Byetta

Hi I have only been on Byetta for 3 days so far, and also take 1000mg of metformin. I wanted to know if there are others out there using Byetta and if they have any side effects or weight loss? I have had some nausea, not to bad. And how is your glucose levels? Thanks, Virginia

gwheezy41 said...
Hi I have only been on Byetta for 3 days so far, and also take 1000mg of metformin. I wanted to know if there are others out there using Byetta and if they have any side effects or weight loss? I have had some nausea, not to bad. And how is your glucose levels? Thanks, Virginia

Other than medication, what  all the other precaution are you taking to bring down your BS.? I used to take 2000mg Metformin, now i am taking only 500mg

For Type II , if you are only depending on medication you will get long term complications such as excess micro albumin and lot of side effects of metformin.

gwheezy41 said...
Hi Great Guru, You are correct about the metformin, I could not handle 2000mg so I went down to 1000mg and yes I have excess miroalbumin always.

Now you sholud explore other possibilities of  bring down the dosage to 250mg. We are here to discuss this kind matter.

Bearwoman,
Welcome to the forum. Sorry to make a new friend under these circumstances but glad to meet you. I've been on Lantus insulin at bedtime since spring and have lost weight slowly and am having great blood sugars. It's easier than putting on mascara and I'm very pleased with my results. Don't be afraid of having to go on insulin if your doctor deems it necessary. Lowered blood sugars are the main consideration here and we are all trying to get there.

Read back a bit in the forum and see what others are using to lower their sugars. You might be able to try some of their ideas as well. Take care and come back often. We like sharing and are all very caring people.

Hi,
I've been on Byetta for three weeks and it has worked wonders! I have had absolutely no side effects! In the first two weeks and 2 days I lost 10 pounds. I also take amaryl and glucophage. I limit my carbs to 45 gms. per meal. My blood sugar levels have greatly reduced. I have absolutely no more cravings for any kind of food, and my energy levels are out the roof! I have been on the 5 mg pen and am going to the 10 mg pen today. Hopefully, my results will be even better.

Post Edited (Doris H.) : 9/13/2005 8:51:28 PM (GMT-6)

I have been on Byetta for 3 months and I LOVE it!

I lost a little over 30 LBS and hope to loose another 20-25 and I'll be back to normal.

I had no idea how bad I was feeling until I started the injections. I feel great, my sugars are perfect and I have a lot of energy. Quality of life is something you can't replace.

The belching went away after 6 weeks and the nausea, while it could be pretty bad at times- I learned I had  to eat less than half of my normal intake, and eat my food 30 minutes or so after the injection.

No other real issue except a little constipation which went away along with the nausea. I have been on the 10 MG pen for over 2 months and I am so grateful for this little pen.

One thing I did find disturbing was that it took 2 doctors and a lot of convincing to get them to put me on Byetta.

3 Doctors said I was a candidate, but that they don't prescribe it as they get a lot of grief from the insurance company- and none of them even knew my insurance- It was just the way things are.

I hope this isn't true- a lot of people will end up suffering needlessly.

I found that I did have to cut down on the Glucophage I was taking the 500 XL twice a day- I am now on the 500 only at lunch. I take 1 precose at breakfast and dinner with Byetta.

I wonder too if I could handle the 10 MG as the nausea sent me to bed a few times,  but it DID pass and I am very happy with the results. I haven't felt or looked better in 6 years.

You may want to talk to your doctor about adjusting your other medications until your system gets used to Byetta.

By the end of the 2nd month on the 10 MG I haven't had any nausea, but I have had some cramps that I noticed only coincides when I eat a heavy carb meal, like spaghetti. I have cut the portion way down and I eat a small salad before any thing like pizza or spaghetti and that has helped a lot. But I don't eat either of those foods much.

I hope that you feel better soon and that your levels improve. Mine are perfect at this time and I am just glad I stuck it out, but I know it can be hard at times!

Good luck!

Glad to help, I didn't think to read chat boards when I was going through all this. I felt horrible- I remember curling up on my bed a few times and was afraid to complain to my doctor for fear she would take me off of the Byetta.

I finally broke down and spoke to my doctor who prescribed some anti nausea pills and had me back off a little on the other medication I was taking.

I learned from trail and error to wait and eat a half hour after the injection and reduce my meals and carbs, that worked for me. I found smaller meals of lean meats and mainly vegetables helped tremendously. It is funny, I hadn't mentioned it before but the carbs did cause me some problems and I have only recently braved it through a spaghetti meal with no problems- again- a very small plate of spaghetti.
Give it a try and again- hang in there if you can- I am so glad I did!

Hi,

Im a relatively new Byetta user as I've been taking it now for 3 weeks at the 5 dose. NO side effects whatsoever. I'm a type 2 that maxed on oral meds and was still out of control (Avandia 4 Metformin 1000 twice a day and stil in the 200's for blood sugar).

The Byetta has my 2hr postprandial readings around 80 but my fasting levels in the morning are still 140's to 150's. STILL much better than without and maybe the 10 dose will drop my fasting levels into the normal range. I have been eating very close to the injection but my meals are salads and meat so they are pretty high protein, low carb and no side effects. I have a couple times suffered chills and dizziness associated with hypoglycemia when I really didn't eat any carbs for dinner. (Easily cured with a Hagendaz ice cream bar). My big goal is to lose the Avandia and all the nasty side effects that go with it. The weight gain, the swelling of the legs, etc.

As a parting note, I use B&D ultrafine III 31g 5mm(3/16's of an inch) needles and most of the time you really can't even feel them go in. They are very very tiny and just take all the nastiness out of injections.

Warren- How are your postprandials after lunch? I find that since there is no mid-day shot, those postprandials are quite high, in addition to the high fastings in the morning. I am on byetta and metformin, only. Thinking of adding back my prandin at lunch and bedtime. That also might help with the queasy feeling I get after the shot, since my glucose has so far to drop with those doses. I think the rapid drop from 160 to 90 is what's making me weak with each shot. I'm on the 10 for about three weeks now and it really didn't fix that problem.

I think the ultimate answer to this problem will be in the Byetta LAR. (long acting). But that is probably a few years away, I think. Its in clinical trials now. I with they'd put a rush on it! It will be a once a month shot, won't that be nice?

Ok, I see Im not the only one. Don't think that unless the drug company approves multiple dosing in a day, that the doc has any say, unless you're footing the bill. The insurance companiies won't allow it. I wonder if the two day dosing they came up with was because they thought that any more than that would scare people away. I bet that's the reason. Too bad.

So I guess its gonna be either an extra pill or a no carb lunch.

Warren & Diamond,

I have something you can try at lunch that works very well. I was part of a study at Michigan State University/ Food Science and Nutrition in conjunction with Kelloggs Cereals and the long and the short of it was that by adding psyllium to the meal we experienced a very slow rise in blood sugar without the big spike. The psyllium doesn't totally stop the absorption of carbs from the intestines, it just prolongs the absorption time so there is less spiking. We had some very impressive numbers in the study, although I can't remember them all, I just remember leaving with the info that taking psylium along with carbs would stop the spikes and change them to gradual rises.We were told that there is some blocking of carb absorption but that the amount didn't give us free rein to eat tons of carbs and then take psyllium.

The amount taken was one tablespoon in a large glass of water. I now use inexpensive psyllium powder from the dollar store. Just watch the sugar amounts on the labels. Some of them are very sweet. And be sure to take with lots of water. You can choke if you don't dilute it enough. Hope this helps.

I just started using Byetta 5 mcg yesterday. So far only very mild nausea. However, I have not seen any reductions yet in my bood sugar readings. Still hovering between 170-210. I am taking in conjuction with Glucopage 1000 2 x a day. How long does it take before I should expect to see my sugar levels coming down? Also can someone tell me what postprandials are?