One person found that taking a long walk helps. It’s a good idea in any case.

Another wrote, “I find that if I take a deep breath almost until it hurts and hold my breath for as long as I can and let it out slowly, it generally goes away. If there is no effect the first time, I repeat it.”

If none of these strategies work, there are either prescription and OTC drugs. I think of these as a last resort, because it seems a shame to take a drug to counteract another drug. This can become a vicious cycle.

I was able to find only two OTC drugs that people recommended for nausea from Byetta. One is Emetrol. “It is a mixture of glucose, fructose, and phosphoric acid, and comes in syrup form”. This means, of course that it is high glycemic, so it will temporarily raise your blood glucose somewhat.

The other is Prilosec OTC (omeprazole), which most people usually use for frequent heartburn. Prilosec is also available by prescription, which might be a consideration if your health insurance co-pay is less than the OTC price.

By far the most commonly recommended prescription drug for nausea is the old standby, Phenergan (Promethazine). According to Wikipedia, it is available over-the-counter in the UK, Switzerland, and many other countries. Wikipedia also has an extensive list of drugs that can combat nausea generally.

People on Byetta have also recommended Zofran, metoclopramide (the generic of Reglan), and Prochlorperazine. Like all drugs, they have side effects, some of them serious.

There’s no point in my going into the pros and cons of these prescription drugs here. You might mention them to your doctor, but it’s up to him or her to decide which one, if any, of these that you will get.

Bear in mind that Byetta is the synthetic form of Gila monster venom. So you might want to try the half-serious advice that the Diabetes_And_Byetta group offers: “Try to think like a lizard. Avoid what would make a lizard nauseous.”