Raleigh, NCAmanda’s Victoza side effects started a few years ago with gastrointestinal problems and nausea. Then she found a lump in her throat and was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which she believes is Victoza cancer.
“My endocrinologist prescribed Victoza in 2006 to treat insulin resistance; I wasn’t diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic,” says Amanda. “When I complained about the Victoza side effects, she just advised that I take Pepto Bismol and Victoza ‘shouldn’t be affecting you that way, but keep taking it.’ At the time, I was so sick with hormonal imbalance, I would have taken anything to feel better. Looking back, what a stupid thing to say: if it was causing these symptoms, I should have stopped taking it.”
Amanda, age 33, and an occupational therapist, went back and forth to the lab for blood work, and her doctor still said everything was OK. But in 2010, Amanda found the lump. Her doctor ordered an ultrasound and found two goiters in her thyroid. Next up, she did a needle biopsy.
“Again she said everything was OK but I was suffering from hypothyroidism and prescribed Synthroid,” adds Amanda. “Not even a month later, I started losing vision in one eye, and one morning I looked in the mirror to see that same side of my face dropped, like I had a stroke. I had five MRIs within a month (and I’m still paying for those). I stopped all the meds and got a second opinion. I believe I was overmedicated; I was very healthy before taking all these drugs.
“The second opinion confirmed what I already believed: I didn’t even need Victoza and I was not insulin resistant. And the hormonal imbalance meds should have been discontinued. They should have been prescribed 7 days prior to my period and just for those 7 days. Instead, I never stopped taking them - every day for two years.
“The second endocrinologist aspirated the lump and I thought it would be gone for good. One month ago I called my GP and said I could feel the lump again. He ordered another ultrasound and next day called me into his office with the news that I have thyroid cancer and Hashimotos, an immune-deficiency disease. The lump must have been there for two years at least. How did this happen? Nobody in my family has a thyroid problem, nor does anyone have cancer.
“This thyroid cancer came as such a shock, but 18 months after being on Victoza, I suspected the drug was the link. And when I saw the Victoza commercial on TV, I contacted an attorney.”
Amanda is scheduled to have surgery October 29 to have the cancer removed. She found a local general surgeon who has performed a lot of thyroid surgery, but she is more concerned about following up with the radioactive iodine treatment than the surgery itself. “You have to stay in seclusion for 10 days and then have a full body scan to see if there is any cancer left,” she explains. “If there is a trace of cancer, you have to do it again. During that time you have to stay in a hypo-thryoid state, which takes its toll with depression and fatigue. But if everything goes well, I will only be in hospital overnight. After is the worst part.
“I only take vitamins now and research a lot of herbal remedies. I know that sounds silly to a lot of people, especially when you have cancer, but to me it makes perfect sense: I believe I got cancer from Victoza. And I reported Victoza to the FDA when I had the gastro problems years ago, before my cancer diagnosis. Now I am reporting it to attorneys.”
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