Is it worth asking my doctor about Byetta?

[HLW]

I'm having some problems with my current medication (metformin, actos) I think (digestive problems mainly, nausea sometimes, and possibly insomina), although I've got no way of telling if it's the medication causing them ofc! and I'm also overweight and Actos can cause weight gain which is a problem. Do doctors often prescribe Byetta or do they avoid it on cost usually?

 

[hanadr]

My GP practice don't't prescribe it at all. On cost grounds. If you need it, you have to go elsewhere, hospital or another specialist

 

[Dennis]

Hi HLW,
Byetta tends to be prescribed more by consultants than GPs so it is very likely that your GP will be told by his PCT not to prescribe - this is always on cost grounds. However, PCTs tend not to argue when faced with a prescription recommended by a consultant.

Your best bet would be to ask your GP to refer you to a consultant diabetologist - then the consultant will be able to advise whether Byetta would be suitable for you, and will either prescribe himself of will advise the GP to prescribe.

 

[Trinkwasser]

The official rules were that Byetta could only be prescribed if you still had poor control on maximum doses of two other medications.

I haven't looked to see if that has been changed, but it seems to depend very much on the PCT and if someone is doing research on it.

Some areas refuse it on cost grounds.

 

[HLW]

Thanks for the replies. It's only been a few weeks since the amount of actos I take was increased so maybe things will settle down a bit, I'll see how it goes.