My Bydureon etc

Mr Micawber

Member
Messages
7
Good morning all. This is my initial post as a new member. I would like feedback as to my experience with Bydureon, please.

I return to the diabetic clinic tomorrow, Monday, 10th after my first three months on Bydureon. After my first month I was called to my doctor's surgery to do an Hba test. It revealed that my blood sugar was out of control, my surgery nurses words. My blood sugar was 8.9. Before starting on Bydureon my blood sugar was 7.2.

I have found that using Bydureon that the following is true.
Feeling tired/weak and sleeping during the day.
Unpleasant body odour and bad breath.
Stomach acidity.
I now find that after eating a 'proper dinner/meal' I usually feel ill.
If I do without a proper meal and eat small, sandwiches etc, often during the day, my weight increases.

Generally, I feel that Bydureon has not had the effects that I was told that it would have. Also that Bydureon only brings the blood sugar down by no more than around 1.9% Now if your blood sugar is normally between, say 7.0 and 11.0 after a meal, then I am wondering whether the whole thing is really worthwhile. After all 1.9% of 11.0 is 0.209.

I am also taking Metformin, two 500 mg's per day, one Gliclazide, 80mg per day and a blood pressure tablet, even though I have never had any problems with blood pressure. I am am an otherwise healthy 70 year old male. Thank you for reading this. :?:
 

))Denise((

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,580
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I'm not on Bydureon so can't comment on that. But it sounds like you are not getting on with it.

My next question would be what is your diet like? Have you taken the advice on here to cut carbs or are you expecting the meds to do everything?

I see that you are on a relatively small dose of metformin at 2 x 500 mg, when the maximum dose is 4 x 500 mg. Is there any reason for that, such as stomach problems? Also you are not on the maximum dose of gliclazide.

Were any other meds suggested to you such as sitagliptin (Januvia) as this works in a different way to both the metformin and the gliclazide.

Are you overweight? I see that you are 70 years old, so probably not a candidate for late onset Type 1 (LADA).

I'm not on blood pressure tablets, so can't comment on them. Was there any reason why you were put on them such as kidney problems?

I'm sure other people will be along soon with their comments and Daisy with her introductory post, but it would be useful if you could answer these questions so we have further details to go on.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Mr Micawber and welcome to the forum :)

This is the information that Denise was referring to in her post which is the advice we give to new members. I hope you find it useful. Ask all the questions you like as someone will always be able to help you.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Mr Micawber

Member
Messages
7
Good morning all,
I have now been to the hospital diabetic clinic for my Bydureon check. The first thing, before I forget, is this. The 1.9% that I assumed to be 1.9% of whatever your blood sugar is, is wrong. Apparently the 1.9% is the approximate maximum amount that your blood sugar can fall. For example, if your blood sugar is 10.9 then using Bydureon alongside any other medication that you may be taking, your blood sugar can fall to 9.0. I was wrongly told that it would fall by only 1.9% of the 10.9.

As for my other queries about using Bydureon. The diabetic staff are pleased with my first three months. At the start of the Bydureon medication my Hba was 7.5. After one month of using Bydureon my Hba was 8.9. this was taken at my doctors surgery, as it was the original three months time span for my Hba. Both me and the surgery were concerned about the amount of the blood sugar increase. Although I was told that, at first, when starting on Bydureon, my blood sugars would rise, I didn't think that they would rice by such, in my opinion, a high amount. Yesterday, my Hba was down to 7.9 and everyone is pleased with the progress that I have made after the first three months on Bydureon.

As for the other medication, I have now been told that the Metformin, Gliclazide, Omeprazole, Lossartum and Co-enzymes are prescribed at the dosages they are because of a long standing stomach problem. There is also talk of even reducing the dosage of Metformin because of the risk to long term kidney problems.

So, overall, I am pleased that I raised the questions that I had and happy that I posted in this forum beforehand. I am now giving the Bydureon 'treatment system, a further three months. My only problem is Christmas. Both the diabetic staff and myself realise that I may stray from the 'straight and narrow' but it will not be to excess. The side effects of the bad breath and body odour have been put to one side for the next three months [I am able to deal with them with proprietry consumables], when they will be dealt with depending upon the next Hba results. That's about it. Sorry if I have dragged on but I did want to give as much information as I could. Kind Christmas regards to all. Oh! If anyone wants to, please feel free to get in touch. Don't be worrying over something when there is assistance available here.

:D