BYETTA

[matty1959]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I have been asked by my DN if i want to try byetta i was thinking about it when i had a visit from a family friend who lives in Kentucky who has an in-law who has had quite severe problems with it so i will be telling my DN not to bother.

Experience seems to be that Byetta is either very suitable or not at all suitable, depending on various factors. You can't know from someone else's bad experience how it may (or may not) work for you.

The question is, how much do you trust your DN's judgement?

I think i will wait and see what happens with Byetta in the uk after all why would i want the side effects of Byetta and as far as my DN goes how do i know that she as not swallowed the company line.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I think i will wait and see what happens with Byetta in the uk after all why would i want the side effects of Byetta and as far as my DN goes how do i know that she as not swallowed the company line.

Hi Matty,
Whether or not you decide to try Byetta is entirely up to you. All I can tell you is that blokes seem to suffer the nausea side effects a lot less than women do, the nausea is very temporary, and of the hundreds of Byetta users I have corresponded with, both in the UK and the US, I have yet to find one that hasn't benefitted enormously from taking it. The choice is yours - a couple of days of discomfort and get your diabetes under control, or carry on fighting yo-yoing blood sugars.
Now that's a really difficult choice!!

 

[matty1959]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I think i will wait and see what happens with Byetta in the uk after all why would i want the side effects of Byetta and as far as my DN goes how do i know that she as not swallowed the company line.

Hi Matty,
Whether or not you decide to try Byetta is entirely up to you. All I can tell you is that blokes seem to suffer the nausea side effects a lot less than women do, the nausea is very temporary, and of the hundreds of Byetta users I have corresponded with, both in the UK and the US, I have yet to find one that hasn't benefitted enormously from taking it. The choice is yours - a couple of days of discomfort and get your diabetes under control, or carry on fighting yo-yoing blood sugars.
Now that's a really difficult choice!!

Thanks for your reply Dennis the only part that worries me about Byetta is that it may cause severe pancreatitis i have had that and i dont want to go through it again.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Matty,
This is a link to something I posted not long ago about the recent scaremongering over Byetta and pancreatitis.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4562

However, if your previous history means that you may have a susceptibility towards pancreatitis then it could be wise to give it a miss.

 

[msuk]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi, am new to the forum and wondered if anyone could help with information on Byetta.

My husband is a type 2 on insulin and metformin. He was recently put on Byetta (no nausea etc.,) and has been asked to lessen insulin. Although his blood glucose level comes down rapidly after a meal he now tends to have hypos during the night. Another quirk -- his BG levels are high during the day and reduce in the evening although he injects the same amount of Byetta (5mg) and insulin. He was asked to use long lasting insulin at night to prevent hypos but that has not helped. Although his HbA1c level was 6 recently (after Byetta) which is good news, I am worried about the hypos.

Happy to hear from members. Thanks.

 

[coopergang]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hello everyone
I visited my clinic yesterday and they gave me byetta to try, i have taken my first dose today, must say i feel a bit weird and sicky ( abit like went you first find out your pregnant-cant think of any other way to describe), i went on the net to find out more about this byetta and came across your site, its FANTASTIC , real people going through real things, do you know i feel better about taking it just knowing i can read about others going through the same.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Coopergang and msuk and welcome to both of you.

MS - if your husband is having hypos then his insulin dose is too high. One of the several things that Byetta does is to get the pancreas to produce the right amount of insulin to deal with rise in blood sugar from whatever has been eaten, and at the right time. If his pancreas is not capable of producing sufficient insulin (which can only really be determined by a C-peptide test) then this would need topping up with injected insulin. But it is vital that his medical team know exactly how much insulin he is short of so that they can set him an appropriate amount of insulin to inject. If his pancreas can produce normal insulin quantities (with help from the Byetta) then he probably doesn't need additional insulin at all. What is most likely happening is that he is getting a double dose of insulin, hence the hypos.

Coopergang - you'll be pleased to know the nausea feeling does wear off. If you have any questions on Byetta then please fire away. I'll help you if I can.

 

[fiona35]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Well I've had my first visit with the DSN and everything is fine. She's told me to inject a little more gently and be less heavy handed!!!

She's suggested that whenthey change the pen doseage that I take the 10mcg in the morning but continue with the 5mcg in the evening as my nausea was worst in the evening and once I've adjusted to the morning doseage they will up the evening doseage as well. Has anyone else tried this method?

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Fiona,
I've certainly never heard of that approach before. It will make for a pretty expensive prescription because Byetta only has a 30 day life once opened. You will need both a 10 and 5mcg pen, and will only use half of each during the 30 days that the pens will last. And I'm not sure that it will work because Byetta remains active in your system for 12 hours, the morning dose will still be active when you take your evening dose.

By all means try the suggestion, then if the nausea comes back worse than before you can at least drop the 10mcg and just use the 5mcg for the remainder of the month.

 

[msuk]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Thanks, Dennis, for quick response.

I will discuss the information with my husband and get back to the forum.

 

[coopergang]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

thanks dennis, much appreiciated, no doubt i will be asking bfore long
Diane x

 

[fiona35]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Everyone

Its the annoying pest again!! :lol:

Can anyone tell me how long it is before you start to notice a decrease in your appetite? Have been on Byetta now for 2 whole weeks and apart from the initial nausea I can't say that I have noticed a big difference in my appetite and I was sorta hoping that a miracle might have occured before Xmas and I would look like a stick insect!! I'm still on the low dose so I wondered if it might only occur when you take the full dose.

Thanks

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Fiona - not a pest at all - always a pleasure to hear from you!

From what I can remember of when I started on Byetta, because it was a while ago now and the memory cells are not what they were, I wasn't really aware of a great loss of appetite. It was only about 2 or 3 months into the medication that I realised I had been eating smaller portions and simply hadn't felt like snacking between meals. What I did tend to notice, and still do, is that I often start to feel full before I've finished my main course, and often just don't fancy a dessert. I think that is down to the action of Byetta slowing down the passage of food through the digestive system. There was a time when I could go out for a meal and happily demolish 3 or 4 courses. Now I sometimes struggle to finish one!

How have others found it?

 

[tinam]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

hiya all, i find that while ive been taking byetta i have not eaten much between meals . hope your all well take care tina xx

 

[coopergang]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

i have been on byetta a week tomorrow, at first i just felt nauseas for a while when i had taken it but as the week has gone on i am feeling worse, its not only making me feel that i dont want to eat as much, its making me feel as if i dont want to eat at all. Yesterday i thought was my worst, so i went along with it as i had everyone at home with me. Today has been worse, not only have i been feeling sick but i have actually been throwing up and feel like a bag of wind, dont know whether its actually the byetta or i have got a bug-its dead easy to blame stuff on new medication.
Has anyone got any advice or words of wisdom, i could really do with some. :?

 

[fiona35]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Coopergang

I can only suggest the following for nausea with taking the Byetta, if its a bug then I guess it will be over with quite quickly.

1 - I eat very soon after injecting and initially I stuck to really bland foods, nothing spicy!
2 - If feeling nauseous then I sip Ginger and Lemongrass cordial diluted alot in water
3 - If above fails and I still feel nauseous then I have nibbled 1 ginger biscuit and this has helped me.

I'm not looking forward to when my dose increases in a couple of weeks time, but I will have the two pens to choose from!!

 

[cherrypie]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi All,

MMy first post here was to ask about links with Byetta and diahorrea. I thnk I have sussed it - Because I was having acid reflux my doc prescribed Lanzoprazole - anti sick drug. I have just systematically left off each of my other drugs ( except for the Byetta and metformin) - I take amitripteline for painful dermatitis on my feet, and ceterizene (antihystamine) and my digestive system returned to normal!!!!! - I regained the really full feeling which seemed to have disappeared so I am looking to lose a bit more weight - I have lost 3st already since March.

I think the Lanzoprazole was cancelling out part of the Byetta effect and some foods were passing throught the system without digestion.

So just a discovery which might be of use ( I have sent a sample to the docs just in case) I will let you know the definitive results.
Cherrypie

 

[Helenwales.]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hello I start on this in the Morning just not long home from the diabetic unit at the hospital,i am very excited about using Byetta as i so need to lose waight i got waighed today i am 18 stone 1 and 4ft 11 so tomorrow a new beginning,dreading the side effects but hope it is worth it i will keep you updated

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Good luck to you Helen. If you need any advice or information on Byetta just ask.

 

[Helenwales.]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Thank you Dennis,I just taken my first injection this morning and feeling sick but its not too bad as of yet ,i am surprised it is working this early on i also feel a bit strange cant explain but i feel different i realy hope this wrks and my BG is 5.5 whe they have been as high as 17 some mornings,i cant wait to see the weight loss starting to appear