Diabetes & Byetta

I just started my fourth pen, 10 mcg, and got my blood drawn for the
AIC. Because I felt better and the numbers were OK (but, frankly, I
knew they weren’t as good as a lot of you were posting), I was
surprised that my AIC rose up to 6.7 from 6.4 before Byetta. My
morning BG is usually around 130, but that’s the high for the day.

I’m truly bummed out–endo sent along a script for glypizide, which I
had been on pre-Byetta and which I didn’t like very much. I’ll get
that filled tomorrow and start on it again this week. That will mean
that I’m taking glypizide and metformin in addition to Byetta.

I am considering dropping the Byetta because it doesn’t appear to be
working for me, although I swear that it had more effect on me at 5
mcg than it does now. I’ll wait and see if the 3 drugs work together
well and the numbers go down.

When you take the dose with the 10mcg pen, is it still four clicks per dosage?

I hate thinking of food as bad. And I absolutely abhor thinking of
myself as bad for eating. I had plenty enough of that thinking growing
up. Now I’m over 50 and I have no time for it anymore.

You all know that a carb is a carb is a carb when it comes to
diabetes. No longer do dieticians tell us that we can never have sugar
again. It’s impossible to stay on a reasonable eating plan that’s so
restrictive that we have to "cheat" on "bad" foods. I am pretty
obsessive about counting carb grams and I know how many I should be
aiming for at each meal and snack. It’s 60-60-60 for meals and
15-30-30 for snacks.

How do I know that’s the right amount? When I was first diagnosed two
and a half years ago, I was sent to a certified diabetes educator and
dietician. They asked me many questions about the foods I like, the
(more…)

I started taking my Metformin XL an hour BEFORE I inject my Byetta.
That means I take it as soon as I wake up, and then have breakfast an
hour (or more) after that. I also take it when I’m starting to prepare
dinner (if it’s not going to take me more than an hour). It’s made a
big difference in my numbers.

There was discussion about this on the Byetta Blog. The latest one for
October can be found at:

There are a lot of people taking Byetta who post there. Newbies,
people who have been taking it since June, and those of us in between.
Just as here, we benefit from the ideas of all the posters AND their
doctors. Some docs have their heads in the sand about diabetes and
Byetta, and some are very well informed about it. It’s a nice adjunct
to this list.
(more…)

That is it. Now lets see if I can do it. I actually started my journal
again today.
Andrew

You can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE know you can. YOU know you can! Make
that doc eat her words.

I can yell at you like your wife does if that is what you need*G*

Keep the faith!

Hi Ya’ll

Greetings from good ole Alabama. I just started using Byetta Friday
and so far it has been pretty miserable for me. The nausea, vomiting
and headaches have been overwhelming. I am taking 5 mcg and have have
good response with my bg. I also take 45 mg Actos and 2000
glucophage.

Any advise or hints on dealing with the nausea and headaches would be
appreciated. How long should I expect these reactions??

Thanks

Victoria

Andrew, this is a great idea. I joined a chat group from the Byetta
manufacturers which has been interesting and helpful.

I have been on Byetta for 10 weeks. I had general malaise for a
good 6 weeks; subtle nausea, tired, lethargic, short focus. I also
stopped exercising since I had little to no energy after putting in
10-12 hour average work days. Have been feeling much better
recently; nausea ever so slight once in a while; still somewhat
tired but okay; focus is back and lethargy is waning. One main
problem which I am not certain has anything to do with Byetta:
loosing my hair; Falling out daily. Coincidental to timing of
beginning Byetta. Will be going for a thyroid test but I think it’s
the Byetta.

I may be getting my sugars under a better control, but I will be
(more…)

I started 5MG of Byetta three days ago. No problems so far at all.
Yesterdays morning blood sugar was 68, and today 101, which is good
considering that I had a late dinner. And my morning sugars are always
pretty erratic anyway. (I’m on Lantus once a day, so I only check once
a day.)

One factor that you should be aware of: The quality of your sleep
impacts on diabetes. I have a severe case of sleep apnea, and when I
first got on my Bi-Pap machine my sugars improved so much my doctor
reduced my medication. (This was before I started Lantus.) If you
suspect that you’re not sleeping well, you might want to see about a
sleep study.