David,
I have followed your success on Byetta. I too am having great success with Byetta. I have been on Byetta a little over year and have lost 45 pounds and my A1C runs between 5.3 to 5.6. This has been a major accomplishment for me. I have found that I get great blood glucose readings even if I don't take my evening dose about twice a day a week. There are time I am just not hungry and life now is not about food but about living. I have had some mild side affects but these out weigh the benefits of the results from Byetta. I will interested in the results of the weekly dose LAR coming out next year.
Today I caught the tail-end of the Neil Cavuto on FoxNews and he had a piece with a doctor on Byetta and there now has to be a black box warning the box since 2 people have died. I wrote Neil and asked him to contact you as I feel you would be able to give insight on Byetta to the viewers. I hope he contacts you.
Well my dear friend God Bless,
Monica
Dear Monica,
I am so glad for you that you are doing so well on Byetta! About 700,000 people are taking Byetta now. I don't know how many of them could possibly be doing as well as you are.
And, yes, there are new reports of pancreatitis with six more people, two of whom have died. Of course, many people with diabetes have pancreatitis, and the fact that they were taking Byetta doesn't mean that Byetta caused their deaths. There will be a stronger warning on the Byetta box, although no one else has said that it is a "black box warning." See the New York Times article at http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Diabetes-Drug-FDA-Warning.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
I have been taking Byetta for 4 months and have lost 22 lbs. I started on the Byetta 5 dose for one month then went to the Byettta 10 dose. The Byetta 10 really made me nauseated. (I threw up about 4 or 5 times a week.) But I was so happy with my guloce levels that I stayed on nit for two months. Finally, my Dr. told me enough was enough and that I could not keep up this nausea. She thought I should quit taking it. But I asked if I could go back to the Byetta 5 dose and she agreed to allow me to do so. That was 2 months ago and I am doing fine now. I don't get nauseated at all. My A1C went from 10 to 7.6. I used to take from 35-40 united of humalog per meal. Now I take less than 10 united of humalog only at lunch time. And now I see all these other benefits. I tell people that Byetta is my miracle drug.
You are a living testimony to the fact that people with diabetes and not their doctors often know what we need to do to take care of ourselves. As I read your comment, I felt myself getting angry at your doctor who suggested you stop taking the 10mcg dose of Byetta because of your nausea. Your suggestion to cut back to the 5mcg dose was exactly the right thing to do. Good for you!
David
David,
I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes about three months ago, and thus far, have been losing weight, reducing BP and blood glucose levels. However, your article struck a nerve with me. I am 65 years old and have the great good fortune of being the father of an 11 year-old daughter--One of my primary goals in life is to dance at my daughter's wedding.
I had open-heart surgery in 1995 and have had a long history of hypertension and high cholesterol (well controlled by various meds). The Type 2 diagnosis was pretty hard to swallow, given the fact that over 75% of diabetics die from cardiac disease. Byetta appears to offer me the chance to reach my "dancing" goal. Would you recommend that I discuss the drug with my doc? I don't want her to think that I am overstepping my bounds, but I am VERY concerned about the cardiac complications. Thanks for any advice you can give.
I have been taking Byetta for 1 and 1/2 years. I have never been nauseated nor have I (unfortunately) lost my appetite. I also didn't lose any weight on it. What am I doing wrong?
The only thing it helped was keeping my blood glucose reading decent. The month I was off Byetta, I saw my numbers go up. I want it to work for me. Can you offer some advice?
Dear Sue,
I can only guess what might be going wrong.
First guess: are you exercising a lot? That sure helps.
Second guess: are you listening to your body when it says you are full? Do you eat slowly enough to hear your body talking to you? Have you cut back on all those addicting carbs?
Hope this helps,
David
You must have missed the latest. It was said on CNN that 2 people died from the use of Byetta. No Thank You. I threw mine out.
I am afraid that too many people had that reaction to the news that a very few of the one million people taking Byetta died from pancreatitis. If ever news was distorted this was it.
Pancreatitis is a complication of diabetes that some people do get. In fact, a greater percentage of people with diabetes who were NOT taking Byetta get pancreatitis than those who were taking it.
Sad but true,
David
Hello David,
My wife is 44. She was diagnosed with type 2 about 10 years ago after first having gestational diabetes about 15 years ago. She is 5'4 and weighs 127 pounds. She always maintained a weight of 115 before being put on insulin. The insulin, besides adding some weight, seems to be changing the fat cells in her stomach. Is this a normal occurance? Are there any studies indicating how smaller framed individuals do on Byetta?
Thanks,
Steve
I convinced my doctor to prescribe Byetta. I've been on it for several months now and it has not helped with weight loss. I expected results like I had when I was on REDUX for three months. That flat out worked! Too bad some people developed heart problems from it. I have been under good control and have cut my insulin in half which may have been due to the Byetta. I have almost a two month supply left and am not sure if I should refill the prescription or just rely on the insulin.
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David, this is exciting news and I believe it is true. Since I have been on Byetta every marker on my blood panel has moved into the normal range or better. This will result in living longer and better. I started taking Byetta a little over 3 years ago. I now feel more energy than I have felt since I was diagnoised with Diabetes. I was on 120 units of Insulin when I began taking Byetta, I have not taken a drop of insulin since I began taking Byetta. I have lost over 80 lbs and even though I have gone thu periods of the yo yo effect, weight gain, I have successfully reversed those gains. I have never accomplished that before. I don't know what the long term effect of Byetta will be but if my experience continues to hold true, it will be remarkable. These past three years have been the best years for me physically in over 30 years. I am in better health according to my Dr than I was when I was 45, I am 75 now. Keep telling the story and perhaps more people will find the way back to health. Ballot
What a great testimonial! Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
David