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Byetta Babes!

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
That's a great reduction in HbA1c squidge! Hope the nausea passes soon and that the weight loss continues 🙂
 
squidge63 said:
Had my check up with my DSN today which went well, my night levemir is up to 78 while I have cold symptoms and general feeling of unwellness (think I made that word up lol).. have lost weight since I last saw her in Nov but think I have put on a couple of pounds since Christmas.. but the good news is that since starting Byetta my hbA1c has gone from 9.8% to 8.7% :D the Byetta is on its lets make me nauseous stage at the moment..
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great news micheal on the hbA any reduction is good, hope you start to feel well soon x
 
Hello all, I'm now an official Byetta Babe.

Went round to the surgery today after stopping off at the chemist who couldn't find my prescription! It turned up after an anxious five minutes and I went in to see the Practice Nurse to do my first jab while she watched. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. After about 20 minutes she said "I think you'll live, off you go". The reason for this is that tbhey were worried I might have an allergic reaction but it was just the same as the practice jab, a little red spot and an itch, nothing to strees about. So now I'm on my own until the DSN at Raigmore calls with an appointment for me later in the week. In the meantime I have to keep copious notes on symptoms, diet, BGs etc., etc. I'll still be going on insulin in the near future (once they get the results of all the tests back) but they're hoping this will bring my bloods down a bit in the meantime. I'm waiting with baited breath...

Do anyone else get a bit of an itch at the injection site?
 
Welcome to the babes thread hun lol....

Lucky you I never got any of the we will watch you take your first jab, i was just given a quick lesson with a pen the nurse had in her room lol....

I hope it can help bring down your levels Alison..
 
Sorry just spotted your itch question hun, i did and still do sometimes a little red mark appear and it can be itchy as well but it usually has gone next time i inject....
 
Steffie said:
Welcome to the babes thread hun lol....

Lucky you I never got any of the we will watch you take your first jab, i was just given a quick lesson with a pen the nurse had in her room lol....

I hope it can help bring down your levels Alison..
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It wasn't cos they didn't think I would do it right but because of the danger of an allergic reaction. If I was going to go into anaphylactic shock they wanted me were they could deal with it fast. But it's fine and I don't seem to be having kind of reaction yet. How long before the side-effects kick in?
 
AlisonM said:
It wasn't cos they didn't think I would do it right but because of the danger of an allergic reaction. If I was going to go into anaphylactic shock they wanted me were they could deal with it fast. But it's fine and I don't seem to be having kind of reaction yet. How long before the side-effects kick in?
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Cant answer that one im afraid hun the rest of the gang lizzie dame had more experience with that i was really lucky to avoid more of the severe side effects i.e terrible nausea, only in the first 3 weeks did i have nausea but nothing ever since.
 
Two and a half hours after the first jab and my bloods have gone down from 20.0 to 15.3.
 
Steffie said:
Well thats a good start Alison hun onwards and downwards so to speak lol x
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Just tested again:

9.7!

Yay!

Feeling a little queasy though. Still, it's a good 6 weeks since I was in single figures so this is a great start.
 
AlisonM said:
Just tested again:

9.7!

Yay!

Feeling a little queasy though. Still, it's a good 6 weeks since I was in single figures so this is a great start.
Click to expand...

Brilliant Alison it must make you feel so much better as well, good ol byetta making me think twice now about changing lol x
 
Great news and I hope it continues to work well for you. I seem to have stopped losing weight now so will actually have to make more of an effort but apart from a blip over xmas when I was a pig my BG has stayed within NICE guidelines so Byetta has been a huge success for me. I do sometimes get little itchy places but I generally ignore them and they go before long.
 
I don't think I need to worry about hypos for a while, I woke this morning at 14.7 but that's still two points lower than I have been lately. I'm a bit afraid to get too heopful even at this early stage because I've been here before. This happened with both Metformin and Glucophage, my numbers fell for a while but then started climbing again. I'm due to see the DSN on 1st Feb after my test results are in so until then I'll keep on testing.
 
So, here I am at the end of week one on Byetta and things are a bit better. Instead of ranging from the mid teens to the low twenties, my numbers are now running from the low to mid teens with the occassional venture into single numbers. Not nearly good enough but still an improvement. One big difference (asdie form the horrid sdie effects) is the way my numbers go during the day. I'm starting out high in the morning and getting lower through the day, it doesn't seem to matter what/when I eat or exercise. The numbers start to climb again in the late evening.
 
Hi all you Byetta Babes - i hope you don't mind me posting on here. There is a very good chance (although not totally confirmed yet until 11th) that I will be going on Byetta. As some of you will know I have been in hospital for a week getting tests done to find out why I keep hypoing - they found out my bs was going quite high and then crashing and very strange things were happening with my insulin - quite rare apparently. The consultant mentioned byetta as a good medication to try and control the insulin more (together with another med I can't remember) and also hinted it may aid weight loss too, although he wouldn't ever prescribe jsut for weight loss. I don't find out until 11th but wondered what your experiences were on it. eg why are you on it (ie what is your insulin doing) and have you found it helpful. Do you have to eat any differently?

You can probably guess I am a tad nervous, and as I say it could all change on 11th and find myself on something completely different. The consultant was excellent though and very well respected - apparently one of the best in the UK.

Thanks for any support and if it does turn out I am wasting your time, I apologise in advance.
 
Well sadly I will have to leave the Byetta Babes.. I was taken off of it last week as it wasn't really working for me. I spent more time with chronic nausea and hardly ate. Also the trial period is 6 months and if you haven't had a drastic drop in HbA1c then it is not worth carrying on as it is so expensive. Mine went from 9.8% to 8.7% and then up to 8.8%..

Lucy123 what's the name of your consultant, if he is that well respected I think we should all move to wherever he is..lol
 
Hi Squidge and thanks for posting.
Can I ask was you on Byetta for long and if so did you lose much weight/need to lose weight? Did you inject twice a day?
 
Oh Squidge so sorry you are no longer a babe. Hope you find something that works for you.
Lucy I have been using it since June 2010 and it works well for me. My Hba1c is down from 10.5 to 6. I have also lost 2 and a half stone although weight loss has evened out now and I must make more of an effort. I need to shift another 2 and a half stone really.
I was given it because Actos caused a massive weight gain yet without it my Hba1c was far too high. This stuff has reduced my appetite big time. I don't use insulin although it was on the cards and consultant said it was either the insulin or Byetta and suggested trying the latter. I see the consultant again in October so for now I will remain a Byetta Babe.
Also Lucy, I inject it twice a day before breakfast and dinner. It's no big deal. The first couple of months were difficult with nausea but I persevered and now have no problems. You do have to help it work though by reducing portions and reducing carbs. I eat a few as they are needed to make the drug work but nothing like as many as I used to. I do eat very differently now the biggest difference is in the size of the meals and much less snacking.
 
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Was on it for 6 months for the first 4 months I took it twice a day, apart from a few days when it made me so sick I stopped it. Then the last 2 months it was once a day then twice a day as and when I could tolerate it as it made me so sick. I have lost 11lb in that time but have also increased my exercise.
 
What a shame Squidge. Do you think they might consider that new stuff Steff's on, Victoza is it?

I'm still in the 'early' stages and having real trouble with nausea which I hope will ease off soon because other than that it seems to be working pretty well. The DSN took me off the Gliclazide again yesterday because of all the hypos so we'll have to see what happens now.

There seems to be some debate about how long to wait after the injection before you eat. I was told to eat within 20 minutes, but I noted the other day that someone was told to wait at least an hour (if I did that I couldn't eat at all I'd be so sick). What were the rest of you told?
 
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