BYETTA

[oracle33]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi all,

Had a 3 week review with the diabetes team today and all looking good. My bloods have settled quite a bit to 8-9 and I have lost a stone since I started taking the 5mg. Im going onto the 10mg next week when this 5 runs out. Ive been very lucky with the nausea - only had it the first day and it settled after that, although I have been warned to expect it again on the 10mg pen. I have found it all works best for me if I take it 30mins before eating as that takes my hunger away nicely. Drinking something after injecting helps too.

One thing I have noticed is my nails have become really brittle - is that normal or just me?

Paul

 

[vivkaroo]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

hiya paul just to say yes my nails are very brittle dont know if that is just a diabetic thing but i also have a nail fungal just on one big toe and it is very very hard to get rid off i am trying to treat with paint on nail stuff but it might be long job i think i personally dont think its the byetta it is just to do with diabetes and diet dennis or ken might know they clever on here good luck on the 10 up to now i am ok been on 2 months on 10 dont have lot of bread and pots they blow me out i try to only have about 80 to120 a day of carbs but dont know if i get it right really and i dont have carbs in morning i have fruit ,eggs ham that sort of thing anyway good luck vivkaroo x

 

[vivkaroo]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

hiya every one just want to say yer dennis is right you can have up to one hour to have something to eat i didnt mean everyone to have eat straight away but that is the way i find best which might not be suitable to everyone it didnt work for me waiting longer after byetta as i would feel sick this way eating straight away didnt get the sickness really sorry if i mislead anyone sorry dennis it was just what was the best way for me but pleased you pointed that out dennis

luv vivkaroo x

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

I am waiting for the results from my latest blood test, the outcome of which will determine if I stay on the 5 or move upto the 10.

I need to order my next pen and wonder what people thought about getting a 5 and if moved to a 10, double dosing. I have emailed my consultant and I am waiting for a reply from him.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph,

It really depends on how you are doing on the 5mcg pen. There seems to be a view in the UK, especially by the medical profession, that 10mcg is the "standard" dose, with 5mcg as just a half-way house to get you there. My many contacts in the US tell me they have a different perception of Byetta where US doctors more often see 5mcg as the normal dose, and 10mcg as something to be used for those who need something more powerful. And it's not price-driven because the 5 and 10 pens cost exactly the same.

You take Byetta with the primary aim of it lowering your BS and the additional benefit of some weight loss. My own view is, if you are on 5mcg and your BS is steadily reducing and you are losing weight, then why would you need to double the dose? If you feel that the weight is not reducing or the BS levels have not improved by very much, then you probably do need the 10mcg pen.

 

[Jude]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hello Dennis

Sorry to bother you again with the same issues but what you have just written is exactly where I am - week 6 and still on 5 pen but hardly losing any weight, not good enough bs and still bothered with side effects. :roll: I am desperately trying not to get down about it but as the weeks roll on it is difficult not to get disheartened especially as so many of you are doing so well on the byetta. I am sure I need to go on to the 10 pen but am worried that the side effects will be even worse - maybe there is someone on board with more medical knowledge that could answer this.

I do appreciate all your comments and I do listen and take them on board.

Grateful thanks, Jude

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Jude,

I think it is very likely that in your case the higher dose is needed (as it was in my own case). But if I remember correctly you were having real problems with the side effects, which would be why your medical team decided to give you longer to acclimatise to the 5mcg level. I have seen many cases where that extra month has been enough for the side effects to settle down and, although they do come back again on the 10mcg dose, they are generally not as bad and don't last as long.

 

[Jude]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Thanks Dennis.

After I posted the question for you I decided to post on the American Diabetes site which I joined before this one but found it quite hard going as things are different over there. Anyway as I know Byetta has been given over there longer than here I decided to post and ask if anyone had had prolonged side effects - I got one positive - that lady was 3 months before things eased and three months before she went on to the 10 pen. She also said that she takes her Metformin 2 hours before/after the Byetta - not heard that before - what do you think? As I am on the SR Metformin did not think it would matter but in an attempt to tolerate it better am just wondering now whether I should take the Metformin with my lunch - the one meals when I dont have Byetta. I usually take 1g with breakfast and dinner but they can be taken together so am just pondering that now.

The most amazing thing for me - a miracle - is that my IBS has been better than it has for 35 years and yet the DSN wouldnt put me on it because of my IBS !! Unfortunately at the moment am struggling to enjoy the improvement with my IBS because of the side effects from the Byetta - such is life!! :lol:

Jude

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

My consultant prefer to keep people on the 5 micro gram pen, but he is waiting for the results of my Hba1c blood test. He prefer the 5 micro gram because he believe the chances of pancreatitus, though still small, are higher on the 10 micro gram pen.

 

[Jude]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph

How long have you been on the 5 pen? The blood test you are having is it a fasting glucose or the HBAIC?

When I saw the Consultant for the first time on 13th May he said he would see me again in 3/4 months and that I should get a blood test done before I see him but he did not say how long before I would go on the 10pen - so much appears to be left unsaid - guess I will need to phone my diabetic nurse again!! :roll:

Jude

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph

How long have you been on the 5 pen? The blood test you are having is it a fasting glucose or the HBAIC?

When I saw the Consultant for the first time on 13th May he said he would see me again in 3/4 months and that I should get a blood test done before I see him but he did not say how long before I would go on the 10pen - so much appears to be left unsaid - guess I will need to phone my diabetic nurse again!! :roll:

Jude

Hi Jude,

I am at the end of my 3rd month on the 5 mcg, just waiting for the results of my Hba1c, my sugars are down, but very minor weight loss. If my Hba1c have improved, then I will probably be on 5 mcg for at least another month.

My consultant likes to give a few months, because in his experience, it can take longer for the full effects to kick in. This to me is the sensible approach.

 

[Jude]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph

Thanks for that - most people on here seem to have gone straight on to the 10pen after one month of the 5 so it is good to know that that isnt necessarily the way to go!!

What I am a little puzzled at though is that I was told I needed to be on a new drug for at least 3 months before the HBAIC would reflect any change?? Has your HBAIC been going down?

Thanks for your encouragement. Jude

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Jude,

That's an interesting idea about the metformin. Stomach upsets are a common side effect of metformin, although much less so with the SR version. It could be the combination of metformin and byetta together that is causing your nausea. There's no golden rule as to when you have to take the metformin so it would certainly be worth trying the metformin with lunch and see if that allows the byetta to settle down.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

My consultant prefer to keep people on the 5 micro gram pen, but he is waiting for the results of my Hba1c blood test. He prefer the 5 micro gram because he believe the chances of pancreatitus, though still small, are higher on the 10 micro gram pen.

Hi humph,

I wonder where your consultant gets his information from because the only published figures on pancreatitis and byetta have shown that the incidence of pancreatitis amongst byetta patients is actually many times LESS than it is for the general population who do not take byetta. The average rate of pancreatitis deaths is one per 23,000 population. With around 750,000 people on byetta there should have been on average 32 deaths, but there have been only 3 deaths that could not be attributed to other causes and so really were caused by byetta.

 

[shamalee]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

:? :? Erm , Hi .

Not sure if i'm appropropriate to pose my question here but I hope someone will point out the error of my ways , as it were.I have been type 2 ''DIBBS'' for about 5 years with oral medication control since 1 month after diagnosis ( runs in the family, genetics what a wonderful thing).My Doc and Dibby Nurse have referred me to the hospital clinic for ''Monster Juice'' as I have a BMI of 34 which is just under the recommended 35.Does anyone know if I will not be accepted for this cos i'm not big enough? And is it good and do u really loose some of the weight that u can't shift?

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

My consultant prefer to keep people on the 5 micro gram pen, but he is waiting for the results of my Hba1c blood test. He prefer the 5 micro gram because he believe the chances of pancreatitus, though still small, are higher on the 10 micro gram pen.

Hi humph,

I wonder where your consultant gets his information from because the only published figures on pancreatitis and byetta have shown that the incidence of pancreatitis amongst byetta patients is actually many times LESS than it is for the general population who do not take byetta. The average rate of pancreatitis deaths is one per 23,000 population. With around 750,000 people on byetta there should have been on average 32 deaths, but there have been only 3 deaths that could not be attributed to other causes and so really were caused by byetta.

I know he has worked closely with drugs companies in the past and has upset glaxo in the past for being critical of Avandia in its early days, he doesn't rate it at all and took me off it straight away.

My guess is he is taking a longer view of things and being cautious, it maybe that with longer term use the incidence of pancreatitis will increase and by keeping people on the lower dose, any future risk maybe reduced.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Shamalee and welcome to you.

The diabetes consultants in most hospitals don't appear to be all that strict on meeting an exact BMI requirement. They are more likely to look at your general weight, size, control level, and what meds have been tried previously and make a decision based on those factors. I have known patients with a BMI closer to 30 than 35 to be prescribed it.

Almost all of us on here have found that it really does help to control blood sugar levels and will encourage weight loss. In fact in the US it is sometimes prescribed to non-diabetic patients simply as a weight loss aid.

Have a read back through this thread (it goes back a couple of years so it's a lot to read) because there is a wealth of information on Byetta, and if you still have any questions please fire away and one of us will do our best to answer.

 

[Dennis]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph,

I think you're right - he is just being careful. In terms of medicine lifecycles I guess Byetta is still a relative infant (or baby lizard)!

 

[humph]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Got my HbA1c results back, was 9.1 when I started in February, now down to 7.8.

So staying on the 5 mcg pen for another 3 months, this is mainly down the the results of the amalyse test, reading was 404, should be 28 to 100. Consultant reckons this will settle down, but it can be an indicator of pancreatitis.

 

[Jude]

Re: Anyone use Byetta?

Hi Humph

That sounds like good news - so is the reason he is keeping you on the 5 pen because of the amalyse numbers? or does he think that the 5 pen is doing a good enough job??

Are you on any other medications for the diabetes? My morning numbers are still staying high (ever since I was dignosed this has been the case) but my numbers during the day are much better than they used to be. Just wondering what your morning numbers are and whether there is any correlation(thinks that is the right word!) between those and the HBAIC? Going back a while when my HBAIC was down to 7.9 my fasting levels were still 9-10.

Jude