Victoza and Vomiting: What Users Say

• Sar...
• June 5, 2019

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I’ve been on Victoza a week now. I want to lose 30 pounds and am always one to get side effects. The bad ones. I’m just starting out on the lowest dosage and it’s 0.6, then each week I’m supposed to move up if needed. Honestly, I don’t want to as it’s working at this low dosage for me and nothing ever works. It took my sweet craving right away. I have no side effects at all and I’m not hungry. I make sure to eat my healthy meals like protein after working out and lots of greens. Staying away from carbs because they make me feel like garbage anyway. I do find I’m thirsty a lot, which is good to increase my water. I’ve lost 6 pounds this week and I know at least 4-ish is water. I did get sick in the beginning, I felt like I had extreme heartburn and threw up. What surprised me is it was the meal from the day before. So it shows you it really slows down what it digests."

• Rep...
• April 10, 2014

For Type 2 Diabetes "I have been on 0.6 ml of Victoza for 7 days now to control my type 2 diabetes. The first 5 days were hellacious, to say the least! I had debilitating nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and those horrible sulfur burps and gas that ran everyone away from me and sent me to the ER, thinking my insides were deteriorating! LOL! But by day 6, the side effects subsided. I lost 10 lbs within the first 3 days. Tomorrow, I have to increase the dosage, but I'm praying that I won't have to deal with the side effects again. So far, so good."

• Tay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 28, 2014

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started taking Victoza on 10/18/2014, and the first four days I was fine. I had a slight headache, on the fifth day, I was dizzy and vomiting. I couldn't keep water down. I skipped a day of Victoza, and started back the following day with no problems. I'm down 7 lbs."

• Snw...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 11, 2017

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "So I was 290 when starting this. About 4 weeks later, I have lost 20 pounds. Everybody is different, I was fine the first week, then when increased to 1.2, I was very nauseous and had absolutely no appetite. When increased to 1.8, I could not handle it, was continuously vomiting, so I went back down to 1.2 for now. Still, my appetite is nonexistent, and I have to eat very small 'meals.' It is basically trial by error, you have to see which foods your body can tolerate while on this med. I am happy so far with results, as I feel this is exactly what I need to get out of some unhealthy eating habits."

• Tad...
• July 23, 2015

For Type 2 Diabetes "Didn't do bad on 0.06 the first week, but still had a strong urge to eat. Had diarrhea and headaches. Then I started 1.2 two days ago, and today I was so nauseated I prayed to vomit. Then I started vomiting, and it won't stop. I take medication other than Victoza every night at bedtime, including Metformin, and a few minutes ago, I threw up most of my pills from last night still intact but swollen. The food from 4 days ago smelled like roadkill. I fear how long it will be before someone dies of an overdose from old medication in their stomach not digesting in time for future doses. It's been more than 20 hours since I ingested anything but water and a vanilla breakfast shake. I will not be taking my regular meds tonight. Victoza is out!!"

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

For Type 2 Diabetes "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."

• MO-...
• April 22, 2015

For Type 2 Diabetes "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."

• wei...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 1, 2017

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I would like to share my story with you. I am a 29-year-old female from South Africa, extremely overweight. I started my weight loss journey on the 23rd of May, 2017. Weight started: 90 kg – 23/05/17. Current weight: 83.4 kg – 01/06/17. Weight lost: 6.4 kg – 8 days. Goal weight: 60. Symptoms were extremely mild: slight nausea and vomiting."

• Sim...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 31, 2016

For Type 2 Diabetes "I had all the symptoms on the first two doses. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. I also take metformin. I took metformin with almond milk and a probiotic along with the Victoza injection. No more chronic diarrhea. I eat small meals to keep from getting nauseated."

• Wld...
• March 19, 2017

For Type 2 Diabetes "Down 14 lbs in 4 weeks. No appetite, waves of nausea from time to time. I vomited the first week with it, and I have had two episodes of diarrhea. I am on 1.8 now for almost a week and am feeling better. This is exactly what I needed to get my eating under control. Love the fact that I'm not hungry and that food does not look or sound appealing to me at all. So now I make myself eat, and when I do, I'm choosing healthy foods."

• Tam...
• March 12, 2017

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I started Victoza 0.6 mg on 03/04/17. I have experienced severe nausea and have vomited twice in the first week. I just increased the dose to 1.2, and the nausea has only gotten worse. I am down 5 lbs in the first week. I would like to continue for a month to see if the side effects lessen, otherwise, I will not be able to continue."

• Mar...
• April 18, 2013

For Type 2 Diabetes "Have lost 53 lbs since 9-12. Now having bad stomach cramps, hope it is not the Victoza. Will find out Monday. Still have some nausea and vomit occasionally, but it's my own fault for eating too much. I drink only water with meals to avoid filling up with the gas from sodas. Take 1.8. It works for me. Am also a Type 2 and take 1000 mg metformin each day."

• pol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 19, 2014

For Type 2 Diabetes "Tried 3 times... good news, blood sugar went from 300 to 116 in a day, and lost 5 lbs in 3 days. Bad news: severe diarrhea and vomiting after eating anything at all, hives all over, along with massive itching, and psoriasis patches flared up, and a few new patches appeared."

• 2mo...
• December 27, 2016

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started November 18, 2016. The first three weeks were super hard, fatigue, and loss of appetite. The doctor gave me my first pen in the office. I took the shot and went straight to work to vomit. Today is December 27, 2016, and I am down 22 pounds. The insurance company notified me they will stop paying for the medication effective 01/01/2017."

• Aun...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2015

For Type 2 Diabetes "I have been taking the Victoza for about 3 months, and now all of a sudden, I feel like if I eat anything, even a piece of toast, my stomach will explode. I do not like the overfull feeling and have to vomit to get any relief. I will be stopping this medication and contacting my Dr."

• Exh...
• May 8, 2014

For Type 2 Diabetes "The nausea, vomiting, and massive diarrhea were so bad that I had to stop after two days. I waited a week and tried again, only to have even worse reactions, including headache, gas, etc. It has been a week, and I still have diarrhea 20 or so times per day, and as others point out, the smell is terrible. My belly is bloated and distended, and my throat hurts from the vomiting. No weight loss, and sugar is higher due to the inability to retain medications."

• Ptm...
• May 4, 2016

For Type 2 Diabetes "I began taking this drug at the 1.2 mg level. Within half a day, I began having serious side effects. I thought I had a very bad virus. I had headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and insomnia. I missed 3 days of work. I stopped taking the drug. A month later, I tried it again at the 0.6 mg level. The first half day was okay with just no appetite, but then all happened again-vomiting and, this time, cold symptoms. I began having horrible diarrhea last night and called off work today. This is 48 hours after I stopped taking it. I threw the rest away, this drug feels like poison to my body."

• Thr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 17, 2017

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Holy crap, I just figured out why everyone is losing so much weight taking Invokana! You see, if we're all so sick with severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, we're too damn weak from dehydration to even consider shoveling those pork chops in... yeah? Am I right? I lost 43 pounds in 9 weeks, I'll take it AND the near-death side effects... Yeah, I know, taking massive doses of laxatives is probably cheaper, but there's no settlement on the horizon with those, so I say we all just suck it up! You know eventually the FDA will figure out the drug company lied like 'usual' and covered up the deadly side effects. Eventually, we'll all be thin and wealthy. Woohoo! I'm in!"

• Tig...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 7, 2018

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I took this injection for the first time just before going out for lunch. After returning home, my stomach started churning. I became nauseated and started vomiting for the next 24 hours. I thought I had food poisoning. It took 48 hours to recover. I then took the Victoza again and had the same symptoms. I was unable to hold down food, water, or my blood pressure medicine for 48 hours. I remained nauseated for a week after that. I called my doctor, who said to stop taking it. I threw it away."

• Fir...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 3, 2017

For Type 2 Diabetes "I'd been on Victoza for over a year. I never lost any weight. I didn't really see much of a difference in my A1C's, but kept taking it because my sugars at least weren't going up. My current A1C is 7.2. A couple of months ago, I started having major bloating problems, including nausea and occasional vomiting. It progressed to a hospitalization for chest pain (ruled out cardiac) and then to GI, who did UGI as well as a Gastric Emptying Study and showed Gastroparesis. OMG!! The GI doc said Victoza is notorious for causing this. Thank God my case is reversible because I caught it early enough. Of course, no more Victoza for me!!!"

• Ldl...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 10, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "The side effects of the full dose are really awful. Food stays in my stomach for over 24 hours, causing such discomfort! After that, the nausea and vomiting. Totally not worth taking if I feel like I have the GI flu. I haven't vomited in years - until starting Victoza. I don't think I'll continue."

• Spa...
• October 27, 2015

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started taking Victoza in February 2015 at the smallest dose, 0.6. My A1C level was over 15. By March, my A1C level went down to 10. By May, my A1C was 8.9, in September, my A1C level was 8.1. Today, October, it is 8.0. I lost a total of 15 lbs from January to now. At the lower dose, I had some nausea and diarrhea that subsided. By June, I was at the highest level of Victoza. This caused serious diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, eggy burping, and severe gas. I got off Victoza, and symptoms went away, but sugars increased. I'm now trying Farxiga, let's hope this med does just as well without side effects. I loved what Victoza did for me, but side effects were too severe. One other note: I also have IBS with diarrhea, which contributed to the severe diarrhea episodes."

• Ann...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 4, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "I was on this medicine for 10 days and had all the side effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, was a big one, back pain, upset stomach, painful urination, and difficulties. I was on this medicine 8 years ago and never had a problem with it. This time it was so horrible having a reaction and not knowing what to do to feel better. The doctor told me it had to run its course and get out of my system, and I would feel better. It took about 3 days when I started to feel better."

• Lee...
• November 25, 2017

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I started Victoza in September 2017 and have lost 40 pounds. I'm thrilled with the weight loss, however, I continue to experience vomiting and diarrhea. Anything with red sauce is a big no for me. Can anyone recommend foods that they find are easy to manage? Any feedback is helpful. Thank you for your time..."

• lis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 9, 2013

For Type 2 Diabetes "I began taking Victoza on December 6th, 2013. Later that day, I started experiencing some stomach cramping. Saturday, DAY 2, I was experiencing weakness, a terrible headache, nausea, and sulfur burps. All of these symptoms occurred on the starter dose. Day 3, Sunday, was a little better as far as side effects. Still suffering from the terrible headache and sulfur burps. Was unable to move bowels for those first three days. Day 4, Monday, I woke to terrible stomach cramps. I was able to move my bowels. Started dry heaving, turning into throwing up bile and almost passing out. Terrible sweating and racing heartbeat. After all that, I did feel better. Contacted Dr. He advised trying half the dose and prescribed Zofran. I currently take Victoza at 1 p.m."