Byetta and Pancreatic Sugery?

Not really although Byetta is a new and novel treatment for type 2 diabetes and as such we are still learning about it.

Byetta does need a functioning pancreas in order to work. If your diabetes developed as a consequence of the surgery however this suggests that it is not able to maintain adequate insulin production and treatment with Byetta is unlikely to be as effective (you must have some insulin production otherwise you would be on insulin). Everyone with type 2 diabetes has, by definition, a pancreas that cannot maintain adequate insulin secretion in the face of peripheral insulin resistance (otherwise they wouldn't have the diabetes) but having had half of your pancreas removed is likely to mean that your diabetes is more a result of pancratic failure rather than increased insulin resistance.

There are case reports of Byetta treatment associated with acute pancreatitis - again it depends why you had surgery. If it was following pancreatitis you may wish to avoid a treatment that is associated with pancreatitis (depending on the aetiology of the panceatitis).

I am not aware of any research of Byetta in post pancreatitic surgery patients (mainly because you are a small subset of patients). Like most things in life its a case of suck it and see. If after 3-6months the treatment is ineffective your physician can always try something else. The significant benefit of Byetta is the reported weight loss (about 3.5kg, 7lbs after 6months) - this is the first ever treatment for diabetes to do this. All other treatments other than metformin are associated with weight gain.

Robyn, it seems you already have a concern to be asking the question......

I can only tell you my experience......and that of one of my close friends, which raises concerns in my own mind.

I've been hospitalized in the past with pancreatitis, so has my close friend who is almost 20 years younger than me (though I doubt age has anything to do with it).

I had been put on Byetta this spring, and because I often has stomach issues, it took me a few months to put together that when I would take the Byetta, I'd be so much sicker for quite a while afterward, until it seemed that I was "on the edge" of a pancreatitis problem again....the nausea, pain, etc.....

So I stopped taking the Byetta and saw my doctor and explained to her why I stopped. She put me on something else and I am feeling so much better.

A few weeks later, in talking with my friend, she mentioned that she was taking Byetta and it was making her sick for hours after each administration.  She also said she was feeling very sick as we spoke on the phone, and the next thing we knew, she had

vomited while we were talking!  She decided to do the same thing I did---talked to her doctor and was changed to another type of medication and feels 100% better.

I am wondering how many other diabetics are having some of the same issues but do

not realize it may be related to the drug.

Robyn, read all the information they are now willing to share about this drug.  I know they are now advertising on television for attorneys who want to represent anyone who developed pancreatitis while taking it.  Those ads didn't begin until AFTER I had

put together for myself that I was getting sick from this medication.

I do not think any drug reacts the same way on every human body, as our biologies

are often different in many ways.  However, for those of us who have had pancreatitis or other pancreatic issues, it is worth really researching, thinking through, and a

good discussion with our physician about the positives and negatives about taking

this medication.  The decision lies with you and your doctor, Robyn.

I wish you all the best.

doris