Ok I finally did it. For Valentine's Day I asked Byetta to live with me, and it said yes...

....well ok, I didn't ask it to live with me, but I finally accepted that since I had been prescribed Byetta, I should at least try it. Mostly thanks to the articles and progress that I have seen in David Mendosa's postings and the responses of so many of you on Healthcentral.

My biggest fear was the injectible part of the deal. I can handle taking pills but sticking a needle into myself? Preposterous!!! That is why I have been fighting this battle against diabetes with the vigor I have been. I am currently insulin resistant, but do not want to have to take insulin because....you guessed it, the needlephobia. So I put off the Byetta for the same reason. There is a method to my madness!

My doctor wanted me to try the Byetta for the diabetes benefit, and the possibility that it will help me lose weight, but recognized that I might have issues with low blood glucose. My glucose levels run low on a regular basis. I am careful to make sure I have something to take care of that just in case. So far, so good. My doctor has always been a real pearl to me. He's been my general practitioner for almost 20 years. He is always willing to listen when I come up with some hair brained treatment for something. He reminds me of when doctors used to know your whole family and used to make house calls. Gone are those days, but still, Dr. R is a good one.

What I found when I finally mustered up the strength to begin the Byetta was that I hardly felt the needle at all! I am not sure if it is because the needle is so small, or if I have nueropathy in that part of my tummy or what! But, it went in and came out without so much as a ***** and that solidified my resolve. 

So I took my first dose on Friday February 15th. I figured I would wait till I got past Valentine's Day. I am on 5mg for a month and then up to 10mg.

I felt a small flush of nausea after the first injection but so far haven't felt it since. For breakfast I had oatmeal and a small glass of milk and felt full most of the day. I got hungry around 5pm but had to wait to get home to do my second injection and eat dinner. I do keep candy mints around for these times so I popped a mint. Got home and took the second injection around 6pm and then had dinner. No nausea so far.  

So begins my journey. Here are my stats:

Vicki M 47years old

Starting weight 303.5

AIC (was 8.8 when first diagnosed and was 6.8 at my last dr appointment, but I have been bad lately )

Next doctor appointment March 13th 

I'm not sure there is always a "happily ever after" to every story, but I am going to find out! 

Vicki M