Diabetes & Byetta

Diabetic Digest - Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006
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News, updates and help from and for the diabetic community.
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Readers:

Lately, I have not been feeling my best. I really need to
get more exercise. I never realized how much exercise
effects your mind and body. I used to be in such good
physical shape, but in the past few years I’ve become lazy
and unmotivated.

The weather is a huge variable in my exercise habits. It’s
been so cold this winter that I can hardly get outdoors for
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I just had to share. My husband (the needle phobic one) and I
talked today. We got his new oral meds in the mail today (Amaryl
4mg x 2 a day, Metform 1000mg x 2 a day and Actos 45mg x 1 a day)…
and I was just going over possible side effects and such with him,
like stay out of the sun and watch for swelling of the legs, nausea
after being on the med awhile and such… and he said, "call the
doctor, and lets try the Byetta". I have been telling him of what I
have read here and the rave reviews it has had with most of you, so
I think he is ready. I knew making him change was going to be hard,
so I would just present the information I felt would apply to him.
Must have sunk in, as he said he will go in and talk to the diabetic
educator about this and see if he can get up the courage to try it.
I was thrilled. It was no baby step, this was a HUGE one for him.

I left a message with his Endo’s nurse, and she called back. I told
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I found out on Thursday that my left shoulder has a bone spur. I’m hurting very
badly and am afraid I’m going to have to get a cortisone shot some time
soon. I was wondering if this type of shot would have a major affect on my
blood sugars and how long this problem with raising blood sugar will last.
Also, does any one have any great ideas of temporary relief of this type of
thing? My Doctor put me on Celebrex on Monday and it helped for a few days
and now I’m back with the same amount of pain I had on Monday. Thanks for any
advice.

I’m so surprised to hear that it’s possible there are only 300,000 people taking
Byetta! It seems like everywhere I look there are more articles and more
participants. I’m not certain about it only going to Endo’s, though. My PCP
start me on it - and not for my numbers, but for my hungar. After I started
Metformin 1000mg a day my readings started dropping right away - but I was so
hungry! My hungar would wake me up at night and I’d have to get up and eat a
piece of cheese or a boiled egg or something to get back to sleep. Not a good
way to lose weight, needless to say. It’s still controlling the hungar, even
now that the nausea has gone. I’ll get my new A1c this month and find out if
either dosage is going to be altered.
(P.S. my insurance won’t cover it if I buy at a pharmacy, I have to order it
mail order. Then they only charge the regular copay.)
Jenna - good advice about an Endo. I’ll ask next week when I see my PCP about
a referral. Thank you for the suggestion.
John- thank you for your inspiring story, and my condolences for your loss.
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In Diabetes Today
31-JAN-2006
Depression Therapy Does Not Help Diabetics Cope

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even though many patients with diabetes
are also depressed, which may complicate their efforts at managing
their diabetes, better treatment of their depression seems to have no
effect on how they deal with their diabetes.

In their report in the Annals of Family Medicine, Dr. Elizabeth H. B.
Lin and her associates point out that diabetics are roughly twice as
likely as the general population to have depression. Patients with
both disorders tend to have worse blood sugar control, more severe
symptoms and complications due to diabetes, and to use health care
resources at a higher rate.
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Type 2 Diabetes - GSK Announces Approval And Availability Of
Avandaryl(TM) (rosiglitazone Maleate And Glimepiride)
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Main Category: Diabetes News
Article Date: 02 Feb 2006 - 22:00pm (UK)

GlaxoSmithKline announces the availability of Avandaryl(TM)
(rosiglitazone maleate and glimepiride), a new fixed-dose combination
product for type 2 diabetes. Recently approved by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), Avandaryl is the first and only tablet to
combine a thiazolidinedione (TZD), rosiglitazone maleate - separately
marketed as Avandia(R) - with a sulfonylurea, glimepiride - separately
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AICR’s Weekly Health-e-Recipes e-mail from www.aicr.org
Tuesday, February 7, 2006, Issue No. 74
Print Recipe

Health Is In the Bag

Share your love this Valentine’s Day by serving up the gift of health.
Brew a pot of this delicious green tea and you’re bound to please
with its warming spices, natural apple sweetness and a touch of fresh
mint. This flavorful green tea drink is an excellent alternative to
prepared iced teas or many specialty coffee drinks, which can be full
of calories and light on nutritional value. In contrast, green tea is
loaded with phytochemicals and antioxidants, which may help prevent
cancer and other chronic diseases.

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Look Out! Once a Week Diabetes Medication is Coming!

Posted Feb 8th 2006 10:51PM by Cindy Tucker
Filed under: drugs
There is a lot of buzz around lately about the new, once-weekly diabetes
drug Byetta-LAR (exenatide-LAR). It is looking as though it may be
hitting the market very soon. In April 2005 its predecessor, Byetta
(exenatide), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
hit the world of diabetes drugs like a bomb. Just to refresh everyone,
Byetta was the first in a new class of drugs called incretin mimetics.
This class of drugs was developed to mimic a naturally occurring hormone
in the body that is responsible for glucose regulation, slowing the rate
of digestion and giving the person taking it the feeling of being full
after a meal. Byetta’s development was based on the eating habits of the
Gila monster. They only eat 4 times a year, and that fact sparked the
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Does anyone else feel that they have ever gotten a bad penful of
Byetta? I was looking at my morning sugars and thinking I’d have to
raise my Lantus dosage. Then I switched to a new pen and this morning
I’m at 67 and thinking I’ll be able to lower it. Anyone had an
experience like this?