Victoza and lactose intolerance - or could it be something else?

Recently I got together with some friends from high school.  Sadly, it wasn’t for a happy occasion, like we have done in the past, but for saying good bye to a good friend of ours, who had battled breast cancer for 5 years, and sadly lost to it, as it invaded their body.   I didn’t realise until last w/e when we got together to raise a glass to her time their time here on planet Earth – that they had become diabetic during those years.   All of you know, from my past blogs and statements I’ve made within the social media …. “ if they’d had diabetes – they would be alive today “.

I found out that many have now become Type 2 diabetes (T2D).  As one of my friends put it – their whole family has it – so they “inherited” it.  I had to hold my tongue back on their statement, as I’m still on the fence post about whether Type 2 is passed on.  I am under the belief that the rise of Type 2 diabetes has a lot to do with how we now lead our lives, such as inactivity, foods that are eaten … the list goes on.

One thing I performed as soon as I arrived at my friend’s house for the good bye party – was test my blood sugar (BG) after the 2 hour drive.  I’m getting better now, as an insulin dependent gal to test before I hit the road.  I pulled out my little Lolita who was interviewed a few years ago otherwise known as my FreeStyle Lite meter.   Of course, they thought this was a nifty little meter (I have cool skins for it).  They thought I was such a good diabetic to be testing my BG, but of course, with wine and food awaiting me, I wanted to make sure I’d be in the good zone (neither going low or high).

One thing that one of my Type 2 Diabetic (T2D) friends told me when we started  talking about my scribbles here at Diabetes1.org and my Facebook/Twitter posts – was how different we feel when we go either low or high.  For myself, I feel tired when I go low, and when I go high, which isn’t too often, I don’t tend to feel much different.  For them, it was going high that made them feel tired.   Maybe being a Type 2 diabetic – the symptoms of our blood sugar number varies?

One of them is using Victoza  – which according to my Mum – her sister uses – and it appears to be working for helping her shed weight/keep BG's balanced BUT apparently she has become lactose intolerant since starting on it.  I asked my friend if he had some of the symptoms that my Aunt has – and they said yes (they love cheese like I do – it’s a low carb food!!!).  It’s hard to say after reading the link above on Victoza if the stomach/bowel problems could be all due to lactose intolerance – since this is a common complaint of many Victoza users.  Therefore, the only way to find out if you are lactose intolerant is to either do it the inexpensive way – of cutting out lactose products – and then reintroducing them OR the more scientific way of knowing for sure – is a hydrogen breath test.  
It’s hard though to really pin it just on the Victoza – since lactose intolerance is also common with osteoporosis, osteopenia, pain, high blood pressure, depression to name a few.

The other scenario –since symptoms are similar is having a wheat and gluten intolerance.   It’s an iffy there as far as self testing goes –as you can tell by this link from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA).  

Just remember –anything you read on the Internet – even from me – ALWAYS question your health care practitioner. about what is happening if you’re taking Victoza or have other health problems. Take note of some of the things you’ve read here – and be an advocate of your own health!!  If you don’t ask – you’ll never know.

Hmmm, the things I learn about when I start to research for a simple blog!