Byetta

Author
Discussion

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Thursday 23rd September 2010
quotequote all
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
..
3 days in and 5 jabs. Only time I felt sick was eating a scone and jam mid afternoon yesterday, proper greed not hunger situation, but it was part of a surprise birthday treat and I was tired and a bit dehydrated too if I'm honest.

Thanks for reminding me of the six hour interval, unlikely to be a problem for me given the hours I work, but I would forget.

Only on 5microgram doses so far, but so far, so good (so what for you Megadeth fans...)
Excellent news.

The occasional indulgence is fine (but it does get punished!!!) unless you keep the volume of the food down. i.e half a scone and you may have got away with it.

The 6 hours interval is crucial.

5mcg is easy to cope with, 10 mcg is going to bring about more benefit but a lot more discomfort. I would stay with the 5mcg for a good while. Once you are on 10mcg, your discipline will have to be of the highest order for maximum benefit.
Six days in and all is well in terms of the meds. I need to find something constructive to do in the hour between the morning jab and breakfast and shceduling evening jab is proving troublesome as goalposts keep moving for evening meal timings which is proving annoying, but the meds themselves seem to be ok.
It's no problem. IMO, to have your indulgence at about lunchtime - a bar of choc, or a full fat yogurt or whatever takes your fancy.
Oh yes, a Twirl at lunchtime yesterday!! Mrs Maul had one during the evening, but I felt stuffed and didnt want any. In fact I've not eaten anything after the evening meal since starting.

Need to start travelling again next week, means leaving home around 5.30 and driving for 90-120 mins so am umming and ahhing about jab before I leave and stop to eat after 60 mins or try and jab 60 mins from destination and eat on arrival. No way I'm getting up at 4.25, jab and waiting an hour!!

Edited by TedMaul on Thursday 23 September 10:49

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Thursday 23rd September 2010
quotequote all
TedMaul said:
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
..
3 days in and 5 jabs. Only time I felt sick was eating a scone and jam mid afternoon yesterday, proper greed not hunger situation, but it was part of a surprise birthday treat and I was tired and a bit dehydrated too if I'm honest.

Thanks for reminding me of the six hour interval, unlikely to be a problem for me given the hours I work, but I would forget.

Only on 5microgram doses so far, but so far, so good (so what for you Megadeth fans...)
Excellent news.

The occasional indulgence is fine (but it does get punished!!!) unless you keep the volume of the food down. i.e half a scone and you may have got away with it.

The 6 hours interval is crucial.

5mcg is easy to cope with, 10 mcg is going to bring about more benefit but a lot more discomfort. I would stay with the 5mcg for a good while. Once you are on 10mcg, your discipline will have to be of the highest order for maximum benefit.
Six days in and all is well in terms of the meds. I need to find something constructive to do in the hour between the morning jab and breakfast and shceduling evening jab is proving troublesome as goalposts keep moving for evening meal timings which is proving annoying, but the meds themselves seem to be ok.
It's no problem. IMO, to have your indulgence at about lunchtime - a bar of choc, or a full fat yogurt or whatever takes your fancy.
Oh yes, a Twirl at lunchtime yesterday!! Mrs Maul had one during the evening, but I felt stuffed and didnt want any. In fact I've not eaten anything after the evening meal since starting.

Need to start travelling again next week, means leaving home around 5.30 and driving for 90-120 mins so am umming and ahhing about jab before I leave and stop to eat after 60 mins or try and jab 60 mins from destination and eat on arrival. No way I'm getting up at 4.25, jab and waiting an hour!!

Edited by TedMaul on Thursday 23 September 10:49
Jab, and eat immediately (forget the hour) before you leave or when you get to the destination.

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Thursday 23rd September 2010
quotequote all
Mermaid said:
Jab, and eat immediately (forget the hour) before you leave or when you get to the destination.
That would be my thinking, but my diabetic nurse is very insistant on the 60 mins between jab and eat, though i have to admit i don't know why, unless it takes that long to permiate that layers of fat I currently have! Yourself and others have clearly been given other guidelines and the papers with the meds say very little.

ETA 35 seconds on the Byetta website says you are correct and my Diabetic nurse is misinformed, thanks for challenging me, well her, on this!

Edited by TedMaul on Thursday 23 September 13:59

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Thursday 23rd September 2010
quotequote all
TedMaul said:
Mermaid said:
Jab, and eat immediately (forget the hour) before you leave or when you get to the destination.
That would be my thinking, but my diabetic nurse is very insistant on the 60 mins between jab and eat, though i have to admit i don't know why, unless it takes that long to permiate that layers of fat I currently have! Yourself and others have clearly been given other guidelines and the papers with the meds say very little.

ETA 35 seconds on the Byetta website says you are correct and my Diabetic nurse is misinformed, thanks for challenging me, well her, on this!
Glad you got it sorted. You can fine time the eating time eventually (to lose weight & better HbAic), but the main issue for you at this stage is to have 100% compliance within your normal everyday life.

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Monday 27th September 2010
quotequote all
All going well, post mean sugars seem to be about 6mmol/l, though pre-breakfast is between 8 and 10, but that has always been my problem area since diagnosis.

One odd side affect I have noticed is a sort of muscle spasm in my chest. I don't think its a heart murmour/palpitation as its too central, almost like at very top of stomach. Starts about an hour after breakfast and evening meals. Probably totally unrelated. Seeing nurse on Thursday so will ask, but average BG levels way down. Which is nice! Oh and 1lb of weight off too..

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Tuesday 28th September 2010
quotequote all
Woah, pre breakfast sugars 6.2mmol/l! Lowest I've ever recorded for that time of day.

Ate very little last night and went to gym too though i did have half an Aero for supper... so quite pleased. Felt a bit sick this morning but do not think it wa the byetta, very stressful and busy week so far and more to do with that imo.

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Tuesday 28th September 2010
quotequote all
TedMaul said:
Woah, pre breakfast sugars 6.2mmol/l! Lowest I've ever recorded for that time of day.

.
Excellent, a good start to the day usually means a good day & motivation for compliance

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Wednesday 29th September 2010
quotequote all
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
Woah, pre breakfast sugars 6.2mmol/l! Lowest I've ever recorded for that time of day.

.
Excellent, a good start to the day usually means a good day & motivation for compliance
Indeed, though i was feeling a little odd by the end of the day yesterday, though it was quite an aggravating day as part of a very aggravating week. Also the knowledge that I had to be up at 5am this morning means I didn't sleep well. I think it was mostly stress and a little bit of body adjusting to lower, albeit safe sugar levels.

appt with Diabetic nurse tomorrow and I may suggest remaining on 5micrograms a while longer. Had one blip of 10mmol/l today, but I didn't have time to wait 60 mins, plus 90 mile drive & longer day meant I ate a bigger breakfast, rest have all been below 8mmol/l so expect hba1c of 6.5% which I would be well happy with.

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Wednesday 29th September 2010
quotequote all
TedMaul said:
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
Woah, pre breakfast sugars 6.2mmol/l! Lowest I've ever recorded for that time of day.

.
Excellent, a good start to the day usually means a good day & motivation for compliance
Indeed, though i was feeling a little odd by the end of the day yesterday, though it was quite an aggravating day as part of a very aggravating week. Also the knowledge that I had to be up at 5am this morning means I didn't sleep well. I think it was mostly stress and a little bit of body adjusting to lower, albeit safe sugar levels.

appt with Diabetic nurse tomorrow and I may suggest remaining on 5micrograms a while longer. Had one blip of 10mmol/l today, but I didn't have time to wait 60 mins, plus 90 mile drive & longer day meant I ate a bigger breakfast, rest have all been below 8mmol/l so expect hba1c of 6.5% which I would be well happy with.
6.5 would be very good.
You DO NOT have to wait 60 minutes. Hope that's clear biggrin

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Wednesday 29th September 2010
quotequote all
Mermaid said:
You DO NOT have to wait 60 minutes. Hope that's clear biggrin
Oh yes, email from my Dr says its an ideal and if the meds are borderline working/not working then going for the 60 mins each time can be the difference between byetta being effective or not, although the Byetta website doesn't make such a claim I have to say. I get the feeling their recommendations are based on experience rather than clinical trial, which is useful to know I suppose. Be interesting to see what nurse says tomorrow.

Zad

12,695 posts

235 months

Monday 25th October 2010
quotequote all
Just a quick update. Mum had a regular diabetic clinic trip late last week, and has been accepted onto a Victoza / Liraglutide trial. She will be back at the clinic later this week for an introduction to it. Fingers crossed for minimal or no side effects.


Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Monday 25th October 2010
quotequote all
Zad said:
Just a quick update. Mum had a regular diabetic clinic trip late last week, and has been accepted onto a Victoza / Liraglutide trial. She will be back at the clinic later this week for an introduction to it. Fingers crossed for minimal or no side effects.

It is claimed far less side effects with Victoza, do hope she can cope better with it than than the Byetta.

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Tuesday 2nd November 2010
quotequote all
i've been told to stick to 5ug doses as sugars nice and low. No massive side effects thus far part from when i gorged on sweets and thought i might explode..... all good so far. Please let us know how your mum gets on with victoza, all i have read is positive and wish her luck.

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Tuesday 2nd November 2010
quotequote all
TedMaul said:
i've been told to stick to 5ug doses as sugars nice and low. No massive side effects thus far part from when i gorged on sweets and thought i might explode..... all good so far.
That's good news.

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
quotequote all
Mermaid said:
TedMaul said:
i've been told to stick to 5ug doses as sugars nice and low. No massive side effects thus far part from when i gorged on sweets and thought i might explode..... all good so far.
That's good news.
I have to say, thus far, it has been good and only goes wrong if I over eat. Eeven then, I feel bloated a bit and have a bit of the trotts, or I have vomited once. TBH I can live with that and it serves me right for being a fatso as its only pure greed!

Sorry so few updates but PH has been blocked (in all its urls) from work. Which is nice.

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
quotequote all
TedMaul said:
I have to say, thus far, it has been good and only goes wrong if I over eat. Eeven then, I feel bloated a bit and have a bit of the trotts, or I have vomited once. TBH I can live with that and it serves me right for being a fatso as its only pure greed!.
Rewards if you behave, but punishes if you don't.

Also do not eat for at least 2 or 3 hours before taking Byetta. Wish you well.

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Tuesday 26th April 2011
quotequote all
Not updated for a while as PH is now blocked from work (all URLs) and no time at home, but given the newness of the drug and increase in diabetes patients, I thought I would report that it is still going well.

Down to annual checkup at Northern General, hba1c is 7.0% and no 'proper' hypos, by this I mean my sugars do get low and I feel a bit weak, shaky and horrible, but its entirely self inflicted and nothing to do with Byetta.

In terms of dodgy guts, well, still now and again and I cant find a correlation between the effect and the cause, so maybe linked with statin use as I get the worse cramps about 1am, though I am increasingly believing all my stomach issues are actually stress related and nothing to do with any of my meds or diabetes.

So if your doc suggests Byetta I really think you should give it a stab. The lifestyle changes you get used to, I gave myself a 5mg dose in Palma airport last week... got some funny looks, but what the fk smile

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Tuesday 26th April 2011
quotequote all
Well done for keeping up the discipline.

Zad

12,695 posts

235 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
To update on mum's experiences with Victoza, it is a matter of no news is good news I think. Other than one notable case of spectacular projectile vomiting (which I suspect was down to a dodgy pickled walnut) then there is little to say. Her sugar levels haven't been as low as they were under Byetta, but there has been virtually no nausea or other side effects.

TedMaul

2,092 posts

212 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
6 monthly logon to PH smile

HBA1c now 6.0% and still on 5microgram dose, weight down a stone and a half, can now fit into 34" waist trousers, down from 38"

Blood pressure up, but related to stress, not meds, of that I am certain.

All good.