byetta

Hi Michelle,

Injecting into your upper arm is a problem unless you have 2 hands!. Byetta has to be injected between the fat and muscle layers, which is why pinching is recommended. If you have a fat layer on your arms then you could get away without pinching but would probably need to use a small (5mm) needle. Injecting into your stomach shouldn't result in bruising. Are you using a fresh needle every injection?

Michelle when you " pinch an inch" are you using any force ? The aim is simply to lift the skin a bit then inject. Or are you someone with sensitive skin perhaps

Dave P

I always use a fresh needle each time and have quite a spare tyre around that area so can 'pinch and inch' quite easily. Don't understand it really but am covered in yellow bruises all over.

Michelle.

Hi Michelle
I too am suffering from nasty bruising. It does not hurt when I inject and therefore the bruises are always a shock when I catch sight of them in the mirror! I am just grateful I am not a bikini person otherwise I think I would be more concerned.
Ihave tried to inject into my thight and upper arm but could not manage either - that was very painful! My medical team seem to have no real explanation for the bruising but then again do not seem too worried. Overall I am feeling so much better on Byetta it has given me a new lease of life!
Kind regards
Angie

Thank you, I fully agree, feel brilliant on Byetta so hoping this problem injecting is just a blip. I was previously on insulin and had no problem at all however they sting quite badly when I inject Byetta and I am covered in bruises. Will continue to use my thighs. I did it last night on my inner thigh whilst I was sat down which left quite a bit of spare skin to use (sound gorgeous don't I !), this was not painful at all but when I looked at the leaflets this morning it only showed the outer thighs to use so hope it was ok to use inner thigh. Will definately stick with it tho'.

Do you leave a gap between injecting and eating and do you know if it is totally necessary. I sometimes inject just as I am dishing up and wondeed if this was o.k.

Regards Michelle.

Hi Michelle,

I meant to say yesterday that I frequently inject just a minute or two before my meal is served and it doesn't cause a problem. Byetta signals the pancreas to start producing insulin within a few minutes of injecting, and the carbs that we eat usually take a minimum of 15 minutes to convert into blood sugar, so eating immediately before eating won't affect the way the medication works.

Back on the topic of bruising, are your needles the very fine ones (31 gauge)? Becton Dickinson (BD Microfine) are the only manufacturer to produce a 31G needle suitable for an injector pen. All the others are 29G or 30G so a fraction thicker and more likely to bruise.

I do both and it seems to make no difference. I have injected immediately before I eat and up to 40mins before I eat. And I must confess once i had already had 3 or 4 mouthfulls when I remembered I hadn't injected so quickly did it and it did not make me feel sick or any other adverse reaction.
Long Live Byetta!
regards
Angie
I have now been on it since March 5mg and changed to 10mg in April. I have lost approx 10lbs!

Angie well done im not far behind you and started about the same time. When i started i was 19s12lb am now down to 19 but hovering as its been static for a while now even though i am not eating anything like i did before and follow low Carb / GI regime. The BS are fine and have been able to reduce my Gliclazide by half.

Hope lives on

Dave P

Dennis a bit puzzled because the weight fell off initially but for the past 2/3 weeks has remained roughly static. Any change up or down is usually a lb or so which i attribute to fluids as im not sure fat would accumulate that quickly. Have stayed true to low carb etc. Anything similar in your experience ?

Dave P

Hi Dave,
You seem to be mirroring my experience. Weight loss initially, then it tailed off for a few weeks, then more loss, then it tailed off again, etc. For the last 2 weeks I haven't lost any but if past patterns repeat I will start to lose again in a week or two. I have been on Byetta for 9 months now and have learned to be patient and look at it on a long term basis. Obviously reducing carbs will help you to shed more weight and you can help things along with more exercise, and I intend to get out on the golf course more regularly now that the weather is warming up.

Dennis you must be Psychic ! did a weight today when i finished work a short while ago and Whoosh 18st 5.5 lbs. Thats 4.5 lbs in one hit. Of course im chuffed but at the same time a little bit nervous because of the jump bearing in mind its been yo yo static for about 3 weeks now

Hi all, I have just found these forums and have to admit I am glad to hear of others on Byetta ..... I was struggling to 'find' anyone else on it.

I have just recently started on byetta, along with 3 other tablets for my diabetes as I am allergic to insulin. The docs have all loved me as I am their first case of insulin allergy but sadly the byetta alone is not enought o bring my bloods down to normal. I lost weight on insulin and have remained stable on byetta (but as I say its early days). My docs had all warned me of a possible HUGE weightloss, but I am being monitored as I am not so big that I can afford to lose it all.

So far I have not been very well on Byetta (it has also interfered with my underactive thyroid), I have had terrible sickness, upset tummy, and complete loss of apetite ...... I was on 5mg Byetta for a week and them upped to 10mg, which I am still currently using.

I am pleased to read that you are all doing so well on it as its now made me feel that, hopefully, my effects will settle down soon.

Do you all take just byetta, or is it teamed with anything else?

Leoand Hi you will find load of people here using " Spit " and my local Diabetes Centre says that they are seeing more cases being refered. You must be a rareity in that you dont want the associated weight loss. I have been using for just under 3 months and have nothing but praise for it, and have just had my Gliclizide reduced so alls well.
Good luck
Dave P

Hi leonad and welcome to the forum.
Sorry to hear that you are suffering at the moment on byetta, but in all honesty I am not surprised. The manufacturers give very clear instructions that you must be on the 5mg dose for a minimum of 30 days before you are moved up to the 10mg dose. This drug is very powerful and, provided the instructions are followed the nausea should wear off in a week to 10 days. Once you have acclimatised to the 5 dose and move up to the 10m dose you experience further nausea for a week to 10 days. Unfortunately I have heard of several in the UK and the US who have been put on the 10 dose too early and in almost every case have had to come off it altogether because the sickness is too severe. Its such a shame - if only the "specialists" would just read the instructions.

You will find that all UK users are on other meds as well. Byetta is only licenced in the UK for use as a secondary treatment, so can only be used in conjunction with a biguanide (Metformin or Glucophage), a sulphonylurea (Glyburide, Gliclazide, Glimepiride, Glipizide), or a thiazolidinedione (pioglitazone or rosiglitazone). I am on Glucophage SR (the slow-release metformin) and a very small dose of Amaryl (glimepiride). I next see my consultant in 2 weeks and I expect he will take me off the Amaryl because my BS has been steadily improving since I started on byetta in August last year. The lizard spit has also helped me lose weight, but in fits and starts as I explained a few posts back.

Your experience of the sickness is a known side effect and if it doesn't improve, you might want to suggest to your diabetes team that they put you back on the 5 pen so that you can acclimatise to it as the manufacturers advise. The loss of appetite is also expected - this is what byetta is supposed to do. But the upset tummy will almost certainly be caused by something else - metformin is the usual culprit. Byetta slows down the passage of food through the gut so constipation is a more commonly seen effect!

Its always good to see another lizard lover on the site so I hope you will stay with us and share your experiences on byetta.

Hi,
I finally get my byetta next week!
Am apprehensive however. I've had bgs of over 35 for the last 2 years despite losing over 10 stone and taking massive amounts of insulin.
I can remember Dennis saying it takes a while for byetta to have an effect on bg. I'm therefore a bit worried about what's going to happen while I'm waiting for it to work.
Any comments would be appreciated.

Hi Fuggsy,
You need to remember that the main function of byetta is to encourage the pancreas to start producing insulin in readiness for the food you are about to eat. Glicladize also forces the pancreas to produce insulin, and of course you are also having insulin injected. Your body obviously doesn't need all 3 of these or you will start getting huge hypos. Doctors normally give Type-2 patients a mix of meds that will (a) encourage insulin production and (b) reduce insulin resistance and therefore make that insulin work more efficiently. None of your meds are designed to reduce insulin resistance, yet nearly all Type-2s have some degree of insulin resistance - in fact this could well be why you have been injecting what you describe as "massive amounts of insulin" but with little or no reduction in BG. (Either that or you are eating more carbs than the insulin can cope with.)

When you next go in to talk about the byetta, ask what adjustments need to be made to your present meds.

Hi guys, thanks for the welcomes, appreciated.

I am on glucophage SR and also Gliclazide and the Byetta and another new one which the name escapes me. I also take Ramipril for my kidneys (although still unsure why ???). I have had all levels of each increased, reduction would have been nice but unfortunately not possible @ the mo.

The side effects are rather nasty, but to be honest I can live with them, I was on insulin and allergic to it and can assure you THAT was sumthing worse than any bout of sickness (or the runs ) that was excrutiating pain ..... which has sadly scarred me too . I think my docs and consultants saw no choice but to shove me onto byetta pretty quick as insulin is not an option but neither was tablet alone.

And as you say too, Byetta being a fairly new drug still has a lot to be learnt about, i'm just thankful I have quite a good set of medics around me that saw its potential for me, mind you think they had ran out of options ha ha ha ha. I have been told that it is rare to be allergic to all types of insulin , but hey I like to be different !!!!!!

Hi to you all!
At last someone to talk to!!
Wow I think I've learned more about my diabetes and medication this afternoon than I have done for the passed 5 years. I had gestational diabetes( insulin dependent), and then became Type 2, 5 years ago. I was on Avandamet until recently starting on Byetta , but no one told me Avandamet causes weight gain! Like I need any encouragement. (I was 19stone at the beginning of the year) :shock:
Anyhoo I started Byetta 5 1/2 weeks ago, got through the 5mcg nausea, they started me on 10mcgs just over a week ago and nausea has kicked back in with vomiting thrown in for good measure. Is this as rare as the manufacturers make out? I have lost rather a lot of weight (hurrah) but am worried I'm not getting any nutrition from the little I'm able to eat. Any suggestions please?

Snorkmaiden ------ cant be real ? Welcome anyway. Byetta has a few side effects nausea and weight losss among them. As regards getting enough of the right food check out the postings ( and there are many ) on the subject. I too am on Byetta and although didnt get the nausea am getting the weight loss. It does seem to go in fits n starts but initially it really did fall off. The bonus with it spoiling the appetite is that for most people it gives them the impetus to do something about their eating habits which in turn does usually have a beneficial effect both on BS and their general health and well - being. Stay with it there are more pluses than minusses.
Dave P

Hi Dennis,
I'm currently taking metformin and gliclazide as well as over 1000, yes a thousand, units of insulin a day.
I rarely have more than 50g of carbs a day so this is why I'm somewhat concerned about the time it takes for byetta to have an effect on bg