Victoza in T1

My doctor prescribed Victoza for me at my last appointment as a supplement to lower my potential spikes and lower my overall SD.

I know what it is supposed to do and how it works. I just want to know before I start it what I might expect based on anyone else’s experience with this drug.

For those that don’t know, I’m a 48 year since onset T 1 diabetic with lots of insulin resistance. My A1c at my last visit was 5.8, despite my efforts to be in the mid 6’s, but that’s another story.

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I have been on Victoza now for over a year (started in June 2017). I’m 38 and have been T1 since just before I turned 14 (on a pump now for ~15 of those years).

I experienced a LOT of nausea/vomiting at first, even with a ramp-up of dosage that was much slower than recommended. It took me a full 2 to 3 months or so to go from 0.6 mg up to 1.2 mg (once I realized that the nausea could be reasonably controlled by just limiting the amount of food I ate), and I continued to have intermittent bouts of nausea for another month or so after that (though I realized that this was often tied to whether or not I drank beer - I’ve never been a huge beer drinker but now pretty much stopped drinking it altogether and don’t really have any issues). I then increased the dose again in January to 1.8 mg.

Now - the good:

My A1c dropped a full point and a half (I’m in the high 6s now - I wasn’t as well controlled as you) and I’ve now lost a total of ~60 lbs (down from 238 lbs to 178 lbs). I would not credit Victoza entirely for that (as I started it at about the same time that I took a serious look at the state of my health and decided that I needed to make some changes to how much attention I was giving to my diabetes control and eating habits) but it definitely helped, and I’d say it has definitely been a factor in nearly halving my average total daily insulin dose since I started on it (most of that reduction took place in the first 6 months).

It definitely slows down the digestion of most foods and can make meal bolusing (especially in Auto Mode with the 670G, which doesn’t have the option of square wave bolusing) a challenge, but it isn’t unmanageable if I break up your meal boluses into increments to address it.

All in all it hasn’t been the smoothest ride, but I’m glad I’m on it and I have no doubt that I’m in better health for it.

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@ay0hkay I haven’t started it yet, but my concerns are exactly as you describe. I’m moderately leery of nausea ( I really do have an iron stomach), but my biggest concern is working out a new bolus routine, especially if it drastically reduces my insulin requirement.

A more nonethereal concern is the ongoing cost. I’ll be on Medicare after the first of the year and am suspect that Medicare will approve an off label use of the medication.

I’m 66, and wondering if I should leave well enough alone. I would really only start if I could expect an SD consistently under 30 while still maintaining a sub 6 A1c. (SD currently is in the 30-40 range)

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Reasonable concerns, for sure. For what it’s worth, I thought I had an iron stomach too before I started on liraglutide. :wink:

My SD is currently about where yours is (low 30s) now, but was significantly higher before Victoza.

I am also fortunate that my insurance is covering it with a Prior Auth. Not so certain I’d continue on it if I was paying out of pocket for it…

Good luck with whatever you decide!

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@ay0hkay, I was amazed by your results. Halving your TDD, that is truly extraordinary.

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