Diabetes Notes

My Final Thoughts on BYETTA, I Promise!

by Kendra James, RN on March 15th, 2007

I promise, this is the last I will have to say about BYETTA for at least a week or so. I just couldn’t stop myself from writing about the flip side of this “wonder” medication. Being a nurse, I look at the clinical picture more than I should. Will the medication being taken interact with foods or other prescribed drugs? Will the benefits of the medicine out way the side effects? Are there any long term consequences? Yes, my head never stops!

As I wrote earlier in the week, BYETTA is a new injectable medication for type 2 diabetics. It’s treatment is used as an adjunct to an existing diabetic regimen. I am still stuck on the whole, “why would a type 2 diabetic want to use an injection to control their blood sugar”? Well, could it be that “Lizzy” or “Gilly” as it is coined, has an extremely desirable side effect. Rapid weight loss. This could be one of the reasons that we are noticing a surge in BYETTA prescriptions.

Lynn Cole, a software project manager in Rochester, says that she has been taking Byetta since October even though her blood sugar levels were at near-normal levels when she started taking it.

Here is were the problem lies. BYETTA is being taken by non diabetics to help shed those unwanted pounds. What ever happened to diet and exercise? Patients want results without putting forth any effort. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to lose a few more pounds, but not at the expense of my health.

The drug seems so effective for weight loss that some nondiabetics have begun using Byetta as a diet drug — causing concern among doctors who say such use has not been medically tested and could be dangerous.

Why, why, why? Individuals are choosing to go against FDA warnings and throw caution to the wind.

Doctors can legally do so, but the F.D.A. and the makers say the drug is supposed to be prescribed only to people with diabetes whose blood sugar is too high even though they are already taking other diabetes medicines. And insurers generally will not cover the drug for nonapproved uses.

BYETTA helps with the production of insulin after meals. It “tricks” your body into feeling full, therefore not having an appetite. When I do the math, it doesn’t add up. A non diabetic patient with normal sugars does not need to give their pancreas and liver a boost. Hypoglycemia equals serious trouble.

Some patients cannot tolerate its side effects. And it has never been studied as a weight-loss agent in people with normal blood sugar. Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly, which jointly make and market Byetta, say they strongly discourage its use solely as a diet drug. Based on tests in rats, moreover, some scientists have raised the possibility that Byetta may increase the risk of thyroid cancer

Is rapid weight loss worth cancer, hypoglycemic crisis or severe nausea. More research is warranted. Did we all forget the medication phentermine? I bet no one gave their prescriptions for that medication a second thought either. How many cardiac episodes occurred due to it’s side effects? To some, immediate gratification is worth the risk!

via New York Times

Share This

Related Stories

Hot Topics On Diabetes Notes For The Month Of March
Byetta on the wrong end of pancreatitis claims
Is BYETTA The Answer For Type 2 Diabetics?
Delta Burke Talks About Type 2 Diabetes and BYETTA
Vision Loss Drug Shows Promise for Diabetic Blindness

POSTED IN: Diabetes Management, Research