***New member***
Hi there. My name is Becca. I am a 33 yr old sahm of 9 children in TX. I am a
type 2 diabetic since March 13, 2005. My dr. just gave me a prescription for
Byetta. I have heard mixed opinions about it though and am apprehensive about
using it. I would love to hear everyone’s opinions here. I want to know what I
should expect and where better to hear that than in a Byetta group?! Thanks in
advance everyone!!
Becca~
**Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
Where there is great love, there are always miracles.
Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes? **
**Before I got married I had nine theories about bringing up
children; now I have nine children, and no theories**
**I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle.
I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much. Mother Theresa**
January 20th, 2004 at 7:15 pm
Dear Becca, Welcome to this group, you made the right choice. There is a lot
of wisdom accumulated in this group, although at the moment some are getting
close to losing it. One of the members is turning into a Gila Monster but other
than that it is a fairly sane group. My name is John and I have been
diagnosis with diabetes about 25 years ago. I started on Byetta about 10 months
ago
January 21st, 2004 at 7:12 am
Hi, Rebecca, and welcome to the group. We’re a bunch of great folks who
share a love of gila monsters. <g>
I’ve been diabetic for over 10 years. I went from using a daily total of
60 units of Lantus to Humalog combined to just byetta. (My doctor took
me off the Lantus as of last night, so I’m winging it totally on byetta.
More later on this. <g>). I had an A1C of 6.0 before Byetta, but that
was with the high amount of insulin, and feeling hungry and trying
desperately to *not* gain weight, to an A1C of 5.5 three months after
starting byetta, to a recent A1C of 5. Normal. <g> I’ve lost close to 30
pounds, too.
Some folks get nauseous from byetta, but I only had a little bit with
the first 5mcg dose, and less with the second. The 10 mcg dose made me
sleepy for two weeks or so. But I needed the rest. <g> I also feel
colder than normal at times, but I just dress warmly and look for a
sunny spot on a warm rock. Other than that, I love my lizard spit.
If you haven’t taken insulin, the injections are much less painful than
finger testing. I also have more energy. <g>
This is a great list and we talk about all aspects of diabetes care, not
just byetta. I’ve learned a lot from the members here, and I treasure
each and every one of them. Welcome!
January 21st, 2004 at 9:45 am
Thanks John!! I am only apprehensive bc some of the people in my other groups
have had a real hard time with the nausea. Having given birth to sooo many
children I am expecting a morning sickness type thing. Yuck! But I am hoping it
will be short lived if it happens at all. I just have so many children that I
dont have much time to be sick! I just got out of the hospital for a week long
stay over a stupid abcessed tooth that turned into a major infection in my body.
Cellulitis spread to my chest and fingers, etc… It was awful! And now they
want to change my meds again… Ugh.. Oh the perils of being diabetic. Thanks
for your encouragement…. I will let you know how it goes when I start it..
Becca~
Dear Becca, Welcome to this group, you made the right choice. There is a lot
of wisdom accumulated in this group, although at the moment some are getting
close to losing it. One of the members is turning into a Gila Monster but
other
than that it is a fairly sane group. My name is John and I have been
diagnosis with diabetes about 25 years ago. I started on Byetta about 10
months ago
and it literally saved my life, at least that is my opinion. I don’t know
where
your apprehension is coming from but other than some uncomfortable side
effects, which you may or may not have, there is not one negative. If you
develop
side effects please write here what they are and someone will respond with
support and understanding and better with a remedy. So give up apprehension,
embrace possibility and be prepared for some amazing changes.
If you would like a more specific response just put it on the blog. I am kind
of staying home today because of the heavy rain and the creek behind my house
is up. So I will respond. Welcome to the land of lizard lovers, John Dodson
Anything posted in this group is the opinion of the person who posted it.
a.. Visit your group "Diabetes_And_Byetta" on the web.
——————————————————————————
January 22nd, 2004 at 9:18 am
NONONONO Rebecca signed her name as BECCA! now lets not confuse us
already heheheheeh.
just kidding. Welcome to the group and there are a lot of awesome
people here.
a stay at home mom with so many kids! wow. thats pretty amazing in
these days and times. GOOD for you!
have fun and just don’t stress too much its not good for our diabetes
~grin
the Other
Rebecca ~smile
On Apr 4, 2006, at 1:23 PM, Janie Bowman wrote:
January 22nd, 2004 at 5:03 pm
Hello Becca,
I’m Marsha, 56 year old wife, mother, grandmother, retired social worker,
webmaster and now law student. (whew!) I’ve had diabetes for about 4-5 years
and for the first two years was on a low carbohydrate diet and exercise only. I
started oral meds about 3 years ago, recently went through a medication failure
and attendant high BG. Went on byetta and it was all I was on, then did a bit
of investigation and found out I could tolerate metformin that is not time
release so am now on that too.
My BG has dropped from 300’s and 200’s to below 200 and down to an average of
150 these days. I still need to drop it more, but it is a start. I will see
the doctor Friday and ask to be increase to 10 mcg on the byetta and then see
about adding more metformin, if need be. So far I have about zero side effects
from either of them. I anticipate that there will be an increase in
side-effects at that point, but it should be manageable.
I have had one time of nausea, but I could trace it to too much food. I have
had two nights when I did not sleep well because I ate too late and a bit too
much and my tummy hurt. My schedule is all over the place - late on Monday,
moderately late on Tues/Thurs, regular work hours on Friday and then "normal" on
the weekend, but that is subject to change without notice as well. I try to
simply eat within certain parameters after I get up and not obsess over a
certain time that things have to be done as I’d never sleep if I did. :^/ I’m
doing my best to move my protein intake times to breakfast and lunch with only a
minimal amount at dinner to see if that will help.
Shots don’t bother me as I used to give myself allergy shots in Alaska and I
used diabetic needles/syringes then. I’ve gotten used to intensive BG testing
too (5-8 times a day) and don’t much notice it anymore - every now and then, but
I use a lot of different sites and have learned to go just so deep and no deeper
for the drop of blood I need. Once I get stabilized I will back down on that,
but right now my doctor and I need the data.
Probably the thing I have learned first and best from this list is that it is
important to limit portion sizes when taking Byetta. Whether you eat protein or
fat or carbs or whatever it is, portion control helps eliminate the trigger for
nausea - I’d guess that would be the stretch receptors in the stomach. What you
eat will depend on what you can tolerate - I don’t have problems with proteins
or fats and can have bacon and eggs in the morning with no problem whereas
others would not be able to deal with that. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV). I am
fortunate that I was already eating both low carb and low calorie so it was not
a huge adjustment for me to cut down on volume.
Some of us here eat very low calorie, very low carbohydrate diets because it is
what we need to do to have controlled BG and lose weight. Others eat more carbs
and calories. Again, it is very individual. As Andrew is fond of saying, eat
what the meter says you can eat.
I have about 150 pounds I need to lose (and keep off) and I figure it will take
me a couple of years to do it. When that happens I hope to be free of
medications and be able to maintain my health through dietary control and
exercise. Byetta is supposed to help in that regard and I also take hoodia to
help with craving and hunger control in the evening.
Be well!
Marsha