[Old man]

Last year I sought and received help here for my 50 year old sister. She was seeing a GP and was on Met 500 X 2 and Glimeperide. She went to Endo Yeboah in Anderson SC and he kept her on Met, stopped the Glimeperide, and started her on 5 mcg Byetta for 30 days then 10 mcg. She has lots of nausea and throws up daily. She also has developed diarea. Called Yeboah and an assistant returned call in 2 days and said to go back to 5 mcg for a while. The part that disturbs me is her control is worse on Byetta. She has 90 to 110 days (good) and 150 to 250 days (bad). Both while eating similar food. The assistant said she may need a mild sulfonurea in addition. Is this normal with starting Byetta? The Endo's office doesn't seem too concerned. Should she be screaming for better control help or is big brother the nutty one? Oh by the way, we both go to a "Managing Diabetes" class the last of April and will get a free meter and healthy snacks!

[princesslinda]

Byetta tends to be most effective on post-meal #s. I take the 5 mcg shot with b/fast and dinner. When first on it, I did have EXTREME nausea, but this went away after the first week or so.

I have found if I take my shot and wait 20-30 minutes, I fill up quicker and eat less. If I take the shot right when I eat, I tend to overeat, then get that incredibly full feeling and occasionally some nausea. I was on metformin at first, but the two together caused me to have some low readings so I had to stop it.

[Kim_in_TN]

Unfortunately the nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are very common with Byetta. Most people say it subsides after a while but I couldn't handle it myself. The first time the nausea hit me, I said NO WAY! LOL! I hope your sister can find another med that she is able to tolerate more comforably. There are some better ones out there!

[Old man]

She has lost a few pounds and says she has to force herself to eat. Princess Linda, you said Byetta helps more with postprandials which makes sense in a way. She was 180 am fasting and 182 before her evening meal. She shoots up with Byetta 45 minutes to 1 hour before b'fast and supper. Her 2 hr. postprandials are seldom more than 30 points higher than premeal. Doesen't it sound like the Byetta works but she still needs Glimeperide (Amaryl). Can she take anything for nausea?

[princesslinda]

I took pepto-bismol for nausea when I first started the Byetta. Sugar-free peppermints might help settle her stomach as well...i'd encourage her to try something over-the-counter like that to see if it helps...also, during that time, I found that if I didn't eat quite as much, I didn't get the nausea as badly.

It may be that she's waiting too long after the shot to eat....have her try taking it 30 minute before eating...and 15 minutes before eating and see if one of these adjustments will help minimize her nausea. We were eating out one evening and I took my shot in the car before going in the restaurant...unfortunately it was busy and we had to wait to be seated....after about 45 minutes, I began to feel a little nauseous and "jittery" like my blood sugar was falling out. I now wait until I place my order to "shoot up."

I hope adjusting the time between injection and eating works for her. I'm sure the nausea is making her miserable.

Does she watch her carbs? Byetta makes it a little easier to eat more carbs and still have good results, but eating too many will still result in higher blood sugars.

[Old man]

I will relay the message. As far as watching her carbs she says she does but a straight answer is hard to get. I eat, sleep and exercise on a pretty rigid schedule. She on the other hand may eat at any hour day or night. She may eat supper within a hour of going to bed and again at 2 or 4 in the morning if she had dificulty sleeping. I don't think she sees the value in regular habits. I have told her that she can "out eat" any medicine made. Being regular would really helps her and her doctor control BS. Thanks all for the help.