Bydureon Approved Today

By David Mendosa, Health Guide Friday, January 27, 2012

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Today we have the biggest diabetes drug news in 90 years. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally approved Bydureon, extended release exenatide. Now people with type 2 diabetes can take just one shot a week. This single weekly injection will help millions of us manage our diabetes better. We a...

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hatshi85

1/28/12 2:01am

good, very good news ....

guest2012

1/30/12 1:33pm

Hi,

I would ike your suggestions on what drugs do you recommend. I have been managing diabetes or prediabetes for last 6-7 years without drugs and my A1C has a range of 5.4-6.0. The reason I say pre diabetes is that my doctor never diagnosed me as a diabetec but only as prediabetic. I used to be 164 pounds and now hang around 140-145 pounds.

Off late I noticed that my blood sugars have been creeping higher and i think they are due work related stress. I get very anxious off late due to job insecurity. I would like to start looking at various options on drugs and decide the right one for me. Ideally i don't want to loose anymore weight since I look very skinny as it is. I am not sure if Victoza or Byuderon are available thru my pharmacy.

David Mendosa, Health Guide

1/30/12 2:55pm

Since you have never been diagnosed as having diabetes, your health insurance would probably not cover the cost of any diabetes drugs nor would your doctor likely prescribe one. Your doctor is most likely to prescribe metformin, which is generally the only diabetes medication used for pre-diabetes. It also happens to be one of the best and most effective diabetes medications and is one of the least expensive. That's the only one that I could suggest you talk with your doctor about if you really want to use a diabetes medication.

guest2012

1/30/12 4:25pm

thanks for quick recommendation. I will talk to my doctor about it. I have been reading a bit more metamorphin on your website and trying to understand the side effects of it.

guest2012

1/30/12 4:29pm

sorry should have read metaformin and metamorphin

jvthomp

2/ 1/12 11:12am

David, there's only one problem with this new drug. As a certified pharmacy techician, I can tell you that most insurance plans are not going to cover it. Very few even cover Victoza as yet, and some don't cover Byetta. My own insurance originally covered Byetta for me, but no longer does. It's so frustrating to hear about breakthroughs that will surely help us but which we can never afford to use. Is anything being done about the very high pricing of diabetes medications?

Catherine

2/ 1/12 4:00pm

David, I bought your book

Losing Weight with Your Diabetes Medication: How Byetta and Other Drugs Can Help You Lose More Weight than You Ever Thought Possible, but after I received it, there was a lot of negative information about Byetta in the media. I cannot recall what it was, but I wonder if that was a factor in you deciding not to continue using Byetta. Have any longterm studies been done on Byuderon? Are there any negative implications? Also, I would be interested in knowing what you feel about gastric by-pass sugery (which brings about a 65% possibilty of resolving diabetes) versus using Byuderon? Thank you.

David Mendosa, Health Guide

2/ 1/12 4:09pm

Dear Catherine,

All the negative information about Byetta was about a possible link between it and pancreatitis. I wrote about it at http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/15142/byetta-perspective and http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/115141/byetta-vindicated

I never have had an particular concerns about Byetta or Bydureon. Of course, any drug can have side effects, some of which are discovered years later, as was the case with Avandia. I wanted to see whether with my lower weight I was able to control my diabetes without any drugs. With a very low-carb diet I can.

Bydureon has been tested for several years. I first heard about it being in development at least 10 years ago. And it is exactly the same drug as Byetta, with just a different delivery system.

David

Catherine

2/ 1/12 4:13pm

Thank you David & I apologize for the glitch that posted my comment 3 times. I remain curious in what you think about my last question regarding the gastric bypass sugery v. Byueron.

Catherine

2/ 1/12 4:43pm

David the link to your previous post vindicating Byetta does not appear to work.

I would like to read the article :)

David Mendosa, Health Guide

2/ 1/12 5:20pm

Dear Catherine,

Sorry that I missed answering that question. My opinion about the surgery remains the same -- that it is a last resort for people who are unsuccessful in managing their diabetes through normal means.

David

David Mendosa, Health Guide

2/ 1/12 5:20pm

Dear Catherine,

Please try them again. I just double checked and they work for me.

David

Steve Parker, M.D.

2/ 3/12 9:06am

I was disappointed in the Bydureon package insert because it doesn't really make it clear whether it is OK to use along with insulin glargine (Lantus), sulfonylureas, metformin, and thiazolidinediones (like pioglitazone).

Byetta is FDA approved for use with those drugs, so the implication is that Bydureon would also. As a subscriber who can be held accountable for adverse drug effects, I want it spelled out in the package insert.

BTW, an New York Times article indicated the retail price for Bydureon is $4,200/year.

-Steve

cmxev

2/ 8/12 9:42pm

I wonder how much it costs in Europe?

oneswolf

2/ 6/12 12:19pm

I see that it is approved. But, it doesn't even show up in a search at my (required) online pharmacy, Medco. Is it readily available yet?

David Mendosa, Health Guide

2/ 6/12 3:24pm

Amylin says that they expect it to be available in pharmacies later this month.

oneswolf

9/28/12 12:11pm

Medco did start "carrying" Bydureon. I've been on it for several months now. It is ...interesting. I've experienced some side effects, none too serious. Some days I have felt just awful on this drug. Checked a few times and have found my BG low-ish (70 or so) when I was feeling this way. Weight is slowly dropping (as it was on Byetta). I'm down 15 lbs since January '12 without trying to lose. A1C went from 7.x to 5.8. One thing I don't like is the knots or hard spots at the injection site. But, they fade away as the drug delivery system does its job...the microspheres hydrate and then absorb over 6 to 10 weeks. Anyway, 'nuff for now. Thanks, David for your work!!

David Mendosa, Health Guide

9/29/12 11:32am

Glad I can help. I wonder if your going too low is because you are taking another diabetes medication. That happened to me when I started on Byetta, and then my doctor had be stop the other medications.

The hard spots in the injection site are typical, Amylin tells me. But I wish that they would have doctors who prescribe Bydureon tell us ahead of time so we could be mentally prepared for it.

Best regards,

David

Bydureon Approved Today

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