Diabetes & Byetta

WASHINGTON, Jun 4, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) — The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration Monday approved a device that measures glucose levels
continuously for up to seven days in people with diabetes.

While a standard fingerstick test records a person’s glucose level as a
snapshot in time, the STS-7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System measures
glucose levels every five minutes throughout a seven-day period. The FDA
said that additional information can be used to track patterns in glucose
levels throughout the week that wouldn’t be captured by fingerstick
measurements.

However, diabetics must still rely on the fingerstick test to decide whether
additional insulin is needed, the FDA added.

The STS-7 System, manufactured by DexCom Inc. of San Diego uses a disposable
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Patients should not haphazardly stop taking the
controversial diabetes drug Avandia, even though it has been linked to heart
risks, an early critic of the drug said on Sunday.

Dr. John Buse, chief of endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and incoming president of the American Diabetes Association, was
one of the first experts to query the safety of GlaxoSmithKline’s
blockbuster drug.

He raised questions about the drug’s heart safety in 2000.

But Buse told the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Toronto that he does
not believe patients should stop taking the popular pill just yet.

"We’ll have additional data in the near future and that would be the
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Hello! I just joined this group and wanted to introduce myself. I am
42, and live in southeast Michigan USA. I’ve been Type II diabetic for
over 10 years, and take Actos and Metformin. I currently weigh 260
lbs, and am 5′ tall. A few months ago my sugar levels started getting
out of hand, and nothing I could do seemed to help any. I especially
have trouble with the ‘dawn phenomena’ issue of high sugars first thing
in the morning, even when I have a snack before bed. I will be seeing
my doctors nurse in one week (June 14th) for training on how to inject
the Byetta, and so haven’t started the Byetta yet. I am pretty excited
about this drug - I’ve been slowly developing a whole host of diabetic
side effects due to the higher blood sugars, and am hoping that Byetta
will help me get my sugars back in line! Anyhow, just wanted to say
hi, and how glad I am that I found a support group online!

Erin in Michigan

when I was diagnosed in Nov., my A1C was 12.1. have been on byetta since
Feb.
I have lost 26 lbs and my A1C today was…drum roll please….6.1!!!!
I wanted my Dr. to put me up to 10 on the byetta, but she said with an a1c
of 6.1 she was afraid I’d go too low. oh well…just wanted to share with
you all.
love, peace and hugs…Patty

Gina Kolata’s new book "Rethinking Thin" is a welcome addition to a series
of recent publications trying to get Americans to think more rationally
about the relationship between body weight, dieting and health.

Gina Kolata’s new book "Rethinking Thin" is a welcome addition to a series
of recent publications that have taken on the daunting task of trying to get
Americans to think more rationally about the relationship involving body
weight, dieting and health.

For many years, Kolata has written on such issues for The New York Times,
where her articles have featured the sort of skepticism often missing from
much contemporary journalism about health and medicine.

"Rethinking Thin" joins, among others, Eric Oliver’s "Fat Politics," Barry
Glassner’s "The Gospel of Food" and my own book "The Obesity Myth" in making
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I am curious as to if anyone else has experienced frequent hiccups
after beginning Byetta? Right from the start of taking Byetta (this is
my 4th month) I’ve noticed that I get frequent bouts of hiccups and
more frequent burping! The hiccups don’t last for more than a few
moments, but they are almost violent! Very loud and long per hiccup.
Odd, I know. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same
experience…

Also, does the nausea ever come to an end? I’ve tried all the tricks
that people pass along to me and none work. The nausea is not always
the same, some times are much worse than others with no discernable
pattern to it, but I am nauseated every day. Also headaches,
jitteryness and that yucky swirly headache/stomachy thing…

Glad to have found ya’ll!
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went to barnes&noble today. checked out "insulin resistance diet" book. looked
complicated but had some really good recipes in the back. however if you get the
magazine "first"they have a whole section on the book and how to understand it.
and only $1.99! i going to see if i can master that first before i get the book.
looks interesting…….am going to endo thurs. and will let you all know how i
make out…………………..baz

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thank you!!!

——-Original Message——-

CONGRATULATIONS, MELISSA………………………BAZ

I do not subscribe to the ADA journal. However, I do refer to their
web site occasionally and I do read allot of the HHS, FDA and other
published reports, journals and articles from Mayo and Joslin.

As a point of reference….. there are clinical trials for Byetta as
a stand alone (monotherapy) drug. However, the manufacturer elected
not to submit the data to support it because of the positive effects
data it already had on an adjunct to existing oral medications.

NCT00085969 was started in Sep 03 and completed the phase II in May
04. My Endo had some of his patients in the study here in
Jacksonville. In addition to approving Byetta for use as an adjunct
to existing oral medicines, the FDA also stated that Byetta is
approvable as a stand-alone therapy (monotherapy) for patients with
type II diabetes.
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Yeah do it because it is 98 here today

——-Original Message——-

Brian - call the hotel now and tell them you are diabetic and you need a
fridge to keep your medican in. By law, they are required to provide you a
small portable fridge in your room. Because the temps in those can vary so
much, you may want to consider bringing an instant read thermometer to check
it.