hi

Yes metformin and the slow release tried but nothing else. As that didn't work they've put me on victoza then suddenly said it's only licensed to be taken with metformin! As you say why give me metformin when it made me so ill last time. I'm just about over the sickness and other side effects from starting victoza and I don't want to start all over again by messing with it.

Thanks,for your advice... I shall challenge their insistence I take metformin again with the victoza. When off the metformin my levels went up to 26, now on victoza alone I'm at 7 / 8.
 
If your levels have improved so much on Victoza alone, I really don't see why they would ruin your quality of life by forcing you to take a drug you can't tolerate! Whilst a lot of people may be on metformin as well as Victoza, I'm pretty certain it's not everyone. I've had a quick look on Google and can't find any requirement to take the two together. Your pharmacist might be able to tell you - they generally know more than doctors about this sort of thing 🙂
 
I just saw this Gillian. I'm using Victoza in conjunction with Insulin, although my situation is a little different, it does give the lie to their assertion that it's only licensed for use with Metformin.
 
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