BYETTA

had my first weigh in at the Drs today, been on Byetta for three weeks, have lost 11lb yes 5kilos!!!
Insulin reduced from 52 units twice a day to 38 units x2 BG in the morning is 5.9 this is great news for me, as BG always shot up overnight to 12-15.Feel so much better in myself, appetite has decreased hugely, just have to remember to drink as BG has gone down, not feeling thirsty all the time. Going on to the next stage up of Byetta in a few days time, hope the nausea doesn't return.
For me Byetta has to be the new wonder drug. New me ,new life )

Good Grief! said:

had my first weigh in at the Drs today, been on Byetta for three weeks, have lost 11lb yes 5kilos!!!
Insulin reduced from 52 units twice a day to 38 units x2 BG in the morning is 5.9 this is great news for me, as BG always shot up overnight to 12-15.Feel so much better in myself, appetite has decreased hugely, just have to remember to drink as BG has gone down, not feeling thirsty all the time. Going on to the next stage up of Byetta in a few days time, hope the nausea doesn't return.
For me Byetta has to be the new wonder drug. New me ,new life )

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GG.
Yep.....as far as I am concerned Byetta is a wonder drug. Helped me to a 5 1/2 stone weight loss and great control of my Bg numbers. My control after 18 months is so much better I have had to reduce Byetta back down to the 5ug dose from 10ug.......too many hypo's !

Well done to you so far.....stay with it even if you do get some side effects on the hugher dose.....it's worth it in the long run.

Great to hear your news GG and well done. I too think it's a wonder drug but you do have to make some effort yourself which you clearly have done. I've had it for just over 3 months and lost at least 15 kg. I haven't weighed for a week or so. My Hba1c is down from 10.5 to 6 which a couple of folk have said is too fast but it's done now so can't change that and my GP's nurse was thrilled with me. Food is no longer on my mind all the time which is great. BP is within normal readings so all is tickety boo.
Watch out for a bit of nausea when you move to the 10 dose, most people I know had problems at that point. Mine was 2 hours a morning for 2 weeks. It was like pregnancy morning sickness but that has passed and ginger tea was a huge help. Hope you continue to get fantastic results.

Greetings forumites,

I also have good things to say about Byetta, I have just started my 3rd pen - so I am now 70 days into using exenatide.
I am down from 260lbs to 228lbs, my Hba1c is down from 9.6 to 6.1 and I am taking many less pills orally.
The weight loss has been no effort really on my part. I simply have lost the desire to eat. Having a meal has become more of a consious effort, I simply dont want to eat most of the time. As has been said one has to be careful to drink as that desire has gone too.
I keep waiting for the downside but apart from the regular bouts of nausea and feel slightly seasick so far it is all good.
Stephen

HI,all, my names George, im new to this forum, but been keeping an eye on your comments recently? ive, been on byetta now for three years, and its been good for me no adverse
side affects to speak of, lost weight, put weight back on, got a bit frustrated and narky at
first but soon gave way the more i understood how byetta worked... felt nausius at first
thirsty but now i feel great on it, touch wood, it continues to work for me? im also on metformin, glicklaside,(excuse the spelling), just joined a gym changed jobs from taxi driver to factory
work, hopefully this will aid in the waight loss category lol.

Hi Dennis
i have been on byetta for the past 3 months and it was difficult for the first 3 weeks but my body got use to the drug and i must admit i never have low counts anymore it seems to have made me stable plus the added side effect of weight loss has helped. if you need to know more please ask and i do get it on the nhs.
regards
Paul

Hi,

I started on Byetta on 14th July this year, done 5 now 10, got through the sickness more or less, haven't tried too hard and need to improve bigtime, which I have been working on for the last couple of weeks I am not obese, lost a little weight and BS levels only down a bit but have started low carbing which I am getting on OK with. I have read the entire Byetta thread (phew!!!) and working on the low carb one as well.
On 2 x 500 Metformins twice a day.

Anyway. Enough about me..JK!!!

Can anybody tell me... I am aware that you must have your injections 6 hours apart within an hour before you eat a main meal . Now this morning I forgot to inject before breakfast - I usually have my injection at 0630hrs and breakfast at 0700hrs. Then I inject at 1700 hrs to eat at 0530 unless I have a later meal planned, obviously.

What if I injected at 1030hrs this morning and had lunch at 1100hrs then injected after 1630hrs for teatime - i.e. not before 6 hours had passed? Would this be a better option than missing it completely until teatime - would I make up for lost ground this way?

Any answers or thoughts on this would be very much appreciated - i feel that I have thrown the day away here!!!

Thanks.

1700 for 1730 I mean't to say - trying to clarify what I mean and confusing the issue!!!

Jecky
There is no problem with taking Byetta at different times as long as you keep a minimum of 6 hrs beetween jabs. I frequently alter the timing of my jabs depending on what I am doing. If I only plan a light breakfast I sometimes miss out Byetta and instead have the injection at lunchtime. It just means I have to have my jab and main meal later.

So - go ahead and enjoy your lunch.

Thank you Cugila - and Thank you for alll the work that you put into this forum by the way - your knowledge and advice is invaluable.

Jecky

I just have a quick question. Last Friday I finally plucked up the courage to see my Doctor as I've having stomach pains that have been getting worse. She thinks it might be my gallbladder. My question is, my sugar levels have been high the last two weeks could this be causing it?

susiewoosie said:

I just have a quick question. Last Friday I finally plucked up the courage to see my Doctor as I've having stomach pains that have been getting worse. She thinks it might be my gallbladder. My question is, my sugar levels have been high the last two weeks could this be causing it?

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Hi Susie
Any infection or stress will affect your Bg levels in some way. Just do the best you can to control the levels but sometimes Diabetes and its control has to take a back seat. Once you are better I am sure all will get back to normal.

So try not to worry as that in itself can also elevate your levels - a vicious circle. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Ken

Thanks Ken I knew I could rely on you. I was just a bit worried because they have been so good since I started Byetta.

Hello

I am new to the forum and the site and please forgive me if i have posted in the wrong section.

I am type 2 diabetic on insulin, I take Levimer in the morning and at night and Nova Rapid as and when i need it. Unfortunately I have put on a lot of weight since starting this treatment 2 years ago. I have read a lot of good things about (Byetta) Exenatide and its possible help with weight loss i was wondering if anybody here takes Exenatide with Insulin? I was was hoping that I could take Exenatide with Levemir? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Ziya

We do have members who have also used Byetta at the same time, hopefully some of them may be around to give you first hand experiences of its use together.

Most have found that it has been a great success and I know of some that have reduced or done away with insulin altogether. Most found that for it to be more effective they have had to review their diet as well - reducing carbohydrates at the same time gives a far better effect especially if you need to lose some weight.

If you check back through this thread there are many peoples experiences which may be of some help to you. Any further questions about Byetta - this is the place to put them.

Hi

I'm new to the site and would like to post my experiences of Byetta and insulin in conjunction.

I started taking insulin in August 2007 and over the next two and a half years put on nearly 3 stone. I was concerned when my weight started to climb and my bg levels were too high, but the only advice I received was to keep increasing the insulin dose to improve the bg readings and worry about the weight issue later. A vicious circle!

When my weight reached 100kg I decided enough was enough and having read an article on the internet about alternatives to insulin I made an appointment to see my diabetic nurse and made enquiries. We decided to try Byetta and I was the first patient from the pracise to use it.

I was advised to cut my insulin dose to a half and started on the 5mg dose.

That was in April 2010 and I have not looked back. I found the nausea difficult at first but after a few weeks was fine so tried the 10mg dose. I found I could not cope with that dose as I felt sick for most of the day so went back onto the lower dose for another few months. I am now on the 10mg dose and can manage the slight nausea with no problems.

I have reduced my Levemir insulin dose from 80 units a day to 20units and cut out the Novorapid altogether. Hopefully soon I will be able to drop the insulin altogether. I have lost 15kg; half my target of 30kg in 6 months and I feel great. The only problem is now I have had to donate over half my wardrobe to charity and have to buy clothes two sizes smaller! Nightmare!!

If anyone is struggling with the nausea hang on in there and give it time. It worked for me.

Hi
Good to see another new member who has good things to say about their experience with Byetta. It seems that there are many more who use Insulin being put onto it with mostly good results. Any questions, advice or just your own updates about Byetta are always welcome here.

Hi Cariadgypsy. I love hearing how folk get on with Byetta. Congratulations on the weight loss. I too have lost 15 kg and dropped 2 dress sizes and it is a fab feeling being able to wear things from the back of my wardrobe. Best of all my hba1c dropped from 10.5 to 6 and now my BG is always within NICE guidelines and that has done wonders for my mind. I am happier and relaxed. I've never taken insulin but I was heading that way rapidly so I am so grateful to first my GP's nurse who suggested it and then the team at my local hospital who care for me. I had some nausea which was difficult to cope with but 4 months in that has mostly gone. I agree with you and would advise anyone struggling with nausea to hang in there. I think I coped by tinkering with my diet until I found things that caused fewer problems and drinking ginger tea - fab stuff.

Im one of the fortunate few who was on an insulin/byetta trial through (Name of Hospital removed) hospital. Its important to note that Byetta is still NOT licensed for use with insulin in the UK.
For first month I started on 5Microgramme doses, with long lasting insulin (insulatard), and found that it made gave me nausea and put me off eating, not a bad thing altogether, but it did make quite an impact, I couldn't face any fried food at all. From the end of the first month the dosage increased to 10microgramme, and by this time it had no adverse effects.
I've been on the trial for about 18 months now all in all I lost over 10Kg, the nausea phase only lasted a month or so, my Hba1c has come down from 8.5 to 5.5. It reduced my daily insulatard requirement from 60 to 30 units.
Early experience with Byetta was quite scary, as until you get used to its effect on your blood glucose levels it leads to quite a few Hypo events, one within an hour of eating the main evening meal!! Once you master the right level of Insulatard things settle quite nicely.
Recently over the past 3 months my blood sugar levels have become screwy, hitting highs of 16 or more, and it appears that the Byetta is no longer assisting in my production of insulin. As of today Im now off the Byetta trial, and am now prescribed short acting insulin (Novorapid) at meals to get control again. The news from the Doctor at (Name of hospital removed) is not all bad, there are some new drugs in the pipeline, but like all things with diabetes the side effects are the main issues, mostly that of adding weight.

Interesting post BTD.
Was anything changed at the time your Bg levels started to go haywire ? I found I was continually going hypo after I lost over 5 1/2 stone on Byetta and now only take the 5ug dose as it was too effective.

As for it not being licensed for use with insulin that is a fact, however as with many Drugs over time they do try it out on people and most times there are no ill effects. The HCP's should always explain this clearly to anybody thinking of using it in conjunction with any form of Insulin. I know that is the case at the Hospital Diabetes Clinic I attend.

It is also being trialled in some areas solely as a weight loss drug as it is an excellent appetite suppressant. Without the trials I suppose there wouldn't be the progress.
Those that are using it with Insulin should be even more carefully monitored than the rest of us !yetta users. Tyhat is down to the individual HCP's of course. I think some of the problems have arisen when GP's have prescribed without investigation into its proper usage.