The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert for the diabetes medication Byetta (exenatide). Byetta is an injectable medication prescribed for type 2 diabetes.
Byetta hit the market, in April of 2005. It is widely prescribed for managing blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It is usually prescribed with oral medications, so that better control can be achieved.
In December, 2006, Medical News Today reported that a half million people were prescribed Byetta with the numbers growing since that time.
Thirty cases of pancreatitis have been reviewed by the FDA. The FDA considers the incidence of some of the cases of pancreatitis to be associated with use of Byetta. 30 cases compared to more than half a million Byetta users, is a very small number, but Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will comply with the FDA and add information about acute pancreatitis in the "precautions" section of Byetta's label.
Don't stop taking Byetta. The FDA is not recommending that doctors stop prescribing Byetta. The drug is successful at treating type 2 diabetes for most people. If you have concerns about taking Byetta, discuss them with your doctor.
What are the symptoms of pancreatitis?
- Sudden pain, sometimes severe, in the upper abdomen. Pain may radiate to the back or chest.
- Nausea and vomiting
- Fever
- Swollen abdomen, with tenderness
- Rapid pulse
If you have these symptoms and you are on Byetta, contact your doctor right away.
I had all of the mentioned symptoms together with acute intestinal pain and diarrhea–Dr. never responded to the complaints. I took myself off the medication, which was such a disappointment to me…it had caused very good bg numbers AND a healthy weight loss. Is the diarrhea a part of the problem?
My wife was used byetta for about two and a half months. She experienced increasingly severe abdominal pains and after several days of intense pain, I finally convinced her to see our Doctor. The first thing the Doctor said was,”it’s the byetta, go to the hospital right away.” She called the hospital. I drove her there and she was admitted.She was there five days and was released with a prescription for insulin, which she had never had to use before. The byetta has shut down her pancreas, possibly destroying it. Other people had been harmed by byetta before my wife as evidenced by an FDA warning sent out finally Oct.16,2006. The claim that only a few people are injured by this drug, so why worry about stopping distribution is not only inhuman,it’s criminal in the eyes of most rational persons. Why was she not warned in October by the drug company, the doctor or the pharmacy? Is money all that matters?
My Friend was on Byetta for about a week. It was like a living hell with all possibly side effects experienced.
From what I have read many folks are experiencing this much more often than the manufacturer has stated (5%).
I feel an honest assessment of this drug has not been done. Money is a big factor, in the end.
The Dr.s need to be educated about the severe side effects so they can express this to patients, as well as the source of this protein, Gila Monster saliva. The side effects resemble the symptoms of pancreatitis. What happened to Dan’s wife did not have to happen.
We can expect to see many more lawsuits against Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
I was on Byetta 3 years ago with great success…lost weight, used less insulin, better glucose control…all good. I just went back on it a mont ago and experienced 3-4 day of nausea as expected but am starting to realize the benefits once again although not til I moved to the higher dosage the second month.
If there is anybody that can give me more information regarding this matter I really would appreciate it. My mother is currently on byetta and just last night my sister called me to let me know that she saw the report on the news about this injection. My mom is experiencing nausea, diarrea, very light abdominal pain. we advised her to stop taking it till she consulted with her dr. she had her appt today and mentioned it to him and he recommended her to continue to take it. I need to get as much info for her since she is experiencing some of the effects so that she could make the right decision for her health.
I was on byetta for about 6 months and experienced weight loss along with nausea, no appetite, gagged on food, nervous and some
abdomnal pain. stopped taking the shots and
these syptoms went away. I had these symptoms with the 5mg and 10mg. now I am taking insulin shots and feel much better.
Two Things:
First, adverse reports (of the number of problems with a drug) are completely voluntary on the part of the doctors and patients. Most doctors don’t report because it is a hassle. A lot more people are seen but the doctors do not believe the symptoms are due to the drug – or they hope they go away or you will just tolerate them (like Monica’s mom). So experts estimate that less than 10% of serious side effects do get reported. That means that mild side effects don’t get reported at all – and instead of thirty cases – there may be more than 300.
Second: If you are going to take and injectable drug, why not just do insulin? Needles, schmeedles. Insulin is what your body makes normally and doesn’t have side effects when managed correctly. However, you DO have to do some work and learn how to do this. The standard sliding scale is often not enough insulin if you are very resistant – and people need to be on BOTH a long-acting and a short-acting form (such as NPH and R) in order to do this correctly.
You will have to experiment with dosing of the R form to see how much your body needs to cover grams of carbohydrate – so it does require paying close attention to your diet and monitoring your blood glucose pretty intensively for the first month or so until you understand how your body reacts to it versus the various forms of carbs (see glycemic index for more help).
If you do this – you will soon learn what amount to take to cover your most common meals – and you will also have a formula for eating out, holidays, etc.
Hopefully your doctor will be willing to work with you on this – or your diabetic nurse educator. With insulin there is no reason why you cannot keep your A1C within the normal (for ALL people) range.
I do this and my last A1C was 5.8.
Take care.
Byetta worked wonders for me, it did send my blood sugars dangerously low with the meds I was on… now from 3 orals to byetta and one oral is a wonderful thiing… there are side effects to all drug but as long as my body is still making insulin… I will keep taking the byetta.. .VERY PLEASED with it
I took this for about three months.I was on aprox.12 pills daily and a size 12-14.This is a wonderful med for people who can handle the effects.I did get sick and had to vomit but only if I have eaten to much.After three months on this and metformin I had dropped to a size 8 and was able to come off all drugs for diabetes.I did get more excerise then in the begining but I am so happy this drug was available to me.I feel great and look great to.Just make sure you quit eating when you feel full.I also ate as soon as I took the shot. Good Luck and enjoy the new life you get from this drug.
Kathleen, you do know Byetta is a synthetic and doesn’t come from gila monsters, right? :]
Dan, sorry that happened to your wife. I truly hope she is better.
Byetta works for my husband, but makes my mother sick so she’s on insulin now… but both of them had read up on Byetta before they started and knew what they were in for.
I take Imitrex for migraines, a drug which has caused some people to die. I know the risks (my mom pointed them out to me just before I took my first dose). There’s also a big ol’ piece of paper with every package of pills or shots that spells it out for me, if I ever care to read it for updates.
My mom doesn’t expect Byetta to be pulled off the market because it didn’t work out for her.
Again, I’m sorry some have gotten sick from it and I’m *really* sorry Byetta isn’t working for everybody… I know my mom had such high hopes…
I have been on BYETTA for approximately 3 weeks now, along with 1000mg metformin 2/day. I can say that my BS levels have not been this good since I learned I was diabetic some 3+ years ago. I had nausea and mild pain for the first two weeks, but have had ZERO since. This is working great for me so far. I will try to chime in again within the next few months.
I have been diabetic since 2006. I started using Byetta in Feb.2007 and had great results at first by October I was really sick and had elevated AST / ALT . My Dr. took me off the byetta and my ALT/AST returned to normal I now have to use a lot of insulin as my pancreas doesn’t work and I have Cirrhosis caused by fatty liver and NASH. It normally takes decades for diabetes to cause these complications not a couple of years. My Dr. thinks that the Byetta caused this.
Gail
I’m 54, 275 pounds, have been diabetic for 3-4 years. Have tried about 4-5 different pills and was getting my best results from Avandia. Unfortunately, my doctor took me off it when the alerts started coming out.
I tried Glimiperide and Actos and over the past 3-4 months my BS was averaging 250-450. I finally went and saw my doctor and asked and if anything new was available.
He put me on Byetta – I stopped taking the Glimipiride and Actos (didn’t throw them away though) and a week later was seeing the BS go even higher… I started taking the pills again and that’s when the BS started dropping.
As far as “effects” are concerned, I’ve had occasional light nausea, but no vomiting. the 2nd week I started noticing something that was rather strange (and for the most part comical) I started feeling like I was moving slower and slower – really sluggish – I looked at my wife and said, “I feel like I’m turning into a Gila monster!!!”
I had been having severe problems with leg cramps and those have all but disappeared – I can feel my legs give just a tiny sensation of “wanting” to cramp occasionally, but no actual cramps for the last week or two.
last week the BS started averaging 200-250 – a very narrow range (it had been bouncing all over the place before…) and is now dropping down to 175-200 after 3 weeks…
One of the nicest effects was something I realized this morning – for the last 25-30 years I’ve had SEVERE problems with night sweats – I’d wake up 5-6 mornings a week and the sheets and blankets were soaked (mostly around my chest and neck)
Well, this morning I realized I haven’t had night sweats in like 2-3 weeks!!! As far as appetite, I’ve noticed a major change there to, I’m probably eating 60% of what I was a month ago and junk foods and sweets have lost 90% of their appeal…
My weight was 286 when I started three weeks ago and is now 276 – it bounces around a little, but seems to be going down a little more each week.
This week I saw the “Alert” (from the local ambulance chasing attorneys) and have no intention of going off this drug…
I’ll keep an eye on things and be careful, but this is working very well and I want to give it every chance to get me back to normal (whatever that is…)
I’m really glad to find this forum and hope to see more people posting.
Dennis
Just got Byetta (sample). After reading these comments, I think I’d rather stick to my 1,500 or 1,800 calories a day and forget it! ER, rapid heart rate, pains in chest?!?
I am on my second day of byetta 5 mg. I was scared to use it for all the usual reasons. Scared the shot would hurt…it doesn’t. And I’m a wuss; I think the finger sticks hurt. I was scared of the nausea and I haven’t felt any. I thought for sure I would get this side effect because I have IBS and GERD. But I have had ZERO nausea. Now I read up on byetta a lot, not just what my doc said, but also message boards to read what people using it were saying. So I made sure to eat within 15 minutes and I am following my meal plan very carefully. My appetite hasn’t been totally suppressed because I am not waiting that long to eat but I plan to wait a little longer each day while staying within the hour.
My blood sugars have been great, including fasting which is what I had trouble with the most. So I guess I’m writing this so that those of you who are too scared to start will know that the side effects won’t necessarily be that bad. I’m still not sure if I will move to the 10 mg if this dose keeps working.
In the beginning taking byetta i was always nauseated. I did lose 20 lbs but that was because of the nausea. I have had severe and I will say it again severe cramping in every muscle in my lower and upper legs and feet. I didn’t realize it was the byetta until I didn’t have any for 2 days and was cramp and pain free. Now I took it tonight and I noticed that not only are the horrible cramps and muscle spasms back but now my joints hurt but I have asked doctors over and over again what is causing this but I get an I don’t know answer. Well now I know and I will quit taking it and find something else without such horrible pain. I haven’t alep well in 1.5 yrs becaue if it.
I have been on Byetta for 2 months now and the nausea is just getting worse – BUT my numbers are low and stable. I guess it is just an even exchange. This sick feeling is getting very tiresome, though.