Inconsistancy in Pens?
Is there a possiblity that the byetta dosages could vary from one pen
to another of the same dose? I started on the 5 pin and was doing
great! No sickness, marked appetite suppression, and good blood sugar
control. My doctor decided to keep me on the 5 pen for another month
due to my incredible results. My second 5 pen made me sick
immediately! Every time I take my dose I am nausious and sick most
the day. My appetite has returned to haunt me and my blood sugars are
all over the map. One day I’m feeling great and literally the next
day on the new pen I feel like crap. What gives? Anyone else
experiencing the same when starting a new pen at the same dosage?
July 30th, 2004 at 1:19 pm
i’m not sure but i have to wonder how the pens are handled before we get
them. there is such a tight variance of temp that they can be held at. i
picked up the remainder of my 3 month supply yesterday at walgreens. i could
have used the mail order but figured it was better to get at retail store.
but then i wonder how long the stuff sat before they unpacked it and does
their fridge keep the proper temp. better than getting mail order and having
UPS leave the clearly marked "refrigerate immediately" package on my
doorstep when i am not home!
can’t win i guess.
jodi
Is there a possiblity that the byetta dosages could vary from one pen
to another of the same dose? I started on the 5 pin and was doing
great! No sickness, marked appetite suppression, and good blood sugar
control. My doctor decided to keep me on the 5 pen for another month
due to my incredible results. My second 5 pen made me sick
immediately! Every time I take my dose I am nausious and sick most
the day. My appetite has returned to haunt me and my blood sugars are
all over the map. One day I’m feeling great and literally the next
day on the new pen I feel like crap. What gives? Anyone else
experiencing the same when starting a new pen at the same dosage?
Elaine
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
July 30th, 2004 at 8:13 pm
i have definitley had that experience. i even called
them. i was feeling too good. i wonder if it shouldn’t
be shook up or something. the first half of this pen
…no nausea, no appetite supression. no
fullness…and since i threw up daily for 5 months,
this worried me. i felt too good. now i am toward the
end of the same pen and i spent the night hugging the
toilet. nausea, headaches,no appetite, all back. and
it is the same pen. i wonder if it settles or
somethign. pen is stored in exaclty the same place and
same way in the fridge
July 31st, 2004 at 12:26 am
I think it does make a difference in the dedication of the pharmacy. I do
get mine via mail order. They ship the Byetta overnight packed with frozen
foam blocks. They also call me the day before and verify that I’m going to
be there to accept the package. That kind of diligence leads me to believe
that they are just as careful on the back side when receiving the product.
Roy
_____
i’m not sure but i have to wonder how the pens are handled before we get
them. there is such a tight variance of temp that they can be held at. i
picked up the remainder of my 3 month supply yesterday at walgreens. i could
have used the mail order but figured it was better to get at retail store.
but then i wonder how long the stuff sat before they unpacked it and does
their fridge keep the proper temp. better than getting mail order and having
UPS leave the clearly marked "refrigerate immediately" package on my
doorstep when i am not home!
can’t win i guess.
jodi
Is there a possiblity that the byetta dosages could vary from one pen
to another of the same dose? I started on the 5 pin and was doing
great! No sickness, marked appetite suppression, and good blood sugar
control. My doctor decided to keep me on the 5 pen for another month
due to my incredible results. My second 5 pen made me sick
immediately! Every time I take my dose I am nausious and sick most
the day. My appetite has returned to haunt me and my blood sugars are
all over the map. One day I’m feeling great and literally the next
day on the new pen I feel like crap. What gives? Anyone else
experiencing the same when starting a new pen at the same dosage?
Elaine
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Anything posted in this group is the opinion of the person who posted it.
_____
_____
July 31st, 2004 at 2:41 am
I get my pens from my mail order pharmacy. They wrap them incredibly well and
overnight them - their nickle since I don’t pay extra for overnighting. When I
get them the freezer packs are still 75% or more frozen and the UPS guy walks
them to our door. Since DH is home 90% of the time it is not an issue getting
them into the fridge, but they’d weather a great deal even if left out for
awhile because they are so very well cooled - and not frozen, either! They have
quite a method for sending these in layers of freezer packs and styrofoam. I’d
say that it could spend 2-3 days on the road and still arrive chilled, using
their system.
Cheers!
Marsha
July 31st, 2004 at 6:13 am
Elaine wrote.. Anyone else
experiencing the same when starting a new pen at the same dosage?
Yes. Glad you asked! It was my 2nd. 10 pen. I had read here that some of us no
longer were getting the "full" effect from the Byetta and assumed that was what
was happening. Didn’t notice too much difference with readings, but started
feeling tired and just plain yukky again too.
But with the very first shot from my 3rd. pen, food stopped looking so good
again. <grin Part way through the 3rd. pen now and it’s still working. Oh, and
I’ve had to lower my insulin again too. My first, second and third pens were
all shipped together, with the same shipping process and I’ve kept them all in
the same place in my refrigerator so it isn’t that one got too warm/cold since
it left my pharmacist.
The only thing I can think of is inconsistancy too.
Nancy
Anything posted in this group is the opinion of the person who posted it.
SPONSORED LINKS
Illness Ada Insulin
Diabetic Support groups Position
a.. Visit your group "Diabetes_And_Byetta" on the web.
——————————————————————————
July 31st, 2004 at 1:25 pm
here is another thing too… i get my pens on the 20th
of the month. same day every month. so theoretically ,
i should run out on the morning of the 20th. now i do
realize there are a couple of extra doses, and i
usually miss 1 or 2 doses in a month’s time…..either
forget, or too sick…but not more than 2 doses…but
at least 2 of my pens, this one included, today is the
23rd adn i have almost half of the pen left. i have
missed 2 doses this month…i am making sure the
plunger is pushed in all the way. and this is the same
pen that i had no effedt from the first 2 weeks and
now it is slamming me.. i had gone almost a month
without vomithing and i have been throwing up daily
for the last few days. wierd.. i guess i will keep on
using this pen since it obvously is working..
July 31st, 2004 at 3:35 pm
Elaine,
Nope, I’m remarkably steady from pen to pen. The only thing I noticed was the
change from 5 mcg to 10 mcg.
Very odd. Obviously, your first pen was working since you had such great
results. It is within the realm of possibility that it was less effective than
the second.
Cheers!
Marsha
July 31st, 2004 at 11:42 pm
Are Eli Lilly and Company, which makes Byetta with Amylin
Pharmaceuticals, aware of these problems? I would say its more than
anecdotal since I am reading similar things all over the place. It
seems that their Quality Control department would be on top of this. I
can’t think that they are too happy with the number of pens they are
having to replace, can you?
I don’t think it’s a refrigeration problem. Almost all injectable
medicines have to be refrigerated and the Pharmaceutical companies and
the Pharmacies have been dealing with that for decades. Perhaps the
medicine isn’t mixing correctly so that in one dose you get more of
something than in another dose? Or maybe the mechanics of the pen,
itself, are messed up and not delivering the same amount each time.
Of course, another thought could be that we are the problem. Maybe our
body chemistry changes or we are eating/exercising differently, or
psychologically, our expectations rise with the change from the 5 to
the 10 pen so we expect better results.
I have no idea but if it is the pen, I sure wish they would resolve it.
August 1st, 2004 at 4:23 am
I agree. I just got a new pen yesterday and I was sick all day. Of
course I’ve been off it for a month because my pen got ruined last
month. I don’t remember my reaction being this strong when I took it
before but I had a terrible headache and was nauseous all day. Today has
been better though. I did have a low of 36 this morning. I had to eat
more than usual to bring it back up. The pens do seem to vary. I get my
pens from a local Food City pharmacy. I assume they are well cared for
before I get them. My sickness comes and goes. I haven’t been
consistently ill in all this time.
Blessings,
Karen
The dosage probably has not varied–the pen is
delivering the same amount of Byetta, but the quality
of the medicine may have been compromised in some way.
The weakest part of this drug delivery is the need to
keep it cold; we have no way of verifying that the pen
is constantly refrigerated before we get it.
August 1st, 2004 at 10:39 pm
Well I need to chime in also. Same thing with me. I’d stopped pens due to
blood in it. So took awhile to get another…and same reacton as you.
And I’ve also had the ‘is it working/’ blues within the same pen. AND the up
and down of symptoms.
I do think amalyn should be informed…. But how do we do that?
Rebecca
–
Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the
small ones.
Phillips Brooks
***************************************
August 2nd, 2004 at 1:52 am
I think I’m going to mention it to my MD first and see what he says
about it. The Byetta website has an 800 number on it and I will try
calling that and see what happens. I see my MD in June.
Blessings,
Karen
Well I need to chime in also. Same thing with me. I’d stopped pens due
to
blood in it. So took awhile to get another…and same reacton as you.
And I’ve also had the ‘is it working/’ blues within the same pen. AND
the up
and down of symptoms.
I do think amalyn should be informed…. But how do we do that?
Rebecca
–
Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the
small ones.
Phillips Brooks
***************************************
August 3rd, 2004 at 3:13 am
But how many meds have such a narrow temperature range that are in
non-professionals hands? Pat in ID
I don’t think it’s a refrigeration problem. Almost all injectable
medicines have to be refrigerated and the Pharmaceutical companies and
the Pharmacies have been dealing with that for decades. Perhaps the
medicine isn’t mixing correctly so that in one dose you get more of
something than in another dose? Or maybe the mechanics of the pen,
itself, are messed up and not delivering the same amount each time.
Of course, another thought could be that we are the problem. Maybe our
body chemistry changes or we are eating/exercising differently, or
August 3rd, 2004 at 4:11 pm
i would bet that at the pharm companies they are in proper temp range. i
would hope that at the drug stores they use a fridge thermometer. that’s
still a risk but maybe the problem could lie with the transport of the
product. is fed ex, ups, or whatever keeping the product cold enough? i’ve
had insulin delivered to me that was frozen as in almost solid!!! that’s one
reason i use retail to get my 3 month supply now.
jodi
btw, my fed ex guy told me that some of them take the "vans’ home overnight
with packages on them still. it’s up to them what they do with the load till
the morning.
But how many meds have such a narrow temperature range that are in
non-professionals hands? Pat in ID
I don’t think it’s a refrigeration problem. Almost all injectable
medicines have to be refrigerated and the Pharmaceutical companies and
the Pharmacies have been dealing with that for decades. Perhaps the
medicine isn’t mixing correctly so that in one dose you get more of
something than in another dose? Or maybe the mechanics of the pen,
itself, are messed up and not delivering the same amount each time.
Of course, another thought could be that we are the problem. Maybe our
body chemistry changes or we are eating/exercising differently, or
psychologically, our expectations rise with the change from the 5 to
the 10 pen so we expect better results.
I have no idea but if it is the pen, I sure wish they would resolve it.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
August 8th, 2004 at 3:57 am
Yep. I’ve been using one for almost 45 days now. I don’t seem to be getting
as sick on this one, so it’s time to change up in the morning.
_____