[jacobsam622]

I need help from anybody who takes byetta. I went to the doctors today and I told my doctor that I wanted to try byetta he gave me two months worth of samples, and a script for more refills. How the heck are you suppose to inject this stuff the sample is a pen that you dial in the amount. I have never injected myself before. Any advice would be helpful Is the princess out there?

[Aurora96]

OK, first things first - put the pen you're not going to use right away in the refrigerator. It needs to stay there until you're ready to use it.

Did they give you a welcome kit? It tells you how to prime the pen and should have a DVD that walks you through it. If not, go to and go to "getting started on byetta."

Do you have the pen needles? If not, the doc is going to need to give you a script for that.

After you've read the byetta site, come back with any other questions. It's easy and you'll get the hang of it quickly.

[jacobsam622]

Ok where is the least painful place to inject.

[Hammer]

Any place is fine. They recommend using either your abdomen or your legs....either one is fine. I use my abdomen because I have a lot of fat there. I can pinch some fat and stick the needle in the fat, so it works for me. I use my legs to inject the Lantus, but either one is good.

As Aurora said, you need to refrigerate the pen that you're not going to use. The other pen can be stored anywhere.(I still keep the used pen in the refrigerator, since I don't have air conditioning and it's hot in the house.)

The pen needles come 50 in a box, and for some strange reason you need a prescription for them....why you need a prescription for a needle stuck in a piece of plastic is beyond me. You can't use the needles for anything except the pens that insulin and Byetta come in, so you should be able to buy them over the counter.

I'm surprised that the doctor didn't give you a handful of the pen needles when he gave you the Byetta pens. Mine did, so I could start right away on the Byetta.

[Hammer]

I should have mentioned that you shouldn't get the prescription filled at first. See how the Byetta does for you first. I assume he gave you the 5 mcg pen, which is what they give everyone at first. If the 5mcg pen doesn't work, they have a 10 mcg pen that they'll give you next. The 10 mcg pen worked for me, so if you find that the 5 pen isn't lowering your numbers, then call your doctor and see if he wants to put you on the 10 pen. What I did was when I saw that the 5 mcg pen wasn't working very well, I gave myself two injections with the 5 mcg pen to equal the 10 mcg pen. That did the trick for me.

Don't be overly concerned about having to take a needle. If you see one of these needles, they are so thin that they look like a human hair. When you go to inject, you shouldn't feel anything. What you can do is to place the needle on your skin and gently push. If it hurts, then move the needle over about ¼ of an inch and try again. Keep moving the needle until it doesn't pinch. What will happen is that when you push on it, it will just go into your skin will little or no sensation. I usually only need to move the needle maybe once every 20 or so injections. The rest of the time I don't feel anything. If it should pinch, it's because you're most likely hitting a nerve ending, so by moving the needle ¼ inch, you avoid the nerve ending.

[princesslinda]

Hey Jacob, don't over stress about injecting the Byetta...I promise its much less painful than a finger stick.

Prime your pen (the instructions are in the box), then screw on the needle. I give my injections in my abdomen, about 2-3 fingers away from my navel on either side. I tried injecting in my thigh and in my arm...will NEVER do either again, as both made me quite nauseous (this was after the initial week of nausea)...I guess I have more abdominal fat so it works better. After priming, just dial up your dose....you can't get more than one dose at a time, so no worries about getting too much...take a deep breath, jab the pen in your belly, push the blue button on top and hold the pen in your belly to the count of 5...otherwise, sometimes some of the liquid may bubble out. After your first use, you can carry your pen in your monitor case w/o refrigeration. Until you use it (or if you have more than one pen), keep the unused one in the refrigerator.

I eat very low carb for b/fast, so I take my injections with lunch and dinner (making sure there's 6 hrs between injections).

With my first shot, I had to look hard to make sure it really went in, as I couldn't feel a thing.

I did have a LOT of nausea for about a week, then it went away and i've had no problems since then. I'm still on the 5 mcg dose. Take your shot 30-45 minutes before you plan to eat for best results. You'll feel fuller fast and eat less that way.

I noticed really low post-prandials even on the first dose...at first I thought it was because I was nauseous, but I still see them.

Good luck....let us know how your first injection went. You'll do fine.

[Scrabblechick]

I'm considering Byetta, too. I was thinking about doing just an evening injection for about a week, in case of nausea, because I cannot function if I'm nauseated. If I'm home, I can lie down and suffer privately. LOL. Wonder if that would work?

[princesslinda]

I started my Byetta on Friday at dinner time. That way, I had the entire weekend to adjust. The nausea wasn't so bad I couldn't function other than the first couple of days, and then only lasted a short while. It wasn't like I was sick the entire day, just for an hour or so after injecting. I went to work (but I do sit at a desk all day). The nausea, though lasting a full week or so, did minimize throughout that week, so the first few days were the worst. Maybe you could start it on a Friday like I did an see how you do over the weekend. Maybe you won't have ANY nausea. I think some of mine happened because I wasn't eating enough food at first (which is hard to do when nauseous).

[jacobsam622]

I used the pump this morning and it was just as painless as everyone said. Thnaks for all the advice. I posted my latest a1c results in another thread while my weight and numbers have come down my week-end numbers keep going up so before the Amaryl stops working completly I figured I better find some else that works better. I was taking 2mg of amaryl and 100mgs of januvia between breakfast and lunch and was lucky if my number were below 110. On average they would be around 115. Sounds good but it was taking a lot of meds to reach that point. I just took my bg before lunch and it was 93. I a word wow.

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by princesslinda

I give my injections in my abdomen, about 2-3 fingers away from my navel on either side. I tried injecting in my thigh and in my arm...will NEVER do either again, as both made me quite nauseous (this was after the initial week of nausea)...I guess I have more abdominal fat so it works better.

I never knew that Linda. I figured it didn't matter where you injected. My legs are a lot thinner than my abdomen, but I can inject in either place with no problems. I still will sometimes feel a slight bit of nausea, but it's not a problem. I guess because I never had really bad nausea that I wouldn't have noticed any difference in injection sites.

[princesslinda]

Originally Posted by Hammer

I never knew that Linda. I figured it didn't matter where you injected.

I think the Byetta is absorbed more quickly in the areas of the body that store less fat and that's why someone who may be prone to nausea with it may experience it more when injecting in those areas. I liked the idea of injecting in my arm rather than my stomach, so I was disappointed that I didn't tolerate it well.

[silvershewolf]

Abdomin works for me but I have discovered that if you don't space your punctures out you will wind up with a bruise..lol. I was wondering where I had gotten such a bad bruise and then it occured to me. GOOD LUCK on beyetta works for me - hope it works for you! - Allison

[jacobsam622]

The Byetta is working great. Still not completely satisfied with my numbers on sat and sun mornings. As long as I don't sleep more then 5 hours my fasting numbers are pretty good. Before the Byetta I would have high bg on the week-ends until around 4 now the numbers are back down 30 minutes after my first shot. The other higher numbers was after breakfast now the bg is back down 2 hours after meal. Wednesday I am taking the wife and kids to see my father and his wife in Sana Monica California I guess I will find how well the meds work under stress. Seven hour flight with twins oh boy