Contents
- Victoza: instructions for use
- How to administer the drug correctly?
- How many injections is the pen designed for?
- What needles are suitable for syringe pens? Where are they sold?
- Byeta or Victoza – what to choose?
- Victoza for weight loss
- Victoza or Saxenda – what to choose?
- Is it possible to combine treatment with alcohol intake?
Victoza is a drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes with the main active ingredient liraglutide. The drug is produced by the Novo Nordisk company, which, on the positive side, has established itself in the market of pharmacological services.
If a person has been prescribed Victoza for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, then the information below will allow him to get the maximum information about contraindications, side effects and dosage of the drug. Victoza is used not only to lower blood sugar levels, but also to reduce body weight. This is an effective drug that meets all modern safety requirements.
Victoza: instructions for use
How the drug works | Liraglutide causes the pancreas to produce insulin after each meal. Also, the action of the substance is aimed at reduced glycogen production in the liver. This allows you to reduce the level of glucose in the blood, but hypoglycemia does not threaten a person. The use of the drug makes it possible to reduce appetite, and also slows down the process of digestion of food. The drug is excreted both by the kidneys and the liver. The withdrawal period is 6 to 8 days. |
When to take it | Victoza is prescribed to patients with type XNUMX diabetes mellitus. This is the only indication that can be found in the official instructions. However, many people inject themselves with the drug themselves, which allows them to fight excess weight, as it allows you to control your appetite. In parallel, in such people, the level of sugar in the blood decreases if it was elevated (a similar situation is often observed in obesity). If you combine the use of the drug with a low-carbohydrate diet, you can achieve good results. |
When the drug should not be used | There are certain contraindications to the use of Victoza:
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What you need to pay special attention to | With diabetic neuropathy, a patient may develop gastroparesis, which is characterized by a violation of the transition of food from the stomach to the intestines. With such a complication, the use of the drug is prohibited. During treatment, you should regularly take a blood test for pancreatic amylase. If the indicators worsen from time to time, then you need to stop using Victoza. Otherwise, the patient may develop pancreatitis. It is impossible to replace Victoza with insulin injections without a doctor’s prescription. |
Recommended doses | The injection is given 1 time per day. It is best to do this at the same time. Practitioners recommend giving injections 1-3 hours before the upcoming hearty meal. The starting dose is 0,6 mg per day. If the patient feels satisfactory, then it is increased and after 7 days it should be 1,2 mg. In the future, it can be increased to 1,8 mg. If a person’s sugar level is normal, and he uses Victoza to reduce weight, then 3 mg of the drug can be administered per day. However, you should also start with small doses. This will allow the body to adapt to the therapy. |
Side effects | As adverse events, patients often complain of diarrhea and constipation, nausea and vomiting, and itchy skin. As a rule, they develop in the early stages of treatment, and after a few weeks or days they pass on their own. Headaches and chest pains may also occur. In parallel, the appetite worsens, but it does not completely disappear. The most formidable side effect is acute pancreatitis. |
The period of bearing a child and breastfeeding | Pregnant and lactating women are not prescribed the drug. |
Interaction with other drugs | Since liraglutide affects absorption in the stomach and intestines, its use may adversely affect other treatments. It is known that Victoza can be used in a complex treatment regimen with insulin injections Levemir. However, before starting therapy, you need to get medical advice. |
Overdose | An overdose is indicated by nausea and vomiting, as well as severe diarrhea. With timely seeking medical help, it is possible to completely stop the symptoms of an overdose. The use of high doses of Victoza does not lead to hypoglycemia. Treatment depends on the symptoms that the patient has. |
Form of issue | The drug is released as a solution for subcutaneous administration at a dosage of 6 mg / ml. The solution is practically colorless. You can also find the drug in 3 ml cartridges made of glass. They are sealed with a rubber or polyisoprene disc, and on the other side of the cartridge is a piston. The cartridge is sealed in a syringe pen. In a carton can be from 1 to 3 syringe pens. |
How to store, expiration date | Storage conditions must be strictly observed. All of them are listed in the instructions for use. If the cartridge is used, then its expiration date is limited to a month. |
Composition | The basis of the drug is liraglutide. The excipients are: sodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate, propylene glycol, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, water for injection. |
There are no analogues of the drug Victoza, which are characterized by low cost. Drugs that have a similar effect include Byetta (exenatide), Lyxumia (lixisinatide), and Trulicity (dulaglutide). However, these funds are expensive.
Liraglutide, as a hypoglycemic agent, has practically no effect on blood glucose levels. However, it reduces appetite, promotes rapid satiety and prevents overeating.
The disadvantages of Victoza include:
The high cost of the drug.
Presence of side effects.
The need for injections.
For some patients, the fact that they will need to self-administer their own injections is crucial to refusing treatment. Although syringe pens allow you to give injections with little or no pain.
How to administer the drug correctly?
The drug can be administered both in the thigh and shoulder area, and in the abdomen. It is best to inject 2 or 3 hours before the upcoming meal (when a person plans to consume its maximum volumes), for example, before lunch. Although many people transmit in the evening. Victoza will reduce appetite, which increases closer to the night.
How many injections is the pen designed for?
The higher the dosage of the drug that a person injects himself, the faster he will run out of syringe pens. One such device contains 18 mg of liraglutide.
The syringe pen can be enough for the following number of doses:
If a person injects 0,6 mg of the drug per day, then one pen is enough for 20 injections.
When the daily dose is 1,2 mg, then the pen is enough for 15 doses.
If a person uses 1,8 mg of the drug per day, then the number of doses will be 10.
When the daily dose is 3,0 mg, then the pen is enough for 6 doses.
With severe obesity, it is shown to administer exactly 3,0 mg of the drug per day, even if the level of sugar in the human blood is within the normal range.
Patients with diabetes are shown to use up to 1,8 mg of the drug per day. However, therapy should begin with 0,6 mg of Victoza. The first time to increase the dosage should not be earlier than after 7 days.
Sometimes, in order to save money, some patients give themselves one injection of Victoza, and then take a break for several days. It is not known what such experiments might threaten. With the help of the drug, you can develop the habit of eating small portions of food and eating right. When this happens, you can refuse to take it.
During the course of therapy, it is imperative to monitor the condition of the pancreas by donating blood for amylase. If any deviations are observed, then you need to refuse to take Victoza.
What needles are suitable for syringe pens? Where are they sold?
The pens can be used with NovoFine and NovoTwist needles manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The same company is engaged in the production of the drug Victoza. They can be purchased at the pharmacy and ordered online. Needles are not expensive. You can also check with the seller about the possibility of using needles from other manufacturers.
It is recommended to use one needle for one injection. After it has been used, it should be thrown away. Do not leave the needle in the pen, as this can cause leakage of the drug, and is also associated with the risk of contamination of the needle and further infection of the soft tissues.
Byeta or Victoza – what to choose?
Exenatide-based Byetta is a drug that has a similar effect to Victoza. You need to enter it 2 times a day: in the morning and evening hours. Of course, this creates certain inconveniences. Victoza is more expensive than Byetta, but it is also more comfortable to use the drug.
Abroad, you can find a drug called Bydueron on sale. The injection needs to be given only once every seven days. However, reviews about the drug vary. There is evidence that its use can provoke the development of thyroid cancer. If this information is confirmed, then it will be removed from sale. In Russia, this drug is produced under the name Byeta Long, but it is problematic to buy it.
A similar effect with the drug Byetta has the drug Trulicity with the main active ingredient dulaglutide. It is enough to enter it once a week to achieve a therapeutic effect. It is sold not only in European countries, but also in Russia. Reviews in a foreign language about this drug are mostly positive. It lowers blood sugar and suppresses appetite. In this case, the injection will need to be done only 1 time in 1 days, which is very convenient.
The introduction of the drug causes nausea and diarrhea. You definitely won’t want to eat with such side effects. It should be noted that official medicine does not recognize Trulicity as a means to combat obesity. Also, after setting the first injection, you need to be ready to call an ambulance. It cannot be ruled out that the drug will provoke an attack of acute pancreatitis or a serious allergic reaction.
Victoza for weight loss
The drug Victoza is used by people on their own to reduce weight. It is not aimed at burning kilocalories, but suppresses appetite, which allows you to eat less and lose weight faster. Sometimes you can find reviews that Victoza provokes an aversion to food, but does not force a person to completely refuse it.
The course intake of the drug Victoza is designed to teach a person to eat properly, to wean from the habit of overeating. After giving up injections, useful skills should be preserved. It is not recommended to use Victoza injections for weight loss for a long time.
Victoza or Saxenda – what to choose?
Liraglutide was originally created as a substance for the treatment of diabetes. Later, manufacturers realized that it could be used as a weight loss drug. After all, there are a lot of people who are obese, much more than diabetics. Therefore, the US Department of Health (FDA) conducted a series of studies on this subject and allowed the use of liraglutide as a drug for weight loss. At the same time, it is produced under the brand name Saxenda.
Therefore, Victoza and Saxenda are a drug with the same active ingredient, but they have different names. Liraglutide can be used in people with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more than 27-30 kg/m2 if they have metabolic disorders, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, or prediabetes. It is recommended for such people to administer 0,6 mg of the drug per day during the first week. Then every 7 days the dose is increased by 0,6 mg. It is necessary to bring it up to 3,0 mg per day. While patients with diabetes are shown no more than 1,8 mg of liraglutide per day.
The side effects of Saxenda and Victoza are similar. However, in people who use the drug for weight loss, they can manifest themselves much more intensely, since their daily dose of the drug is higher. They need to be careful about their health, as there is a risk of developing pancreatitis. It is more difficult to buy Saxenda than Victoza.
Is it possible to combine treatment with alcohol intake?
If you turn to the official instructions, then it does not contain any information about the intake of alcohol during treatment with Victoza. Therefore, a person can drink alcohol at his own discretion. However, in order not to provoke the development of serious side effects, you need to stop taking large doses of alcohol. After all, all liquids containing alcohol, in themselves, increase the risk of developing pancreatitis, and taking the drug Victoza doubles these risks.