BYETTA

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Vivkaroo,

I'm sorry to hear that Byetta didn't work for you. There is a small number who try it and who'se bodies are just unable to deal with it. Fortunately these are in an extreme minority.

I have had a look at byettalawsuits.com and it turns out to be one of these no win-no fee "ambulance chaser" American law firms that will take up the case of anyone who feels they have a complaint against a hospital, doctor, pharmacy, drug company, etc. There was a scandalous piece of journalism in October 2007, believed to have been instigated by a rival of Eli Lilly who was becoming concerned at the amount of business they were losing due to patients being put on Byetta. The writer did (or was fed) some very clever research that showed that 30 people who take Byetta had developed acute pancreatitis. The American FDA in a kneejerk reaction demanded that Lilly (actually Amylin who manufacture it for Lilly) put a warning in the product leaflet that Byetta can cause pancreatitis.

Only then did anybody research the figures! It was later found that of the 30, 27 had other medical problems that made them highly susceptible to pancreatitis (gallstones, history of alcohol abuse, etc). The FDA updated their information to reflect the true picture in August 2008. Even taking the full 30 cases, this represents 4.2 cases of pancreatitis per 1000 Byetta users. But the normal incidence of pancreatitis in the general population is 23 per 1000. So it would appear that, in people who are not already susceptible to pancreatitis, Byetta seems to actually provide some protection against pancreatitis.

 

[vivkaroo]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

hi dennis well i sort of didnt grasp it like you just explained so you have helped me enormously by explaining i t i just got on it and thought oh maybe there are other people like me what i find very hard is losing weight and i did suffer terrible on byetta wish i hadnt and it been suitable but all i was trying to explain is i did feel ok until i had been on them 6 months but it was the last few weeks and i never had any health probs till i went on byetta apart from diabetus of course but i have seriously gone downhill i see a nutritionist and our local health centre sort of healthy eating course i have done the expert course that was very helpful for 6 weeks throughmy diabetic nurse but i really dont no wat else i can do i have been diabetic for 9 yrs i eat real healthy accasional slip but then dont we alli find it very hard sorting mycarbs dont know which are slow release and which are fast i get muddled thats why i joined heresorry about that lawsuit thing probably didnt understand but i do now you have explained hey but seriously thanks for putting me right you seem to understand things better than me suppose thats why we come on here anyway i am trying hard soon feel better hopefully my blood sugars not been bad today and this was my trial day with no medication then back on just 2 glucoghage tommorrow and 1 glicklazide sorry if i have gone on a bit just been bit low thanks for replying dennis much appreciated take care vivkaroo xx

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Viv,

As I said, I am so sorry that Byetta hasn't worked out for you like it has done for so many of us. If you need any help or advice with your carbs please don't hesitate to ask. We have some very knowledgable people here who may be able to help you whether you want to try a low or reduced carb diet, or try low-GI. Just ask.

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Checked my pen this morning and it is delivering the dose.

My BS are constant and only varying by about 2 from before to 2 hours after a meal, so between 9 and 11. Thinking about it, I have not seen the odd high reading I was getting before.

My specialist was confident that I would only need the lower dose, hence keeping me on 6 X 500mg of metformin.

 

[candy1567]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph

I was on 6 x metformin a day when i took the 5mg dose and although the weight loss was dramatic 9 kg in 4 weeks my bs didn't go below 7

When i changed to the 10 mg dose wow almost immediately i saw a 5.9 and had no spikes after meals (fingers are bloody sore from checking!!!!!) Have now reduced metformin to 2 x aday.

Weight loss in still going strong, god i luv this stuff do you think i could sell it on ebay!!!!

Juliexx

 

[fiona35]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hello again Good Peeps

Another update for you all, had another visit to the Diabetic Clinic to see the dietician as not losing much weight!! I appear to be an enigma to them as all other Byetta patients at my clinic have done really well in the weight loss stakes, I have managed to not move much in the weight loss stakes but my HBA1C has decreased quite a bit, my consultant said ideally he wants it under 6%.

Had managed to lose 0.5kg since my last visit but she weighed me on the fancy scales like they did in Oct last year and in that time I have lost a total of 2kg, but my lean body tissues has decreased and my fat stores have increased!!

There is nothing wrong with my diet apart from I need to eat more protein to stop me losing the lean body tissue, in fact she went through my food diary and said I needed to eat more!! Hello you guys have put me on medication that makes me feel full after about 8 mouthfuls, so I'm not going to eat as much!! But still no magic weight loss!

My consultant and dietician have suggested that I do more fat burning exercise - 45 mins per day to start with to fire up my metabolism as they think I don't have the ability to burn off any fat and then when its ticking over I can decrease to 2-3 times a week. I already do 2 Aqua Aerobics classes, 1 session in the gym and 45 mins swimming but its all cardio vascular exercise and not fat burning!! The consultant even had the cheek to say I expect you are fitter than me but it won't help shift the fat!

So watch this space, lets hope this might work!!

 

[vivkaroo]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

well dennis hi i have to tell you it looks like the problems i had might be the glucoghage was on 4x500 day however think i said my specialist said dont take any for 1 whole day which i did then today had to go back on glucoghage but only 2 a day now amazingly yesterday felt energetic no sickness not bloated hey think it has been the metformin for the last yearhopefully i am right it has not been the byetta only early days but who knows i have to apologise for my telling people not to go on byetta however dennis i have to say your help explaining byetta lawsuits i mention without your help i would not have understood i do now this site has been so helpful to me sorry if i go on a bit but things are sometimes hard to explain its only early days but when my specialist rings me on monday i am seriously considering going on byetta again if my specialist suggested itanyway bye to all keep up the good work vivkarooxxx

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Oh, Viv, I'm so glad you've got to the bottom of the problem - you must be very relieved. But do make sure that when you take your Glucophage you have them with food. My consultant recommended to take them halfway through your main course. That way they get digested along with the rest of the meal and the side effects seem to be a lot less.

Let us know if you do decide to try Byetta again.

 

[HLW]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I asked my dr about Byetta, this PCT won't prescibe it but they are doing a trial apparently, so I've been referred to the Diabetic Clinic at the hospital so I can ask them about it. The dr compared my weight with before I started piogliazone, I have put on weight since starting it

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi HLW,

It always makes me smile when I hear about a PCT that wants to "trial" Byetta. It is approved by NICE, has been available on prescription in the UK for almost 2 years now, is used (and very successfully) by nearly 25,000 patients in the UK and more than 700,000 in the US. So what is it they want to know about it that hasn't already been proved 725,000 times?

But seriously, you are not alone with weight gain on pioglitazone. This is the most common of many side effects that the glitazones have and it seems to be quite rare to find someone who takes it and has not put on weight. Before Byetta I took the sister drug, rosiglitazone, and put on 5 stone in 6 months! My son's partner is a dietitian and I hadn't seen her for some months at that time. When she saw me she said immediately "Oh my God, they must have put you on a glitazone!". I asked how did she know and she said "Nearly all my diabetic patients who are obsese and just can't reduce the weight no matter what we try, all have the same thing in common - glitazones. And most of them weren't obese before the glitazones."

Let us know whether you are able to get on to Byetta. It is very different to all the other type-2 meds and takes some getting used to.

 

[HLW]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I've put on a stone since starting pioglitazone (or so says the doctor, that's the only time I get wieghed!). The weight gain is starting to effect my fitness I think, running up stairs is very much harder than it was a year or so ago.
I didn't know what to say when he said the PCT was trialing it, for the reasons you mention, it's already been trialled. Interestingly, the little phamacist I go to (it's so little they usually don't have my medication in stock!) has someone who collects Byetta from there, I think that's a very very big coincidence if only the 50 people in the trial in the whole PCT area are on Byetta. Maybe I should ask the phamacist which doctor has prescribed Byetta to that person, though I don't know if he could tell me.

 

[Jilly]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Has anyone else had an allergic reaction to Byetta?
Started with small itchy lumps at injection sites and after a month became all over itching and swelling.
When I told the consultant I was taken off it completely, never made it to the 10ml dose.
:?

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Jilly,

Two of the listed side effects are
- reactions at the injection site
- rash/hives

However these do appear to be pretty rare. Yours is the only case I have come across in this forum and another forum for Byetta users that I am a member of. Just like any other medicine - its great if it works for you, but useless if it doesn't.

 

[candy1567]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Dennis

Yep its me again!!!! I just wondered if you knew if anyone has reported sneezing as a problem, and if they have do you know why and how byetta causes this.

Have been sneezing quite regulary since they upped my dose to the 10, at first i just put it down to me getting a cold and waited with baited breath for the other symptoms to appear, but they didn't, so then i thought well ive had the flu jab etc so that prob stoped it.

But am sneezing quite often now, its now a real prob but just wondered if it was the Byetta, or could it just be that time of year.

God am sounding like a hypochondriac now, but as we dont really know much about the drug and its long term effects and some are writing some pretty horrific stories about it on the net, but hey its doin its job and as it works for me then will keep on stabbing!!!!!

juliexx

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Julie,

I've not heard of sneezing as a reaction to Byetta before, and it isn't listed as a possible side effect. Sounds like it could be another cause - and there are so many. Too early in the year to be hayfever but could be a dust allergy, change of washing powder, in fact anything that you inhale that could have changed. A few years ago, before I was on Byetta, I suffered a bout of sneezing one summer, which I put down to hayfever. I happened to put my car in for a service and when I collected it the garage said they had to change the pollen filter because it had become clogged. The sneezing stopped almost immediately!

 

[candy1567]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Denis

Thats what i thought think am just bein paranoid due to all the negative aspects of Byetta, have been reading a few from an American site and def think am takin it out of porportion.

Its probs somthing and nothing, the Byetta is working great and am coping with it well, hey just had a thought i might be having an allergic reaction to my partner, do you think i can trade him in for a newer model who doesn't carry their 6 pack in a plastic bag!!!!

Cheers Denis

Juliexx

 

[CarolTaylor]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

HELLO DENNIS I TOO USE BYETTA,/ DIABETIC FOR 25 YEARS. TAKE MANY TABLETS TOO. 50 UNITS OF LANTUS PER NIGHT.BYETTA TAKEN FOR THE LAST 5 WEEKS.
MAYBE WE CAN CHAT SOMETIME? REGARDS CAROL.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Carol and welcome to the forum.

If you have any questions just fire away, or alternatively you can send me a PM.

 

[martinbuchan]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Well. the script is finally at the pharmacy today. Will pick up tomorrow but will start it on Saturday. As a big insulin user, it is intriguing to know how I will do both short and long term. Will be charting my weight and insulin dosages for my consultant (my retired consultant warned all patients never to approach him with charts or computer printouts).

My reflux was really bad last week so I stopped the Fosamax as it is well known to rot the gullet. On Losec regularily to combat the acid. (the fosamaz was for my charcot foot which is doing reasonably well and remains intact).

BTW Got an email form the admin to sugest everyone cools it. What did I miss last week? Forum rage again?

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Almost 2 weeks in and the only side effect is very slight indigestion.

My blood sugars are falling too, down to 6.7 two hours after a meal, so all looking good.