Liraglutide for Type 2 Diabetes User Reviews (Page 4)

• BJa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 8, 2020

"I had been on Byetta and Metformin for twelve years and had maintained an A1C in the mid-5 range. I had suffered no diabetic-related complications. My treatment was successful. Then, my insurance insisted I change to Victoza. It did not work, and I had severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The diarrhea was so severe I was constantly dehydrated, and then my vision began to change. My A1C jumped to the high 7's. The drug was a disaster for me. I had to move heaven and earth to get back to Byetta, and my A1C is coming down, but the Byetta doesn't seem to be as effective as it was prior to taking the Victoza. I have to wonder if the Victoza has left some residual problems with the pancreas not responding as before."

• khu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 19, 2023

"I have been taking Victoza for 2 weeks. The first week I was on 0.6 mg and on the 2nd I started the 1.2 mg. I have lost 10 lbs so far. My biggest issue is soda, with this medication I am not able to drink it or anything with sugar without feeling really horrible, so I have switched to zero sugar teas and lots of water. I also find myself not being able to snack throughout the day and also eat much smaller portions at dinner and make better choices. Anything fried or sugary will result in a horrible stomach ache and headache. I will keep you all posted with any updates. I have started walking to see if that helps me lose weight. My starting weight was 275, and now I am at 265. I still experience nausea, but it comes and goes, and it was really bad the first week. I also experience stomach cramps and other symptoms in the restroom, both going too much or too little, but overall the symptoms have gotten better over time."

• Dcp...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 1, 2016

"Tried metformin and other oral meds, but none could control my fasting levels, and metformin makes me very nauseous. Endo suggested Victoza. Gave me samples to test. Lost about 10 lbs in the first 1-2 weeks of using it. No obvious side effects initially. Sugar levels seemed to normalize, and I had a complete loss of appetite. All seemed well. The samples ran out, and I went for a period without using it while I awaited an endo follow-up. I could see the difference in my blood sugar levels when I stopped. However, after getting back on it, the weight loss did not continue. The longer I use it, the less it works. Now experiencing shortness of breath. Seeing a cardiologist tomorrow. Side effects I've experienced are constipation, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath."

• MrB...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 26, 2013

"Using Victoza for about 5 weeks, I feel a whole lot better generally, with stable blood glucose. With regard to food, I eat smaller, choose better, and more balanced food. I have lost around 10 kg in total in this time, and this alone has made a huge difference. I also consume pre/probiotics daily now, and this helped with the GI disturbances. As for side effects, I had nausea, dizzy spells, gut ache/cramps, reflux, and felt rather tired in the first 2 weeks. All dissipated in the first 4 weeks. At the time, I told myself I prefer to feel like this in the short term than head into a future potentially suffering from the plethora of illnesses brought about by Type 2 Diabetes. It works for me. Give it a chance."

• Meg...
• November 13, 2015

"I have been on Victoza since February 2015. I have lost over 60 lbs. I have had no side effects other than black and blue at the injection site. I was also taking Farxiga with the Victoza. Had stupid side effects with Farxiga, runny nose constantly. I am now off of Farxiga and just taking Victoza. For me personally, Victoza is great."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 3, 2020

"I have been taking Victoza for 2 years now. It works great, my A1C is 5.6. However, I wish the pen would be more user-friendly. The dosage is hard to push through all the way. It should be one click, and it’s in. I’m elderly and have limited strength to push with one hand."

• jay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 11, 2016

"I've been using Victoza for 3 months now. 1.6 for a few weeks then 1.8. I had one night of sickness at the beginning and another recently, but in general, it's more like the thought of eating food that makes me feel sick. My bowel and stomach feel a lot like I need to have an evacuation, but I've not had diarrhea. As for weight loss, I've gone from over 17 stone to 14 st 7 lbs in 3 months without doing anything. My HbA1c has dropped from over 25 to around 7. So everything is pretty amazing. I'm lucky that it's free for me in the UK, but it did take a few years to get it prescribed by my diabetic specialist nurse. I don't know if there are any long-term side effects, but at present, I believe it has changed and saved my life."

• Caj...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 11, 2019

"The first week was the worst, started at 0.6. The diarrhea was bad. Even worse, the weird belching, the burps were gross. It was like my body was getting rid of actual dirt in it. By the time the second week rolled around and I had to increase my dose to 1.2, most of the 'dirt' was out of my system. The belching still continued, and BMs were better. Lost 4 lbs. I'm at a 1.8 dose now. The adjustment seems to get smoother to the increases of doses. I agree with the other comments that it's strange how I don't think about food or wanting to eat. I'm hoping that prolonged thinking (or lack of thinking) will help change my relationship with food. Plus, I feel better on the inside, physically. If that makes any sense. Hoping for more and continued positive changes. I'm glad I stuck with it through the onset reactions."

• MO-...
• April 22, 2015

"I took Victoza for well over a year, and it improved my blood sugar readings tremendously. My A1C had been as high as 9, and it got down to 6.9 with Victoza. However, I was sick SO MUCH! Constant diarrhea, burping (the nasty, boiled egg kind), and extreme nausea and vomiting. I finally started tracking my sick days, and in one month, I was sick 4 days. And by sick, I mean throwing up every few minutes, all day long. I had several tests done, and the only thing discovered was that I digest food slower than normal, which is what Victoza is designed to do. I decided it was probably the Victoza making me so sick. I stopped taking it completely and have not been sick for over a month. Blood sugars are not good now, so waiting to see my doctor."

• Vic...
• October 24, 2014

"I've been on Victoza for about 18 months. My doctor suggested it initially to help me with weight loss while supporting my Type II diabetes. My glucose is now well within normal range. In fact, my doctor suggested I might want to consider stopping the medicine for a few months, and then retest my A1C level. However, as soon as I stopped, I started eating too much again. As I'm still trying to lose weight, I immediately went back on the Victoza and will try again in January when, hopefully, I will have lost a few more pounds. No regrets on this medicine (except the high price)."

• Fir...
• July 19, 2013

"I was told I was a diabetic 2 years ago and could not lose any weight or get my HbA1C down until Victoza. Now I've lost 51 lbs in 5 months. My HbA1C went from 13.1 to 6.9, and blood sugar levels went from 285 to 115 on average. I changed my eating habits and watched just what I ate, which I couldn't control before. I had no side effects at all. Victoza has really helped me. I'm on metformin too, but hoping one day I'll be able to get off of it."

• Jan...
• May 4, 2016

"Have been on Victoza for 1 1/2 months. Have lost about 10 lbs, which is good for me. BS is great, now I am at 1.2 mg. My only real complaint is that I get very sleepy about 2 hours after the injection. Have mild constipation and occasional nausea after 2 weeks. Initially, had bad nausea. I am real pleased with how it is working for me so far."

• Jan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 12, 2014

"I have been on and off Victoza for a few years now. I had really bad gastrointestinal side effects the first time I started it and milder side effects each time I stop and restart. I never get much above 1.2 before I start getting life-changing insomnia. I am not positive it's due to the Victoza, but it goes away when I stop it and starts when I restart. Very frustrating. However, my blood sugar rarely goes above 100 anymore, and I am down about 30 pounds from when I started taking it. It's really minimal weight loss over two years, but the effect it has on my Type 2 diabetes is astounding. Now I'm just struggling to find the right dose so I can get some sleep. Any advice would be appreciated."

• Anonymous
• March 7, 2010

"I have been on Victoza for 2 weeks now and lost 4 lbs. The nausea was slight, but I took the injection at night, which helped. The needles feel like a mosquito bite! Can't wait to see how much more I lose, and my sugars are much better levels."

• UHC...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 15, 2016

"Been on Victoza for about 3 months. Lost 20+ pounds. Started at .6 for two weeks, then upped to 1.2 for a week and 1.8 since then. I've tried everything to control my blood sugar. Before Victoza, I was running about 165-195 in the morning and 140-150 all day. Metformin made it higher. Xigduo made it higher and had horrible side effects. Tried a few others with zero positive results. Victoza worked the best once I hit the 1.8 dose. My morning BS is never higher than about 110, and I'm always <100 throughout the day. The biggest thing is that it completely controls my appetite. I work from home full-time and used to snack all day. With Victoza, I have to make myself eat, and I eat very small portions. I'm just not hungry AT ALL. Love it!"

• Sir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 20, 2019

"I’ve been on Victoza for 3 months. I had horrible reactions to Ozempic. I have a very overly sensitive stomach with other GI issues. Ozempic made me very sick, and I read better reviews on Victoza. I have been on 0.6 mg for over 3 months, and if you are having issues with higher doses, I strongly encourage keeping at a low dose. It was extremely effective for me! I tried to increase to 1.2 mg, and after 5 days, my body started feeling the same effects Ozempic did, so I went back to 0.6 mg. My A1c went from 7.2 to 6.1 in 3 months! It also had the opposite effect of the 1.2 mg, which gave me severe diarrhea, the 0.6 mg actually gives me normal BMs since I already have an ongoing GI issue with diarrhea. I honestly love it! I was told doctors don’t prescribe 0.6 mg because no clinical studies were done on this dosage, but this seriously worked great in 3 months. I’m giving it a 9/10 because I still get annoying gas and painful stomach cramps now and again, which can be annoying."

• Deb...
• May 9, 2010

"Started on Victoza just 2 weeks ago, and I was amazed. I lost 7 lbs in the first week - only problem is for the last two days I have been having 'eggy' burps, but apparently this is common due to undigested food in the stomach. Victoza gets the thumbs up from me, as Byetta made me feel ill."

• lac...
• February 13, 2014

"I have type 2 diabetes. I have been using Victoza for 3 weeks now. I have lost 10 lb, and I feel so energetic throughout the day. I love it. I just hope I keep losing weight because I have another 20 lb to go, and my sugar levels have been normal."

• Pyr...
• December 30, 2013

"I have been on Victoza for quite a long while now. I was between 278 and 287 pounds when I started, and my blood sugar was not good. I have been taking the Victoza well over a year now and am down to 215 pounds, quite amazing really, as the medicine makes you not want to eat and you feel full with only a little food. However, the nausea is the worst, and getting accustomed to the medicine is the hardest part. Yes, you should not take Victoza on an empty stomach. I had started taking it in the early mornings. But sometimes, even though I ate a little something, once the nausea started, then up came everything I had ever eaten in my life. It happens really fast! Just don't give up the fight, the good is better than the bad!"

• ama...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 25, 2016

"Victoza is awesome. I got diagnosed, my A1C was 13.6. They gave me Glipizide (XL 10 mg daily) and Metformin (1000 mg 2x daily) and got my A1C to 10.8 and fasting glucose to 267. They gave up and sent me to the endocrinologist. He gave me Victoza (6 mg for two weeks, then 1.2 mg). After 1 month, my fasting glucose is down to 80 and my A1C is at 8.4, which is remarkable given that A1C tests include two months without the drug. Even better, Victoza makes me feel full, and I eat less. Weight has dropped 6 pounds already. But it doesn't end there. I had mild hypertension 135/85. Now it's 108/72. Only side effect was a mild rash at the injection site. Went away after a couple of weeks."

• Ner...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2016

"I know it's a bit early, but thought I could always update as I continue on my Victoza journey. I started with the 0.6 dose on Dec 28, 2015. My blood sugars were continually averaging between 8.0 and 15.1. I noticed right away my blood sugars were down in the 8's and 7's after meals and in the morning. After reading a lot of reviews on different sites, I was terrified to take this. Side effects so far: mild nausea, not all the time, just here and there, a bit itchy at the injection sites, a bit bloated, and mild constipation. You have to be careful not to overeat because you do feel full quickly. Blood sugar in the morning 6.7, five pounds lost. Will update."

• flo...
• December 2, 2014

"I have just begun this medicine for 2 weeks. I am Type 2 diabetic for 20 years and didn't control my sugar level very well. I had a heart bypass (triple 3) last year. This medicine works well for me. No side effects. I began from 0.3 because I have to be very careful with my heart condition. Now, I am at 0.6. My sugar level is very good, always around 5.6-6.0. I am going on with it to see what happens. It is very expensive for me, but I think life is more precious."

• red...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 4, 2014

"Me again! I am now completing my second week of Victoza. My blood sugars are down around 102 after being at 200-250 most of the time! Amazing! I have had some nausea side effects, though. I can barely eat, it's work to put anything into my mouth, and I am a huge foodie. Love to think about, look at, and eat food, but I just can't do it. It's really weird. I have lost 4 pounds from when I started this medicine, and I can tell I will lose more because it is a struggle to eat. There have been 2 days that I have had to go home from work, though. Those 2 days, all I could do was sleep, and I just felt miserable. Yesterday was one of those days, and I had a horrible headache that wouldn't go away with Advil. I'll report again in a few weeks!"

• Ski...
• May 14, 2013

"I've been taking Victoza for 2 months, up to full dose. Side effects, gas and sulfur burps and acid reflux. What I have realized is that this medicine actually makes your stomach empty slower into the small intestine. Imagine you have a chemically induced lap band. You cannot eat what you were used to, your stomach is half full to begin with. So with a lot of trial and error, you will figure out the eating habits to prevent the reflux and such. I am planning on eliminating dinner, just a Nestlé Boost and maybe cheese and grapes later, but want to do just the Boost. So I hope major weight loss comes soon. I will let you know."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2017

"I'm a 35-year-old woman with PCOS, prediabetes, and high resistance to weight loss. Started Victoza 7/14/17. Sugars now in normal range, and I've lost 16 lbs so far! Side effects included some stomach pain/cramping at first that has now eased up. I eat less and stay away from heavy/greasy foods to avoid side effects. I find that I always feel full. Never hungry. Occasional constipation, nothing too bad. Overall, I'm very pleased to finally be losing weight and getting my sugars under control! I started at .6 ml and now am at 1.8. I find the dosing easy and painless. I'm excited to see how this affects my A1c, thrilled the scale is finally moving in the right direction! I'll update in a few weeks."