My 17-year-old daughter has had type 1 diabetes for 13 years and is using an insulin pump. She has no complications, so far, but she struggled with constant weight gain at a slow rate until she became overweight. She tried hard to lose weight but failed. This was impacting her mentally, in a negative way, during her teen years and she is becoming more and more depressed and emotionally unstable. She is trying to convince her doctor to prescribe Victoza for her to lose weight. Have any teens with type 1 used Victoza? What is your experience with it for those with type 1?

Sorry to hear this but, unfortunately, Victoza is not a weight loss medication for type 1 diabetes. There are some research studies looking into such use but not enough to recommend it at the moment. It is very important for your daughter to seek psychological, dietary and diabetes counseling coordinating as all three approaches are needed to help with the excess calories and increased activity needed. This must be coordinated with appropriate insulin reduction and based on frequent blood glucose monitoring to be done safely. Also, it is important to make sure she has been checked to exclude hypothyroidism or other causes of weight gain.

SB