Byetta -pen and needle questions

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SharpieL

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello - I have just been told I am to have Byetta. I have to go for the training on Monday.

I am not good with needles and I am really worried about the "stabbing" myself idea.

I had gestational in 2003 and had to inject insulin - I had an autoinjector device where I dialed up the dose and pressed a button that send the needle in and the insulin.

I am guessing these Byetta pens are not like that?

Can anyone tell me their coping tips?

Thanks for any info.

Lynda
 
I'm type 2, so can't offer any advice on the pens. One of the things I was worried about was testing myself, but i manage that with ease. There are a lot of people who worry about injecting, yet still manage to.

Go for the training, it will be a learning curve for you, and find out as much as you can.

Sometimes when we don't know or don't understand things seem scarier than they are. It wont be too long before someone comes along to give you re-assurance about the pens.
 
SharpieL said:
Hello - I have just been told I am to have Byetta. I have to go for the training on Monday.

I am not good with needles and I am really worried about the "stabbing" myself idea.

I had gestational in 2003 and had to inject insulin - I had an autoinjector device where I dialed up the dose and pressed a button that send the needle in and the insulin.

I am guessing these Byetta pens are not like that?

Can anyone tell me their coping tips?

Thanks for any info.

Lynda
Click to expand...

Hi Lynda

I haven't come across the byetta pen but I was on the novopen for quite a while. When I moved counties I got told I had a phobia of needles and was sent for therapy.

What the therapist did was get me to think of pain on a scale of 1 - 10 and then think of something that was not really painful and something that was as much pain as I could take.

He then made me write down what how painful I thought it was going to be and then record how painful it was. The idea was to get me to see that my problem was with anticipation and I was tensing which made it worse. By looking at the results I could see that it wasn't as bad as I was making it.

Hope this might be of some help

Andy
 
Thanks for your replies - yes, I too suffer with anticipation so will think of that when I go on Monday.

Thanks again

Lynda
 
Byetta pens

Oh, let me see if i can help.

Byetta pens contain a drug called Exenatide, it's a relatively new drug that helps control blood sugar and users often find them a great help in losing wieght. I haven't actually used one myself, but i work in a hospital pharmacy and we hand them out all the time.
The pens are pretty much like insulin pens, excpet that they only have one dosage strength in them, you don't need to dial up or calculate a dose, they only come in two strengths, 5 micrograms and 10 micrograms. In our hospital people start off taking the 5 microgram pen twice daily for a month to see how they get along with it and step up to the 10 microgram pen all being well.
You inject into the skin around the belly, like insulin and i think the pens have a similar twist to prime and push to inject system. You store the pens in the fridge. They use the same needles as insulin pens (our clinic usually uses novofine). Side effects are usually stomach upset related.
Like i said, i've never used one myself, and i've only injected insulin once (and then the nurse did it) so i'm not sure what it feels like, but i sympathise, i'm not fond of needles either.

Rachel
 
SharpieL said:
Hello - I have just been told I am to have Byetta. I have to go for the training on Monday.

I am not good with needles and I am really worried about the "stabbing" myself idea.

I had gestational in 2003 and had to inject insulin - I had an autoinjector device where I dialed up the dose and pressed a button that send the needle in and the insulin.

I am guessing these Byetta pens are not like that?

Can anyone tell me their coping tips?

Thanks for any info.

Lynda
Click to expand...
Hi Lynda,
Ive been on byetta since jan this year and like you I was frightened by the thought of injecting but you dont feel a thing, honest. The needles are so small and fine. I inject into my arm cause I find injecting into my stomach a bit hard because i cannot pinch the skin as instructed because im over weight and my belly is too hard to pinch. It is far less painless than the finger pricking pen that is used when testing our daily blood sugars.
It really is pain free. I went to a learning meeting at my hos. We were shown the needles and how to attach them to the pen and how to inject.
If you want to share your experiences of byetta once you start it please get in touch with me.
love Debbs
 
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