Blog Entries With Tag: Victoza

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

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!

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Well, I'm finally getting my life back to order.  Don't think Mike, my husband appreciated my being away at the IDF Diabetes World Congress for 5 days (I averaged 12 hour days there), as my Domestic Engineering duties sort of went the way of the dodo bird.  I am back on track, almost, just don't pay me a surprise visit right now, as it still looks like a bomb went off in my house (I need a housekeeper as one of my friends says - treat yourself).

So, below you will find a rather amusing picture of me.  It was a way to let off some steam I think for all the delegates that were there, as attending seminars, learning new ideas of coping with diabetes can sometimes make for a tired brain.  It was fun seeing people from all over the world, putting on the RCMP uniform and standing with the Canadian Rockies behind them!  Of course, I had to do something different didn't I? Being the animal lover, I had to go and pet the moose.  He was very bristly, incase you are wondering! The staff had no problem the next day remembering my picture, no number required - just had to tell them - "I'm the moose lover!"

I went to the Novo Nordisk booth because I was interested in learning about Victoza, which Type 2 diabetics can inject once a day.  They can either use it alone, or combine it with their Metformin or sulphonylurea treatment.  The big thing with this insulin that they are thumping their chests about is that it helps patients gain better blood glucose control WITHOUT the weight gain, which often happens when going on insulin therapy.  According to one of the documents I have on hand, visceral fat (this is fat that surrounds our internal organs) was reduced by 13% to 16% in patients treated with Victoza + Metformin.  I know for a few diabetics diagnosed with Type 2, weight can be an issue, and of course, the sooner we shed it, eat sensible and exercise, the better our diabetes is controlled!

So in a nutshell it'll be able to do the following -

• Reductions in A1C of up to 2.74%
• Reductions in weight by up to 2.8 kg
• Reduction in blood pressure readings
• Improvement is beta-cell function (makes me wonder with time, if you start early enough - you might reverse diabetes as your pancreas start to produce insulin).

Not sure when it will be coming to the market in North America as all the information I am finding  is based in Europe - therefore I'm unable to post the Novo Nordisk link for you to check it out for yourself unless you register there yourself.  I've done abit of research on Victoza and there seems to be some problems with bringing it to the market due to labeling of the product believe it or not in the United States!  We'll just have to wait and see and be patient with FDA, but the forecast is for sometime in 2010. 

Also, if there are any of my friends from abroad reading my scribbles, and you've got some insight into Victoza, please feel free to share with us!