Byetta Advice From My Physician
I am new to the group and have read some of the posts. Several have
mentioned their difficulty losing weight. My doctor said that she
has found with her Byetta patients that those who start eating 15
minutes after their injection have the best success with weight
loss. She said if you eat before that, you don’t get the full
effects and may continue to eat too much - and if you wait much after
that you may have more problems with nausea.
I dared not even dream of weight loss as I have struggled with my
weight for so long. I have been pre-diabetic for 5 years and this
past year I did manage to lose 18 pounds since Feb 06 by eating low
glycemic and, in general, pretty healthy foods. Then after several
episodes of severe blurred vision and passing out at my early morning
chiropractic visit I went to my doctor ten days ago and found out I
have diabetes. (It is a good thing I’ve mastered the low glycemic-
healthy eating thing so that is one less thing to learn now.
She put me on Glucovance at bedtime only and Byetta 5mg before
breakfast and dinner, to increase after one month to 10mg. Within
two days my glucose was under control - I am am now ranging 95-100
fast AM and 92-98 2-3 hours after dinner. My random post-lunch
checks have been 110 and my random mid-morning checks have been 83.
My gut feeling is if my numbers stay in this range, she may not want
me to go to the 10 mg dose pen. She will be doing another A1C at my
next visit.
I set a timer when I do my injection and sit down to eat 15-20
minutes later. I have not had any nausea at all. I do have two side
effects. About an hour after lunch and an hour after dinner (but not
breakfast) I have a bad case of diahrrea that last off and on for an
hour. This could be from the Glucovance but I don’t know.
The only other side effect I have had is severe chills about 1 1/2
hours after taking the injection. They last several hours -
especially at night. I deal with it my running my heater on high in
my car for my morning commute and in the evening I put on flannel
pj’s and use it as an excuse to get extra rest and get under three
blankets in my bed.
This is the first time in my life I don’t think of food all day -
only enough to know I need to eat it or I will have more problems.
It is nice to feel full with small portions of food and not to have
cravings.
I have been taking the Byetta for seven days and the Glucovance for
five. I have lost five pounds.
I have heard others on Byetta say that they have energy for the first
time in their diabetic lives. I can’t go there - I actually had
plenty of energy before I started on the meds - I believe the
diarrhea and chills take a lot out of me. However, I have enough
energy to work a 10-hour day and do what I have to do at home. It is
great to have some weight loss, clear vision, and have my glucose
under control.
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:54 am
I’ll have to try eating 15-20 minutes after because I’m getting
nauseous after every Byetta meal. I’m officially on day 7 and today
is the first time I don’t have a headache and am starting to feel
pretty good. I’ve also lost 4 pounds so far, which is great for me
considering I’ve been off my exercise due to the massive headaches
this week. Today I vow to start back on my exercise program!
Thanks for everyone’s input!
Stef
March 5th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
*Good job on the weight loss! The first three nights I was on Byetta I had
a bad headache - I would take two Advil and was able to go to sleep. So,
the next few nights I took one Advil with my dinner and no headache that
night. Now I am not taking anything. I have a slight headache but it is
quite bearable. *
**
*I called my doctor about the severe diarrhea I have been having -
especially early afternoon. This has been a big problem because the
bathroom at work is three minutes from my desk on the other side of the
building and I am scared I might not make it. She said it is most likely
the Gluovance and that is a common side effect and it usually goes away
after two weeks. I think I am going to cut that pill in half until I adjust
to it.*
March 7th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
On 1/6/07, Margaret wrote:
<< If you are having diarrhea that bad, try to use Imodium or Pepto Bismol
or another diarrhea prevention drug. I had that kind of reaction to
metformin and my MD just said that eventually it would stop as my body got
used to the drug, but it never did. I had to reduce the dosage of the drug
to get relief. >>
*Thank you for the good advice. Oddly enough, today I did not get it. I
almost cut my dose in half last night but glad I did not or I would have
blamed my high fasting BS this morning. This is the first time I have been
on the Byetta and Glucovance that I had a high BS when I got up. I have no
idea why it was high since it has been doing so good. I will definitely
pick some Imodium to keep on hand - and don’t know why I have not thought of
that before.*
March 8th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Hi…
I just wanted to make a comment on cutting your pills in half. I’m sure
everyone here knows this but you can’t cut Metformin ER in half. It is not
really a pill but a medicine delivery device. When it is swallowed the
outside of the pill becomes gel like….allowing the medicine inside to be
absorbed. The gel like outside then passes out of your body.
Demetria-Beth
On 1/6/07, Margaret wrote:
<< If you are having diarrhea that bad, try to use Imodium or Pepto Bismol
or another diarrhea prevention drug. I had that kind of reaction to
metformin and my MD just said that eventually it would stop as my body got
used to the drug, but it never did. I had to reduce the dosage of the drug
to get relief. >>
*Thank you for the good advice. Oddly enough, today I did not get it. I
almost cut my dose in half last night but glad I did not or I would have
blamed my high fasting BS this morning. This is the first time I have been
on the Byetta and Glucovance that I had a high BS when I got up. I have no
idea why it was high since it has been doing so good. I will definitely
pick some Imodium to keep on hand - and don’t know why I have not thought of
that before.*
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March 9th, 2006 at 9:47 am
I am so glad you told me that - I will assume the same thing for
Glucovance. Since it is not a capsule I assumed you could but had not yet
done it. If my ‘bathroom’ problems continue, I will talk to my doctor about
a different dose or a different med. Yesterday I had no problems so,
perhaps, I am over that early adjustment problem. THANKS for posting.
Never assume everybody knows things like this.