BYETTA

[sixfoot]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

babs / Fiona

Ive been on it since last April and Dennis even longer. ive certainly not heard of it causing heartburn. The most common is the Nausea which varies from person to person but dosnt affect everyone. Dennis may know more about it.
For myself i simply jab and eat no probs.

Dave P

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi,

New to the forum and will be starting Byetta this week. Has been forced really by the banning of acomplia, though it has been on the cards for a while.

My specialist, I went private just over a year ago, took me of Avandia, he believes it to be the worst Diabetes drug ever, he put me on 6 X 500mg Metformin and Acomplia. But with the withdrawal of acomplia, I am going onto Byetta and remaining on 6 X 50mg metformin for now. The metformin will be reduced later.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph and welcome to the forum,
Your consultant may have already warned you that there can be side effects when first starting Byetta. Have a read back through this thread and you will soon see what they are.

Good luck with the Byetta and please let us know how you get on with it. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have about it.

 

[jansouth]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Good morning everyone
Hope you are all keeping warm in the snowy weather!
I have now been on Byetta since November and in three months I have lost 28 pounds. My blood glucose two hours after my main meal at night is usually 4.9-5 which is miraculous compared to how it used to be on 500mg Metformin BD. My morning BG's are around 6, and they used to be 9 plus. I feel great, and am confident I can lose the remaining 40lbs. My HBA1C is due in March, and I will let you know the official figure. My BP has dropped to 120 over 60 and my resting pulse is 60. All a massive, massive improvement. I watch my carbs, and keep them as low as I can.

Down side? I sometimes get cold at night, about three hours after my evening Byetta, my feet and hands get very cold, and sometimes it takes a while to warm them up. And sometimes, just sometimes, I do get nausea, and usually no explanation. I can have the injection for many days, and then just once in a while, like last Sunday, within two hours I feel very sick. It is obviously related to whatever I have eaten and am still trying to figure that one out. I stopped spicy food, I don't drink alcohol anymore (doesn't seem to taste as good as it used to, and neither does chocolate, hurray!) but just now and then I get a short bout of nausea of unknown origin. I have never been sick, though. It is, it seems to me, a very small price to pay, for what feels like a whole new life.

So, to anyone who has doubts, please don't be afraid to try the Byetta, and don't be scared, all you have to lose, as well as your fear, is all that weight and damaging glucose excess.

Good luck to you all, and thank you for the support and knowledge I have gained from this forum of good people all willing to help each other
Love from Janet x

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Janet,

Thanks for that update. One thing that many of us have found is that the weight loss on Byetta will suddenly stop for no apparent reason, sometimes for several weeks, and will then just as unexpectedly start again. It's almost as if the body is pausing for a breather before starting the next leg of weight loss!
I'll be interested to see your next HBA1C results.

 

[sixfoot]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Jan good results and you are right stick with it !!

Well done
Dave P

 

[Andy A]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I'm due to see the diabetic nurse on the 18th of Feb with a view to starting Byetta, it was suggested during a discussion on diet when I mentioned that I constantly feel hungry (always have), and was put forward as a way to counteract this feeling and help lower my bg with some weight loss as a side effect.

I'm currently on Metformin 3 x500 daily and simvastatin 40mg and have been steadily losing 2lbs a week since diagnosis on a low carb diet, my question being is the move to Byetta a worthwhile one based from what I can see mainly on the fact that I feel hungry.

I'm not against it, far from it in fact, but dont like needles much (poor excuse I know) and would eventually like to control the diabetes with diet alone although I know that I'm a long way off of that goal.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

my question being is the move to Byetta a worthwhile one based from what I can see mainly on the fact that I feel hungry.

Hi Andy,
I'm not quite sure what you meant. Byetta helps with weight loss in two ways:
- it slows down the rate at which food passes through your digestive system, which makes you feel fuller for longer, so less hungry and less likely to snack between meals
- it reduces appetite by sending messages to the part of the brain that calls for food (the hypothalmus) to suppress those cravings.

So the whole purpose of Byetta is to stop you from feeling hungry all the time, not to make you feel hungry. And it is extremely successful at doing this, as proven by some 800,000 patients in the UK and US who use it.

If you are not sure about whether you would want to remain on Byetta long-term, then why not think of it simply as a means to an end? Take it in order to get your weight and BS down, and once you have reached your targets come off it and see if you can maintain good levels by diet alone.

 

[Andy A]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

my question being is the move to Byetta a worthwhile one based from what I can see mainly on the fact that I feel hungry.

Hi Andy,
I'm not quite sure what you meant. Byetta helps with weight loss in two ways:
- it slows down the rate at which food passes through your digestive system, which makes you feel fuller for longer, so less hungry and less likely to snack between meals
- it reduces appetite by sending messages to the part of the brain that calls for food (the hypothalmus) to suppress those cravings.

So the whole purpose of Byetta is to stop you from feeling hungry all the time, not to make you feel hungry. And it is extremely successful at doing this, as proven by some 800,000 patients in the UK and US who use it.

If you are not sure about whether you would want to remain on Byetta long-term, then why not think of it simply as a means to an end? Take it in order to get your weight and BS down, and once you have reached your targets come off it and see if you can maintain good levels by diet alone.

I think you may have misread my post slightly, my point was that I feel hungry all the time now and always have as far back as I can remember, and am going on to Byetta in order to suppress that feeling, if you re-read my post you will see that I have said exactly the same as you have just said. :roll:

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Sorry Andy, my misunderstanding.

You are probably right in questioning whether you really need Byetta if you are getting good results without it. This crazy postcode lottery we have means that many who are desperate in need of Byetta just can't get it, while others get it offered when they are managing ok without it !

 

[candy1567]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi

Been on Byetta for a month now and just had a review of it and it was great

The biggest thing for me was the weight loss 9kg in 4 weeks, yes just over 19lb's omg couldn't believe it think it must be from my toes as i cant see it!!!!

They have now upped the Byetta to 10mg and hopefully i wont have to much trouble with sickness, its also bringing my bs down nicely.

Am really pleased with this its given me a much needed boost as am really struggling at the moment.

Juliexx

 

[sixfoot]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Another happy customer

Dave P

 

[fiona35]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Everyone

Did anyone notice that it seemed to take ages for any weight loss to take place?

Have been on Byetta for 3 mths and have lost in total 1kg!!! I keep weighing myself weekly and nothing is happening and I've cut down on the carbs as well. Have got an appt with the Diabetic Dietician next week to discuss where we go as I am not losing the weight although the Byetta has helped my BG so she has reassured me that I won't be taken off that but I think they want to introduce some sort of slimming tablet as well or maybe put me on Prisoner of War rations!!

Have noticed in the last week that when I inject in the evening I no longer want to eat my dinner, I just don't have any appetite, is this what Byetta should have been doing like 3 mths ago and I'm a late starter? I now eat about 8 mouthfuls of dinner and then am full. Maybe this week I might finally start to see some weight loss!!

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Fiona,
It does sound like you have suffered a delayed reaction on the weight loss and reduced appetite side. I would give it a bit longer. Most people seem to find that there are periods of continuous weight loss, and then nothing for a month or two, then suddenly the weight loss just starts again.

I would ask your GP to check the Byetta practitioners notes regarding weight loss pills. Because Byetta is designed to slow down the rate at which food (and tablets) passes through the digestive system, some types of pill can cause a toxic reaction. I believe Eli Lilly's advice is weight pills or Byetta, but never both.

 

[sixfoot]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

fiona, anti-social question ..... Are you regular if you follow my drift? The reason i ask is that the slow transit of food through the system especially if not enough fibre or liquid are ingested can gum up the works. With your reduced intake it is possible that there is some fluid retention.
With reduced carbs also playing with the Protien / Fat ratio can kick start system. This is because protien can convert to approx 58% glucose. So reduce the amount of protien and increase the fats is another option. But by degrees.

As dennis said sometimes you can stall for months its maddening but stick with it.

Good luck
Dave P

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Well I have received my Byetta, but like an idiot, I forgot to order needles. So I am waiting for an email back from my Consultant as to what length I should use.

My consultant has set a little trap for my GP, my HbA1c was 7.6 before Acomplia was withdrawn and the surgery offered no alternative, my HbA1c is now at 9.1. The GP has received a letter pointing this out and that I meet the NICE guidelines for Byetta, so as long as the numbers come down, I should get funded.

My GP knows I will take them on if I don't, when they stopped my test strip, I went through the process and forced them to give me them back.

 

[sixfoot]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

humph : well done so far . Stick with it cos it will be worth the effort i assure you.
But a word of warning start saving cos eventually you will need new clothes,
But there is always a cross to bear.

Best of luck
Dave P

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

humph : well done so far . Stick with it cos it will be worth the effort i assure you.
But a word of warning start saving cos eventually you will need new clothes,
But there is always a cross to bear.

Best of luck
Dave P

I have already lost 3 stone using Acomplia, so need new clothes already, will wait though.

 

[sixfoot]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Humph ......... same as that ive just lost 3.5st to my target which is not the BMI !!
but as i dont want to look anorexic im happy

Good luck to you sir
Dave P

 

[fiona35]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Well I think in the last couple of days the Byetta is doing what it should have been doing 3 months ago!!

I no longer want to eat much of any meal now and finally the scales are moving in the right direction!

Its strange becasue I can sometime be hungry for my lunch or dinner but after 8 mouthfuls I'm full up and can't eat anymore and othertimes I am not hungry but have to force myself to eat something!

Long may this continue, and move over new wardrobe!!