The Byetta Exenatide Experience
ABOUT ME
I am in my late 30's and mother to a preschooler. I have type 2 diabetes had have had it since my early 20's. When I was first diagnosed, I controlled my glucose levels with diet and exercise.
As I neared 30 I needed a low dose of Glucophage to help me out. My control was not so great, and I admit I didn't take care of myself. My weight got up around 280. I was able to lose some weight and I got to 195.
I did briefly get down to 175, but this was after using Slim Fast for weeks and jogging up and down stadium stairs every day. I ended up getting gallstones that required surgery. Some have told me that the liquid diet may have caused them. When I started to eat solid food again, I went back up to 195. This seems like my body's "set point."
When I got pregnant my view of life changed. I got into tight control of my diabetes, took better care of myself, and started to learn all I could about diabetes and how it effected me - and how I could effect it.
Right after the birth of my son, I barely had the time for a shower, let alone take care of myself. Most of the time my A1c was around 7%, but I think I got as high as 9%. After the birth of my son, my weight was around 240.
At the beginning of 2005 I was tired of not being in control, so I lost some weight and exercised. I changed my medication regimen. My A1c got down into the low 6% range and it has stayed around there.
As of today (January 13, 2006) I am back down to around 195 pounds. I watch what I eat, exercise, and have a personal trainer. In spite of that, my weight seems stuck at 195. I have been told by a few of my health professionals that losing more weight will be "close to impossible" due to my diabetes.
When I met with a new endocrinologist recently he suggested I try Byetta. I thought that was strange, because I thought it was only for type 2 diabetics who were out of control and who had maxed out the amount of oral medications they could take. However, he explained that it might help me to lose some weight and that would benefit me all around.
Initially I was against it, but I still visited the Byetta.com site and surfed around the net and read people's blogs and looked at discussions on groups. I was wary of this new medication because years back a doctor had pressured me into trying Fen-Phen - a drug that ended up hurting many people. Luckily I didn't take it very long.
When I was done researching, I realized there was just one thing about Byetta that bothered me, and that was the longer half-life or effectiveness of the synthesized hormone (See the About Byetta page or visit Byetta.com). I worried that could harm me somehow. I read some 3-year studies, and so far no problem had been found and published. Other than that worry, I thought the drug made sense to me.
I was about to give up, and then I got some bad news. I received a lab result that revealed my triglycerides were 350! That scared me. My diabetic educator told me that it could have been from a recent increase in carbs.
You see, I had been dieting and decided to focus on calories rather than carbs. Because carbs have less calories than protein or fats, I was having 1-2 extra servings of them a day. Don't get me wrong, they were mostly whole-grains, not much of the "white" stuff. My blood sugar levels were fine, so I didn't worry about it.
After discovering the carbs were a no-no, I was pretty mad. Having to eat 1800 calories a day from a low-carb diet means that there is often not much food on a plate. I was mad at diabetes because just when I thought I was doing well and on the right track, it would sneak up and surprise me with a kick in the butt.
So then I decided I would just go ahead and give the Byetta a try. What the hec.
I am the editor of this website that focuses on diabetic moms. As a diabetic mom and someone who would like to have more kids in the near future, I had specific questions about this hormone called Byetta. How would it effect birth control, my menstrual cycle? What if I got pregnant? How hard would it be to switch from Byetta back to orals or insulin? If I did have a baby, would Byetta be safe while nursing?
I could not find other Byetta users like me. I did find a post from a diabetic mom on a Byetta blog, but like me, she was hoping to get some insight from other diabetic moms.
So, here I am, beginning my own blog and offering up my experience to anyone who is interested. I hope you find this section of the website useful.
- Bjay
