Byetta

Warren,

My name is Melissa.And I am taking Glucophage and starlix but my doctor put me on Byetta Aug 14 and it is helping.My doctor put 5 mcg Byetta.And I lost 6 pounds.You said that Byetta is made out of extract of the Gila monster venom.On my box it tell the stuff that they put in the Byetta and one of them is glacial acetic acid.Is it same thing as the Gila monster venom.I done research on the Byetta I learned that it has been out since April 05.My doctor waited to make sure it was nice and safe for me to take since I have other problems.Like ITP blood dis and colitis.Ten years ago I was in the Baylor Hospital at Dallas for a month because of my ITP.The doctors had to take my spleen out because of the ITP.

                                            Melissa Loyd

Hi Mellissa,

Byetta is actually safer than many of the oral meds on the market today. True, the 10mcg dose does tend to make people nauseous, but then again, thats not a "serious" side effect.  Lilly has had this drug in testing years before its release and they continue testing today so there is a ton of data available for your doctor on the safety and efficacy of this drug.  So far the only major drawback is that you have to take it by injection rather than pill form, but c'est la vie!

You don't really have to know all the mechanics of this drug to know that it is one of the best alternatives available today, and if you can tolerate it, it may actually prolong the life of the beta cells in your pancreas vs. a long slow road to burnout that is what happens with certain classes of orals.

Yes Melissa, there is a Santa Claus and he brought us Byetta!

 Warren

(PS - A whole new generation of "incretin mimetics", drugs like Byetta, is in testing and just around the corner)

I would like to know if anyone else has had the problems with Byetta that I have had.  I have been using Byetta for about 1 1/2 years.  I had great results.  All of a sudden, 3 months ago I began getting sick, throwing up everytime I took it.  I always injected then waited 1 hour before my meal.  At first, I thought it was red meat, so I removed all of that from my diet.  It continued, almost daily.  I was throwing up so badly that I had to use medication to stop.  Diarrhea too.  Then I was "out of it"-sore and achey  so to speak for the next couple of days.  The sickness would begin with my BS going from good range 80's to low 100's.  I might get cold/hot sweats then all of a sudden the vomiting or diarrhea would begin.  The rest of the day, in bed,  my BS was excessively high.  This would happen before I had the chance to eat or very soon after eating breakfast. (Egg scrambled or minute steak or similar) So, this last episode, I thought I'd try it again.  I was really hoping it would work again.  This time only 4 days before the sickness began.   I was really discouraged because my A1c was 4.9, BS was in good control an I lost weight.  Last October, I got off of "all white food products" - sugar, flour, rice,pasta and potatoes.  I was cutting down my oral meds and everything was going great.    Today, I went back to my doc.  He prescribed Symlin.  This is usually prescribed for diabetics using insulin.  So I asked the questions.  Lantis didn't work for me nor did Junevia.  Yeah, I know, I tend to be a strange bird when it comes to meds.  So, I was wondering, is anyone else on this?  I also take glucophage (for 15 years) and amaryl (0-2 per day depending on my BS).  Hope to hear from someone about this.  Ideas?  2 Fun Gran-Gran (but not too much fun lately)

Thanks Karen, I'll be sure to look that up today. Again, Thank You. 2FunGG

Laura,

If you miss a shot, you've missed a shot. You have to wait until the next meal time...if you missed a morning dose, don't take another until dinner and vice versa. You are supposed to wait 6 hours between doses. Also, you have to take the shot first, then eat about 45 min. to an hour after the shot. You can eat sooner but it's supposed to be more effective if you wait until then. If you eat first then it doesn't do anything. You can have a snack, I think, up to 45 minutes before you inject, but then you need to eat your meal. If you google byetta you can get to the website for it and can answer many of your questions. Good luck.

Karen

Hi, Linda, welcome to the forum!

I was on Byetta for a short time. I started on the 5 pen in June. It wasn't really doing anything so the doc put me on the 10 in July. I couldn't tolerate it...vomiting, diarrhea, the works. I lost 10 lbs. in a week but that was most definitely the hard way. :( So I went back on the 5, but I still didn't see any real improvement in my numbers or my weight loss. Then in August I stumbled on to this forum...and through the wonderful information disseminated here, I learned how to eat. Since June I've lost over 30 lbs., my numbers for everything are down and I have lost the weight around the middle. And I've gone off the byetta.

What I learned was that you pretty much as a diabetic (although this actually works well for others. too. at my husband will attest), have to eliminate most carbs from your diet. What have you been eating, what are your sugars like? Are you exercising? (I'm still working on that one myself.) What I have noticed from other byetta blogs and forums is that many people on the byetta expect it to do all the work without changing their lifestyle or habits much. Carbs are the literal killers for diabetics. All white flour, rice, potatoes, cereals (except for maybe old-fashioned oatmeal), and of course, sugar all have to be eliminated. Jeannie, the forum moderator, calls it the no white food except cauliflower diet. Lots, of vegetables, protein and the right fats (olive oil, canola oil, nuts, avocado). Due to the high sugar content in fruit, even that has to be eaten sparingly. South Beach is a pretty good diet, although there are still too many carbs for me personally. And there is a great book called The Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, that really educates a person on how to change her lifestyle to control diabetes. I found it on Amazon but I'm sure you can get it at other bookstores. And if you google him, there is a website devoted to him that has many of his chapters right there on the site for people to read. You will no doubt hear from many others on how to eat to help control your diabetes. Listen to them. They totally have some great suggestions. Good luck and keep us posted.

Karen

HI Karen
Just a note to let you know I got the book by dr. bernstien and i sratted the diet last week my blood suguar levels are down in the 100's and i feel so much better allready. thanks for the davise. I will be weighing in at weight watchers tonight so wish me luck. ty linda

I'm new to this but here goes. I have been on Byetta for 3 months. At first it seemed to work okay, but now the morning shot works fine but can't seem to see any help in evening. I am on Lantus (95 split am & pm) and Humalog (now only at lunch) Used to be each meal. No other diabetic meds. My glucose is consistently high. Everything I read says Byetta is supposed to be use with meds, but my endocrinologist says this way is okay. How can it be okay when your glucose is rarely under 150? Any suggestions? I am ready to go off Byetta and back on insulin. (He put me on it in hopes it would help me lose weight)
Ruth

Post Edited (harkcl6) : 10/3/2007 7:44:09 AM (GMT-6)

Thank you, Warren,
I was put on Byetta by my endocrinologist at the Joslin Clinic. I take Lantus in the am, Byetta 10mcg before breakfast, Humalog at lunch, Byetta before supper and Lantus at bedtime. I voiced my concern about every thing I read about Byetta with meds and he said even though it should still work. I have been on Actos, Metformin, and other pill over the years (started with gestestional diabetes 27 years ago) I was taken off for one concern or another. I will be calling him this morning since I don't see him till November. My average for the las month over all has been 178 which I feel is way too high since I have some renal issues, and retinopathy in one eye. I had better control on just Lantus and Humalog. He thought Byetta would help the weight issue. I have to admit I am not as hungry when I take it, but surely there must be s med that wouldn't hurt the kidneys.
Ruth
PS Also The medical comunity talks about having a diabetic "team", but my "team" never consults with each other.

hi Ruth,
I was having trouble also with the readings being way to high mine were in the 300's but i got the dr bernsiten diabetic solution book and went on his diet and now i am running normal readings I also take byetta but i dont think it helps me either. my weight loss is from the diet now. and i have such a problem with the adomal area wich i hope will disapear to. i wish you the best linda

Hi Ruth, I understand what you're saying.  I'm also a teacher, though not full-time anymore, but I know about lack of quality time for myself.  Just as Linda just wrote, Dr. Bernstein's book is valuable and not only for the diet information but also for understanding how diabetes affects us.  For diet, many of us do follow a low carb way, but you might also be successfull with linking carbs with protein as suggested in The Insulin-Resistance Diet.  Either way, cutting way down on carbs will help control the blood glucose numbers as well as help you lose weight.  And.........  you have to make time for some kind of exercise, even just walking.  This can be incorporated into your daily routine.  I purposely park across campus so I have to walk 10 minutes to and from my building.  Take the stairs, not the elevator.  That kind of thing.  Get some dumbbells.  (I could link that to some of my students but that's a whole other story.)

Let us know how it's going.  Take care.

hey all just wanted to say that I was allways tired and wanted to sleep night and day. when the blood sugar levels were up so high. but since cutting way back on starches and carbs as dr b's suggested i have lots of energy in the day and have slept much better at night. I went to the library and got his book what a great help its been for me. but i thank you guys for sugesting it to me karen was a lot of help to me sure am glad i found this site. linda

Thanks for reminding me I already had Dr. Bernstein's book. A friend who also has diabetes gave me the book many months ago. I had looked it over but never really read it. Well, I have already begun following his guidelines, and was amazed at how much it hit home with me!

Ruth