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HOW MUCH WEIGHT HAVE YOU LOST ON BYETTA?

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Posted 5/7/2007 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH BYETTA?? WEIGHT LOSS
Posted 5/30/2007 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on it for 8 weeks and lost 25 pounds.
Posted 5/30/2007 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
WOW THAT IS GREAT....!!!!!!! yeah

WHAT KIND OF DIET ARE YOU GOING BY TO LOSE THAT...I'VE LOST 6.5 INCHES IN 8 WEEKS IN MY WAIST, AND about 2 LBS.  HOW DID YOU LOSE IT SO FAST...I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF YOU....YOU GO!!!!! scool :-) :-) HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted 5/30/2007 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you! Thats great with your inches also! Actually I have just really cut down on portion sizes and NO junk food and NO sweets. I was bound to lose alot in the beginning because I was in our candy box at work all day long...and made sure I had a huge bowl of icecream and junk all night long. It's slowing down now. The byetta has really taken away my appetite. Plus then the stomach shrank and I can't cram all the crap in it anymore! This drug has been a blessing for me. Now if I would only start adding activity with it I would be doing really good. Good luck to you and keep up the good work!
Posted 5/30/2007 9:25 PM (GMT 0)
Ok ... I need to ask a quick question. I TOTALLY realize we are all brothers and sisters in diabetes. TOTALLY. And, in the same breath/space I recognize the needs of Type 1 and Type 2s are different. I *think* Type 1s can eat what they want and use insulin to "handle" what they ate. One of my kids' friends is a Type 1 (insulin pump) and he eats whatever he wants and doses accordingly. The way I understand it Type 2s fall into two camps (basic): meds/diet exercise. Are meds Type 2s able to dose for what they want to eat??? To me Type 2 diet/exercise people seem almost the opposite of Type 1s on insulin. We eat based on what insulin we do/don't produce.

Am I getting this right? If not, would someone please step in and correct me??? HONEST. I'm just not understanding why we don't all have to eat the same way.

Sorry to need so much clarification.

Thanks!
Ruth
Posted 5/30/2007 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
hun....i have no idea....i was put on byetta for insluin resistance. i'm wanting to lose so bad and get healthy too!!!!
Posted 5/30/2007 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
REALLY? Huh. Isn't byetta a form of insulin? I have sooooooo much to learn!
Posted 5/30/2007 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
I have never read or heard anything that suggests people with type 2 diabetes can eat whatever they want and get good blood glucose with meds/exercise. My little cousin is type 1 and they are also very strict with her portions and types of foods. she still has some treats but they never go overboard or allow her to eat a bunch of crap. She is also around 7 and I think they are working hard to set her up with a good future health wise. I honestly can't imagine how anyone can live in a candy box all day and maintain any sort of control over blood sugar.

I haven't lost any weight (4 weeks) on byetta but then I was put on it to help with my control not because i wasn't watching what I ate or eating junk everyday. I am overweight and have heard that byetta has a weight loss effect on many people for a variety of reasons.

Then again I was told I would probably drop a lot of weight when I started metformin and that didn't happen either. (3 years on it almost now)

I am probably going up to the 10mg byetta next month because my numbers haven't improved on the byetta yet.

It kinda scares me how some people look at it though. It IS NOT a weight loss drug. It is a serious medication for diabetes and if people are only getting on it to lose weight I would have grave concerns with their success.

As with many medications over time they eventually may stop working and if you haven't adjusted your lifestyle and habits you may just gain the weight all back and if you still eat a lot of crap and use byetta to counteract it you could still be doing a lot of damage to your body that will seriously complicate your diabetes and/or vice versa.

Like many people I will be grateful for a benefit of weight loss as it will make things easier in the long run. However my first and foremost reason for being willing to shoot lizard venom into my body is to gain control of my BG so I can hopefully live a healthier life with little or no complications from diabetes.

Hugs to all.

Julia
Posted 5/31/2007 1:22 AM (GMT 0)

Thank you, Julia, for setting this back on course.  And thank you, Ruth, for asking what puzzled me, too.  I was beginning to think that byetta was being prescribed for weight loss and/or allowing a diabetic to eat candy.  One of the first of many learning experiences when I was told I was "pre-diabetic" was to follow a healthy diet that included lots of fresh vegetables (and so on which I'm sure I don't need to go into again!).  I've lost 20 lbs since January because I changed my diet and am exercising every day and now with good lab results, I'm encouraged to KOKO.  (keep on keepin' on - or did I really need to explain that here?)  :)

Lanie

Posted 5/31/2007 2:03 PM (GMT 0)
Actually when I went to my doctor for my last check up which I was well over a year late.....I told him to just put me on insulin. I wasn't doing anything I was supposed to except taking meds and have had this for at least 8 years. Thought maybe I could get better numbers and improve diabetes with insulin since I was not doing it on my own. He said lets try one more thing before we go that route which was the Byetta. I think he got me so enthused about it that my attitude changed and I thought "Im gonna do this." Like I said it has really helped with the appetite, can't over eat or I get really nauseated. I have just REALLY changed my eating habits totally. Instead of dreading and appointment with him or not going I am really looking forward to my next visit at the end of June. I just hope I keep this attitude....I really don't see it changing anytime soon!
Posted 5/31/2007 4:54 PM (GMT 0)
Good for you, Ramsour3!!! I think it's that "grit your teeth" attitude that keeps a lot of us going!!! Just think, being fiesty may pay off after all. LOL
Posted 6/1/2007 1:10 AM (GMT 0)

Ramsour,  if you follow a better diet and get more active like exercising or at least taking a 15 minute (or longer) walk everyday, you may have better blood sugar numbers.  Has your doctor arranged for any meetings with a dietician?  You should also read back through many of these topics on the forum and find out what has been working for others with type 2.  The more informed you are about diabetes, the better chance you'll have controlling it because at this point, it might be able to be controlled without using meds.  What have your blood sugar levels been?  How often do you test your blood sugar levels? 

Lanie

Posted 6/1/2007 2:59 PM (GMT 0)
I AM following a much better diet these last 2 months than I have for years. My levels have been around 120 or below first thing in morning (fasting, no meds) and in between 70 and 90 in evening (before dinner). My after dinner readings have been around 120. I didn't think this was bad considering the last few years they have been in the upper 200's to mid 300's.
I do know that I need to start some sort of excersise program I just haven't yet.
Posted 6/1/2007 3:18 PM (GMT 0)

Wow, Ramsour, you've dropped your numbers a lot!   Those numbers aren't bad at all!  Congratulations!  It seems to me you're doing fine with the diet then.  Good luck!

Lanie

Posted 6/3/2007 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Julia,

Well my experience was similar to yours.  5mg didn't really move my numbers much but when I went to 10 mg., wow...my numbers plumeted.  I was able to half the doses of metformin and glipizide that I took daily and drop one of my medications alltogether.  Not to be the harbinger of bad news but the 10mg traditionally has given most people (lizard bite) and made them extremely nauseous even if the 5 mg had no side effects.  I was one of the lucky ones in that it never bothered me!

I have not really lost any weight on Byetta, but then again, I don't really have to lose any weight, so perhaps it is a moot point.  Weight loss is a SIDE EFFECT and an acillary benefit.  It certainly is NOT the primary reason or one of the reasons that Byetta is or should be prescribed!!  If you are a type 2 and produce any insulin, Byetta will help preserve and even regenerate your beta cells while increasing your sensitivity to insulin.  It is sometimes a monotherapy but I see it being prescribed mostly to people that are maxing out on oral meds (and that happens all to often).  As an "incretin mimetic" there are several new drugs in its class that have come to market or will be here soon.  So far Byetta seems to be the most effective but only time will tell!

Let me know when you move to the 10mg dose and maybe I can give you some help in getting by the nastiness of the side effects.

scool  Warren

Posted 6/4/2007 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
I just started my second pen of the 10. The first 2 weeks were hell. I was so nauseaus after dinner and most of the evening. That has gone away but now for the last week its been in the morning after breakfast and last a couple of hours. Not to the extreme that it was at night at first but still rather irritating. The 5 did not bother me at all after the first week. I can live with this as it is really helping...but would love for that side effect to go away.
Patti
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