Over the past couple of days, I've experienced misery to the point that it has become necessary for me to stop taking Byetta...starting today! The reasons for this are mainly from side effects that I have been experiencing, in which I simply cannot perform my daily functions anymore.
The nausea, fatigue, headaches, and aching in my back have taken its toll, and I'm crying, "UNCLE!" I'm not the type of person to give up, but when I'm feeling so sick that I cannot work, take care of my family, get out of bed or do or go anywhere...I know that's when I need to throw in the towel. I was really curious about this stuff and was hoping for great results, but I'm not going to sacrifice my total quality of life over it. The past couple of days have been shot, as I took the morning doses (could not take the evening doses, as I still felt terrible later in the day) and subsequently ended up bed-ridden from all the terrible sick symptoms. Ugh!
What's strange is that these symptoms primarily only started a couple of days ago. Variations in the timing of eating after the shot (say, five minutes vs. waiting closer to an hour) wasn't doing me much good, and the nausea was overwhelming. Most of the time during these past two days, I truly thought I was going to have to crawl to the toilet in misery and puke my guts out.
The back aching started a couple of days ago, as well. Despite drinking lots of water, my urine was getting to be a darker yellow, which was really concerning. I started feeling so tired and achy that I literally could sleep all day, and still feel like crap. The last time I gave myself the shot in the abdomen, it hurt REALLY badly - like a terrible burning sensation.
Overall, I am thankful for the 6 lbs of weight loss in 12 days, but I think I'm done. Hopefully, I can keep my appetite down and resume exercising and eating healthy, and I will not suffer anymore side effects. So far, I feel 100000000% times better by simply stopping the dosage, so I feel pretty positive that I'll be back to my old self (hopefully still minus those 6 lbs!) in no time.
Much luck to everyone who is on Byetta, and may it work much better for you!
Comments are welcome and good luck!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Day 12
OK...according to yesterday's weigh-in, I've lost around 6 pounds. That being said, I have been horribly sick and nauseous the past couple of days. It started the night before last, and thinking it was just a fluke (or because I ate a leafy green salad for dinner after that shot - lettuce after taking Byetta makes me soooooo ill, for sme reason, so I'm finding out....), I tried it again yesterday morning.
OMG.
I was super-ill all morning long (to the point that I just had to crawl in bed and stay there - uuuuugh!), and only got a chance to catch my second wind around 1-2 pm. I am also feeling a lot of fatigue. My day was shot. You can betcha that I didn't take the night dose. Last night, I was getting super hungry, and I ended up eating a larger meal than I've had in a long time (bummer) - all thanks to not taking my dose. I decided that I would try again once more the next morning, and if it make me super sick again, then I'm going to have to formulate plan B, or simply stop taking it.
And...well, here I am, feeling sicker than a dog again after my shot. It's not pleasant. I don't know what I would have done if I was at a normal workplace, because I simply can't function this way. Looks like today is going to be a repeat of yesterday (I'm sitting in bed right now, wanting to BARF), and I've got a thousand things to do, in addition to catching up from yesterday. Grrr.
I'm not sure that I understand exactly why I am suddenly feeling this ill from it, when I was doing so good earlier, so I'm a bit frustrated.
OMG.
I was super-ill all morning long (to the point that I just had to crawl in bed and stay there - uuuuugh!), and only got a chance to catch my second wind around 1-2 pm. I am also feeling a lot of fatigue. My day was shot. You can betcha that I didn't take the night dose. Last night, I was getting super hungry, and I ended up eating a larger meal than I've had in a long time (bummer) - all thanks to not taking my dose. I decided that I would try again once more the next morning, and if it make me super sick again, then I'm going to have to formulate plan B, or simply stop taking it.
And...well, here I am, feeling sicker than a dog again after my shot. It's not pleasant. I don't know what I would have done if I was at a normal workplace, because I simply can't function this way. Looks like today is going to be a repeat of yesterday (I'm sitting in bed right now, wanting to BARF), and I've got a thousand things to do, in addition to catching up from yesterday. Grrr.
I'm not sure that I understand exactly why I am suddenly feeling this ill from it, when I was doing so good earlier, so I'm a bit frustrated.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Day 10
So...I got out my least favorite item in my house - my scale - and did an official weigh-in yesterday, Day Nine. 5 lbs lost so far! Not horribly drastic, but certainly significant and encouraging - at least, for me. I'm presuming most of it is water weight, but considering that I was practically killing myself with exercise earlier this year without so much as one pound of weight loss (including cutting back on what I ate), this is a pretty big deal for me. No ticker tape parades needed, but I'm fairly stoked. This is weight loss so far WITHOUT any type of exercise, which I plan on incorporating back into my schedule very soon. I'm hoping once I do, that it'll somewhat accelerate my results. Right now, I'm taking it nice and easy, to make sure my body is well adjusted to this stuff before I try to overdo it.
I'm not going to assume that I will lose more or less than 5 lbs a week (that's pretty drastic, actually), so I'm going to sit back and take this all in stride, and let 'er ride. :)
Byetta has definitely decreased my appetite, although I do make sure to eat 3 squares a day - they're just smaller squares. I DO have to remind myself to eat, however. I'm guessing that I actually consume around 1000 - 1100 calories per day, sometimes a little less. This is cutting a few hundred calories a day for me (I was probably eating around 1400-1500 calories a day, which doesn't sound like much, but it certainly wasn't small enough to force the scale to budge, I guess).
I had a brief craving for wine last night (didn't end up having any) - but I think that was spurned by the fact that my mother-in-law visited us all day yesterday, and it exhausted me. ;) Once she left, I crawled into my bathtub full of scented bubbles to relax, and it just sounded sooooooo good right then with the hot bath. The feeling passed quickly, however...and the bath provided all the relaxation I needed for last night. Prior to beginning this exeriment, it had been a while since I had a glass. I do love a glass of wine some days, but I also know that alcohol slows the metabolism...and since I'm focusing a lot of energy on becoming healthier, I'm going to hold off on that as much as possible (plus, I'm not sure how well alcohol is tolerated or digested while being on Byetta - I'm a little afraid to test it, as I don't want to make myself sick!). It'll taste that much better in celibrating once I get closer (or meet!) my goal weight, anyhow. :D
I understand that Byetta is supposed to be a medication for diabetics, and having some diabetic issues myself in my life (I had gestational diabetes with both my pregnancies - the first one wasn't so bad, but 4 years later when I became preggo with my 2nd, it was WAY worse), I'm trying to figure out how Byetta truly helps. Yes, I understand that it should help lower blood sugar levels in conjunction with other diabetes medication...and yes, I understand that diabetes is very common in overweight individuals, some of which would benefit from the weight loss (and actually "cure" their diabetes in doing so). My point is, however, that it curbs your appetite so much that you don't end up eating very much, which seems to be counterintuitive for diabetics in the here and now.
When I had gestational diabetes, I had to eat every couple of hours (in addition to eating lower carb/lower glycemic) to try and keep my blood sugar levels stable. Going longer periods of time between meals made my numbers go wild. Eating often (not OVEReating, but eating more frequently) is recommended for normal diabetics with Type II diabetes. I can't imagine trying to do that on this medication. I feel so full from even the tiniest of meals, and I get the feeling that if I tried to eat (even miniscule amounts) every couple of hours or so, I'd be pretty damn sick/nauseous. My body simply does NOT want it, and the food just sits there in my stomach for a long period of time.
Maybe this is just my experience, and certainly there may be others out there who have no problem with this - it was just a curious thought/question I had.
As for the "pen" issue, I'm still seeing a small amount sometimes come out of my body when I inject myself, with the same tiny drop on the end of the needle sometimes after injection (as mentioned in a previous post), as well. I've stopped worrying about it, since apparently I'm getting enough of it and it appears to be working. Also, I HAVE found that NOT LOOKING at the needle while I'm "stabbing" myself (not that I do it aggressively) helps immensely. I hardly feel anything when my eyes are averted while it's going in...but I feel it quite a bit if I'm watching it go in. So - yeah, I guess it's psychological. :D Figures for ol' chicken me.
So far, so good!
I'm not going to assume that I will lose more or less than 5 lbs a week (that's pretty drastic, actually), so I'm going to sit back and take this all in stride, and let 'er ride. :)
Byetta has definitely decreased my appetite, although I do make sure to eat 3 squares a day - they're just smaller squares. I DO have to remind myself to eat, however. I'm guessing that I actually consume around 1000 - 1100 calories per day, sometimes a little less. This is cutting a few hundred calories a day for me (I was probably eating around 1400-1500 calories a day, which doesn't sound like much, but it certainly wasn't small enough to force the scale to budge, I guess).
I had a brief craving for wine last night (didn't end up having any) - but I think that was spurned by the fact that my mother-in-law visited us all day yesterday, and it exhausted me. ;) Once she left, I crawled into my bathtub full of scented bubbles to relax, and it just sounded sooooooo good right then with the hot bath. The feeling passed quickly, however...and the bath provided all the relaxation I needed for last night. Prior to beginning this exeriment, it had been a while since I had a glass. I do love a glass of wine some days, but I also know that alcohol slows the metabolism...and since I'm focusing a lot of energy on becoming healthier, I'm going to hold off on that as much as possible (plus, I'm not sure how well alcohol is tolerated or digested while being on Byetta - I'm a little afraid to test it, as I don't want to make myself sick!). It'll taste that much better in celibrating once I get closer (or meet!) my goal weight, anyhow. :D
I understand that Byetta is supposed to be a medication for diabetics, and having some diabetic issues myself in my life (I had gestational diabetes with both my pregnancies - the first one wasn't so bad, but 4 years later when I became preggo with my 2nd, it was WAY worse), I'm trying to figure out how Byetta truly helps. Yes, I understand that it should help lower blood sugar levels in conjunction with other diabetes medication...and yes, I understand that diabetes is very common in overweight individuals, some of which would benefit from the weight loss (and actually "cure" their diabetes in doing so). My point is, however, that it curbs your appetite so much that you don't end up eating very much, which seems to be counterintuitive for diabetics in the here and now.
When I had gestational diabetes, I had to eat every couple of hours (in addition to eating lower carb/lower glycemic) to try and keep my blood sugar levels stable. Going longer periods of time between meals made my numbers go wild. Eating often (not OVEReating, but eating more frequently) is recommended for normal diabetics with Type II diabetes. I can't imagine trying to do that on this medication. I feel so full from even the tiniest of meals, and I get the feeling that if I tried to eat (even miniscule amounts) every couple of hours or so, I'd be pretty damn sick/nauseous. My body simply does NOT want it, and the food just sits there in my stomach for a long period of time.
Maybe this is just my experience, and certainly there may be others out there who have no problem with this - it was just a curious thought/question I had.
As for the "pen" issue, I'm still seeing a small amount sometimes come out of my body when I inject myself, with the same tiny drop on the end of the needle sometimes after injection (as mentioned in a previous post), as well. I've stopped worrying about it, since apparently I'm getting enough of it and it appears to be working. Also, I HAVE found that NOT LOOKING at the needle while I'm "stabbing" myself (not that I do it aggressively) helps immensely. I hardly feel anything when my eyes are averted while it's going in...but I feel it quite a bit if I'm watching it go in. So - yeah, I guess it's psychological. :D Figures for ol' chicken me.
So far, so good!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Day Seven
This is my seventh day on Byetta, and so far, so good. Well...for the most part, anyhow.
For some reason, I seem to be having some minor issues with the Byetta dispenser "pen". For one, it's starting to hurt more each time. I don't jab myself in the same spot or anything like that (mainly my abdomen, alternating sides each time), but I'm still wondering if it's a goofy psychological reaction - kind of an anticipation thing built up in my head, making it worse. Every time I stick myself, I feel it go in, now. It's not bad, and it's tolerable. It's not enough to make me jump or twitch or yelp in pain, but I do feel it. I probably just don't like the feeling and like to whine about it. :D Another very small issue is that I sometimes bleed a little (we're talking miniscule). Again - not a biggie, but it's annoying. I watch it carefully, but if I wasn't paying too much attention and was wearing a white shirt...well, you know what I mean...it may be a little noticable. Very, very minor, however.
The bigger thing I've noticed is, however, that some of the medicine seems to ooze back out after I inject myself about half of the time. Upon closer inspection of the tip of the needle, I notice that a very tiny drop is on the end of it during these times, as well. I don't know exactly how much or how big the drops are supposed to be going in while you're subcutaneously injecting yourself, but even these small amounts of "ooze" or drippings rather concern me. This is starting to happen about every other time I do the injections. I change the needle out every time I do an injection, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, here. At first, I figured I wasn't leaving it "in" my skin/fat roll (UGH!) long enough, so instead of counting to five while it's in, I counted to 10 before removing. No difference. So...your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's normal, and nothing to worry about. It doesn't seem to affect my appetite suppression, so I dunno. I'm assuming that I'm getting enough of the medication despite what it looks like, since it still continues to feel the same, overall.
Speaking of appetite suppression, I have to say...this stuff certainly does the trick. I am simply NOT hungry, ALL day. In fact, last night I was so tired and so not hungry, that I skipped the night dose. I ate two tiny meals earlier in the day (about 6-7 hours apart), and before I knew it, I was looking at the clock at almost 9 pm and realizing that I never ate dinner. Or any snacks. Nuttin'. I simply never thought about it. I then ate two small hard boiled eggs, since I figured I could probably use some protein. Although I had planned on eating something more, I couldn't eat another bite after that - I was DONE.
It's definitely a strange deal on this stuff. I still feel "full" all the time, and can tell that the food just sits on my stomach for hours. Despite eating waaaaaay less food lately, I haven't noticed any drop in energy levels. In fact, some days I have energy through the roof. I DO like the fact that I "forget" about meals. Not that I necessarily WANT to skip them or starve myself, but it makes it SO much easier to "not have to think about it" when you're counting calories or watching what you eat because you have ZERO desire for food. I don't have to count calories, because quite frankly, I can't possibly eat very much at a time without quickly starting to feel overfull. Again - I'm not an overeater to begin with, but I'm imagining that if I WERE one, this would stop that dead in its tracks.
It's not too bad, but I do get a bit of acid here and there. I don't take any Tums or medicines for it, however...but it's only vaguely annoying (I never have problems with that to begin with, so that's probably the only reason why it's standing out right now for me).
I don't get much nausea of any capacity anymore, which has been great. Everything else seems to be going great, and I am looking forward to losing more weight on this!
For some reason, I seem to be having some minor issues with the Byetta dispenser "pen". For one, it's starting to hurt more each time. I don't jab myself in the same spot or anything like that (mainly my abdomen, alternating sides each time), but I'm still wondering if it's a goofy psychological reaction - kind of an anticipation thing built up in my head, making it worse. Every time I stick myself, I feel it go in, now. It's not bad, and it's tolerable. It's not enough to make me jump or twitch or yelp in pain, but I do feel it. I probably just don't like the feeling and like to whine about it. :D Another very small issue is that I sometimes bleed a little (we're talking miniscule). Again - not a biggie, but it's annoying. I watch it carefully, but if I wasn't paying too much attention and was wearing a white shirt...well, you know what I mean...it may be a little noticable. Very, very minor, however.
The bigger thing I've noticed is, however, that some of the medicine seems to ooze back out after I inject myself about half of the time. Upon closer inspection of the tip of the needle, I notice that a very tiny drop is on the end of it during these times, as well. I don't know exactly how much or how big the drops are supposed to be going in while you're subcutaneously injecting yourself, but even these small amounts of "ooze" or drippings rather concern me. This is starting to happen about every other time I do the injections. I change the needle out every time I do an injection, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, here. At first, I figured I wasn't leaving it "in" my skin/fat roll (UGH!) long enough, so instead of counting to five while it's in, I counted to 10 before removing. No difference. So...your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's normal, and nothing to worry about. It doesn't seem to affect my appetite suppression, so I dunno. I'm assuming that I'm getting enough of the medication despite what it looks like, since it still continues to feel the same, overall.
Speaking of appetite suppression, I have to say...this stuff certainly does the trick. I am simply NOT hungry, ALL day. In fact, last night I was so tired and so not hungry, that I skipped the night dose. I ate two tiny meals earlier in the day (about 6-7 hours apart), and before I knew it, I was looking at the clock at almost 9 pm and realizing that I never ate dinner. Or any snacks. Nuttin'. I simply never thought about it. I then ate two small hard boiled eggs, since I figured I could probably use some protein. Although I had planned on eating something more, I couldn't eat another bite after that - I was DONE.
It's definitely a strange deal on this stuff. I still feel "full" all the time, and can tell that the food just sits on my stomach for hours. Despite eating waaaaaay less food lately, I haven't noticed any drop in energy levels. In fact, some days I have energy through the roof. I DO like the fact that I "forget" about meals. Not that I necessarily WANT to skip them or starve myself, but it makes it SO much easier to "not have to think about it" when you're counting calories or watching what you eat because you have ZERO desire for food. I don't have to count calories, because quite frankly, I can't possibly eat very much at a time without quickly starting to feel overfull. Again - I'm not an overeater to begin with, but I'm imagining that if I WERE one, this would stop that dead in its tracks.
It's not too bad, but I do get a bit of acid here and there. I don't take any Tums or medicines for it, however...but it's only vaguely annoying (I never have problems with that to begin with, so that's probably the only reason why it's standing out right now for me).
I don't get much nausea of any capacity anymore, which has been great. Everything else seems to be going great, and I am looking forward to losing more weight on this!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
My Journey - Starting on Byetta
Byetta has been a drug on the market for several years now, normally prescribed for Type II diabetics in conjunction with other diabetes medication(s). One of the heavily promoted benefits touted by its makers is a side effect of weight loss, which has intrigued people who are not diagnosed with diabetes, but who are struggling with their weight. Does it work by itself? Does it work for non-diabetics? In doing some research about this drug, I could only find one study completed with this drug that involved obese non-diabetics.
I am a 32 year old obese and insulin-resistant, pre-diabetic woman (about 50 pounds overweight). I am not officially diagnosed with diabetes, although many doctors I have seen love this drug for its weight loss effects. So...I figure...why not check it out and see if it's all that it's cracked up to be? I am hoping that my findings on this, good or bad, will be helpful for others in deciding whether or not Byetta is a right choice for them.
I am NOT affiliated in any way, shape, or form with Byetta, the makers of Byetta, etc...with this site or outside of this site. I am a geniune person, who is interested in: 1) losing weight (obviously) to be a healthier person; and 2) seeing if Byetta is truly "all that" and the wonder drug some doctors promote it to be.
In being overweight, I obviously struggle with my weight. I do not overeat, I try to eat lower glycemic foods, I am vegetarian, and I have exercised my BUTT off to make the scale budge. It hasn't...not one pound. As a teenager and in my early twenties, I was a small size (just under most size 4s) and weighed 110 lbs at 5'4". I gained weight suddenly (40+ lbs in under six months) several years back, of which I'll blog more about in greater detail later, no doubt. I am hoping that Byetta will jump start some weight loss and retrain my body to let go of some friggin' FAT. :)
I try my best to drink 100 oz of water daily, and plan on doing so throughout my experiment. I am not drinking any alcohol, and my caffeine intake is limited to 1-2 cups a day of coffee. No sodas, diet sodas, juice, milk, or any other liquids except water (mostly from my reverse-osmosis filter tank, which I LOVE). I might try to cut out caffeine again at some point during this "trial", but I have noticed that my weight doesn't budge whether or not I am on a little caffeine (so long as it's in moderation), so I figure I probably won't sweat it.
I have already started on this a few days ago, so I will post my results below:
DAY ONE
I get the pen out and get it ready, grab a roll from my abdomen (uuughhh), and then freeze in fear, staring at the needle. I’m petrified that this is going to hurt in some way, and I keep hovering the needle above my skin, trying to convince myself that it’s going to be OK, and then freak out. It’s completely ridiculous. My husband enters the room and asks what the problem is, and I tell him that I’m a wuss.
Don’t get me wrong, the needle is TINY. I’ve had to prick my fingers before to test blood sugars after meals, and I have to say that those are WAY worse and by far much more painful than this. I think it was just the IDEA of sticking myself, so I made my husband stick me. :D He was rolling his eyes – kept asking how on earth I got through two major surgeries the past year (will blog more on that later) and yet I’m scared of this tiny little bit o’ nothing.
I couldn’t even feel it, so no, it does NOT hurt.
I waited about 45+ minutes after the shot to eat. All I ate was a moderately sized leafy green salad with veggies and a pinch of homemade dressing (very low fat), and a teeny tiny pinch of shredded cheese. By the time I ate, I was starting to feel really nauseous, and once I started eating, the nausea went away. Briefly.
The rest of the night before bed, I was feeling pretty sick and wondering what on earth I was doing to myself. The nausea was pretty bad, but there again, I’ve had worse. I didn’t throw up (although it felt like I probably could if I wanted to prod it a little further), however.
I felt a little woozy in the hours after the shot, and felt yucky enough that I needed to just crawl into bed. I eventually fell asleep, and despite the nausea, I was able to sleep all night with no problems. In the back of my mind, I knew I was NOT going to be able to continue taking this if I feel that bad each and every time I get my dosage. No way.
02/27/10
DAY TWO
I awoke this morning with a pretty good appetite – as though I could eat a pretty good meal. I no longer had any nausea, nor any ill effects from last night. Feeling pretty good. I debated skipping the dose, but then figured that I would try again, just to see. I “stuck” myself, and then waited about 10 minutes or so. I nibbled on a pinch of cheese and from a recommendation from the internet, snacked on 2 crackers. I had the intent on eating more, but I didn’t feel like it after that.
I was afraid that the nausea would return, but it really didn’t – at least, not much to speak of. Certainly not as bad as last night, so I was happy. A couple of hours later, I noticed that it feels like my stomach is full. It feels like the small amount of food I ate was just still sitting there in my stomach. I can only imagine how horrible it would feel if I ate a large breakfast or something along those lines, as this feels a little uncomfortable as it is.
I am feeling a little tired, so I’m going to take a short nap. Have a minor headache (not bad enough to take medicine for or anything like that), so I’m hoping the nap will help. Not sure if it’s allergies, lack of caffeine intake today (a very likely culprit), or the Byetta – or a combo of all three. Nevertheless, I am encouraged that last night seems to be a one-time thing, and maybe not waiting so long after the shot to eat was the key.
Debating whether or not to take the night dose. If I am still not feeling too hungry by dinnertime, I won’t. Maybe sticking to once a day might be sufficient, especially since I’m not full-blown diabetic. If I’m feeling starving by dinner, then I’ll take it again.
Good plan.
This afternoon, I awoke from my nap, and had a little lunch (vegetarian chili – a medium to small sized serving) around 1:30 pm or so. I wasn’t really “hungry” at the time, but I felt like I COULD eat, and the “fullness” feeling was pretty much gone at this point.
I ate probably about 350-400 calories at this meal (max – more than likely less, actually), and then suddenly felt a brief craving for sweets. I looked in the fridge, and spied a carton of strawberries, so I washed about 4 of them (strawberries - NOT cartons, haha!) and ate those. After this, I was beyond satisfied.
My headache, albeit dull, is getting a little annoying, so I made myself some coffee. Felt a little more “with it” after a cuppa, and the headache disappeared, so I am assuming the headache was just from caffeine withdrawal, and not from the Byetta itself.
I’m still debating whether or not I should take a night dose. I’ll probably decide around 6 pm or so, depending on how “hungry” I feel.
I snacked on a couple of crackers mid-afternoon (about 3-4), but otherwise felt fairly “full”.
7 pm
I’ve decided that I’m getting a little hungry, so I go ahead and take the shot. This time, I felt the “prick” a little more (although it’s still not as bad as pricking your fingers to test blood sugars), but it wasn’t horrible. Not sure if it’s the location of where I’m pricking my abdomen that makes me a little more sensitive to feeling it, or if it’s just a psychological thing, still.
I wait about 20 minutes and then eat a moderate sized meal (homemade lentil soup), my best estimate being around 450 calories, as I added a couple of crackers and a small pinch of cheese again. On top of that, I ate two oranges (too lazy to calculate how much those were), as I had the same feeling like the night before that I wanted something sweet. The oranges totally hit the spot. (I do not recommend eating that much in fruit if you’re diabetic.) Compared to my other meals, I felt pretty piggish this night.
Had a few minor twinges of nausea, but nothing much to speak of the rest of the night. I went to bed and slept soundly again. Not bad for Day 2.
02/28/10
DAY THREE
Although I am probably not going to be posting every single day during this “trial”, I figure that I’m going to write every few days after day five and update my progress. I do not weigh myself every day, but I’ll probably weigh myself tomorrow morning, first thing, and see if I’ve lost any weight thus far.
I awoke this morning with a little achiness in my back – not sure what that’s from. I “stuck” myself again, and again I felt the prick a little more strongly. Enough to utter a little “owie”, but again, nothing too major. I’m a chicken and have an extremely LOW tolerance to pain, so this is no surprise. Plus, I noticed that I seem to “feel” it more while I’m watching the needle go in, hence I think it may be more psychological. I’ll probably try NOT looking while I stab myself next time, and see if that helps. :D
I ate a little breakfast, and I almost felt like I could eat more, but I wasn’t hungry enough, so I decided to wait a little bit longer to see if I ended up feeling too full to eat more.
Yup! I didn’t feel like eating another bite, and started having that “full” feeling, like it was just sitting on my stomach. I drank lots of water, and then had my cup of coffee (didn’t want to repeat the headache of yesterday).
A couple of hours later, I am starting to feel a wee bit nauseous. It’s not enough to make me want to crawl into bed, but it’s subtle and it’s there. Not sure what that’s about, but I still feel very “full”. I sorta burped up some coffee kinda in the form of acid, I guess? I don’t normally get acid reflux, so that was a bit annoying. Yuck.
TMI - One thing kind of strange, though, is that my urine is not clear – it’s a yellow color (not a strong yellow, but for the amount of water I drink every day, it seems a little unusual to me). Prior to this, my urine was pretty clear unless I didn’t drink enough water. Since I’ve started Byetta, I haven’t taken any vitamins (probably need to!), so I know that’s not the culprit. I’m not drinking anything else weird, so I’m a bit curious about this.
I am also feeling more thirsty since being on Byetta. Not sure why, either? I drink a big glass of water before bed, and when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I feel SUPER thirsty to the point that my mouth is parched, almost close to cotton mouth – something I normally don’t feel unless I’m sick or dehydrated. Hmm.
Days 4 - present have been actually pretty good. I haven't felt any nausea anymore (I make sure and eat about 10 minutes or so after I take it, so I think that's the key for me), and I have to REMIND myself to eat. I end up eating 3 fairly small meals a day, and that's it - I'm done and FULL, and don't want anything else. This stuff does work for appetite suppression, that's for certain!
I weighed myself yesterday, and I actually LOST about 2.5 lbs since starting this last Friday. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!! I'm trying not to weigh myself every day and not be too obsessed about it, even though the point of this whole thing is to lose weight. Um...I guess that doesn't make much sense, eh? :D Oh well...c'est moi!
Will post more tomorrow!
I am a 32 year old obese and insulin-resistant, pre-diabetic woman (about 50 pounds overweight). I am not officially diagnosed with diabetes, although many doctors I have seen love this drug for its weight loss effects. So...I figure...why not check it out and see if it's all that it's cracked up to be? I am hoping that my findings on this, good or bad, will be helpful for others in deciding whether or not Byetta is a right choice for them.
I am NOT affiliated in any way, shape, or form with Byetta, the makers of Byetta, etc...with this site or outside of this site. I am a geniune person, who is interested in: 1) losing weight (obviously) to be a healthier person; and 2) seeing if Byetta is truly "all that" and the wonder drug some doctors promote it to be.
In being overweight, I obviously struggle with my weight. I do not overeat, I try to eat lower glycemic foods, I am vegetarian, and I have exercised my BUTT off to make the scale budge. It hasn't...not one pound. As a teenager and in my early twenties, I was a small size (just under most size 4s) and weighed 110 lbs at 5'4". I gained weight suddenly (40+ lbs in under six months) several years back, of which I'll blog more about in greater detail later, no doubt. I am hoping that Byetta will jump start some weight loss and retrain my body to let go of some friggin' FAT. :)
I try my best to drink 100 oz of water daily, and plan on doing so throughout my experiment. I am not drinking any alcohol, and my caffeine intake is limited to 1-2 cups a day of coffee. No sodas, diet sodas, juice, milk, or any other liquids except water (mostly from my reverse-osmosis filter tank, which I LOVE). I might try to cut out caffeine again at some point during this "trial", but I have noticed that my weight doesn't budge whether or not I am on a little caffeine (so long as it's in moderation), so I figure I probably won't sweat it.
I have already started on this a few days ago, so I will post my results below:
DAY ONE
I get the pen out and get it ready, grab a roll from my abdomen (uuughhh), and then freeze in fear, staring at the needle. I’m petrified that this is going to hurt in some way, and I keep hovering the needle above my skin, trying to convince myself that it’s going to be OK, and then freak out. It’s completely ridiculous. My husband enters the room and asks what the problem is, and I tell him that I’m a wuss.
Don’t get me wrong, the needle is TINY. I’ve had to prick my fingers before to test blood sugars after meals, and I have to say that those are WAY worse and by far much more painful than this. I think it was just the IDEA of sticking myself, so I made my husband stick me. :D He was rolling his eyes – kept asking how on earth I got through two major surgeries the past year (will blog more on that later) and yet I’m scared of this tiny little bit o’ nothing.
I couldn’t even feel it, so no, it does NOT hurt.
I waited about 45+ minutes after the shot to eat. All I ate was a moderately sized leafy green salad with veggies and a pinch of homemade dressing (very low fat), and a teeny tiny pinch of shredded cheese. By the time I ate, I was starting to feel really nauseous, and once I started eating, the nausea went away. Briefly.
The rest of the night before bed, I was feeling pretty sick and wondering what on earth I was doing to myself. The nausea was pretty bad, but there again, I’ve had worse. I didn’t throw up (although it felt like I probably could if I wanted to prod it a little further), however.
I felt a little woozy in the hours after the shot, and felt yucky enough that I needed to just crawl into bed. I eventually fell asleep, and despite the nausea, I was able to sleep all night with no problems. In the back of my mind, I knew I was NOT going to be able to continue taking this if I feel that bad each and every time I get my dosage. No way.
02/27/10
DAY TWO
I awoke this morning with a pretty good appetite – as though I could eat a pretty good meal. I no longer had any nausea, nor any ill effects from last night. Feeling pretty good. I debated skipping the dose, but then figured that I would try again, just to see. I “stuck” myself, and then waited about 10 minutes or so. I nibbled on a pinch of cheese and from a recommendation from the internet, snacked on 2 crackers. I had the intent on eating more, but I didn’t feel like it after that.
I was afraid that the nausea would return, but it really didn’t – at least, not much to speak of. Certainly not as bad as last night, so I was happy. A couple of hours later, I noticed that it feels like my stomach is full. It feels like the small amount of food I ate was just still sitting there in my stomach. I can only imagine how horrible it would feel if I ate a large breakfast or something along those lines, as this feels a little uncomfortable as it is.
I am feeling a little tired, so I’m going to take a short nap. Have a minor headache (not bad enough to take medicine for or anything like that), so I’m hoping the nap will help. Not sure if it’s allergies, lack of caffeine intake today (a very likely culprit), or the Byetta – or a combo of all three. Nevertheless, I am encouraged that last night seems to be a one-time thing, and maybe not waiting so long after the shot to eat was the key.
Debating whether or not to take the night dose. If I am still not feeling too hungry by dinnertime, I won’t. Maybe sticking to once a day might be sufficient, especially since I’m not full-blown diabetic. If I’m feeling starving by dinner, then I’ll take it again.
Good plan.
This afternoon, I awoke from my nap, and had a little lunch (vegetarian chili – a medium to small sized serving) around 1:30 pm or so. I wasn’t really “hungry” at the time, but I felt like I COULD eat, and the “fullness” feeling was pretty much gone at this point.
I ate probably about 350-400 calories at this meal (max – more than likely less, actually), and then suddenly felt a brief craving for sweets. I looked in the fridge, and spied a carton of strawberries, so I washed about 4 of them (strawberries - NOT cartons, haha!) and ate those. After this, I was beyond satisfied.
My headache, albeit dull, is getting a little annoying, so I made myself some coffee. Felt a little more “with it” after a cuppa, and the headache disappeared, so I am assuming the headache was just from caffeine withdrawal, and not from the Byetta itself.
I’m still debating whether or not I should take a night dose. I’ll probably decide around 6 pm or so, depending on how “hungry” I feel.
I snacked on a couple of crackers mid-afternoon (about 3-4), but otherwise felt fairly “full”.
7 pm
I’ve decided that I’m getting a little hungry, so I go ahead and take the shot. This time, I felt the “prick” a little more (although it’s still not as bad as pricking your fingers to test blood sugars), but it wasn’t horrible. Not sure if it’s the location of where I’m pricking my abdomen that makes me a little more sensitive to feeling it, or if it’s just a psychological thing, still.
I wait about 20 minutes and then eat a moderate sized meal (homemade lentil soup), my best estimate being around 450 calories, as I added a couple of crackers and a small pinch of cheese again. On top of that, I ate two oranges (too lazy to calculate how much those were), as I had the same feeling like the night before that I wanted something sweet. The oranges totally hit the spot. (I do not recommend eating that much in fruit if you’re diabetic.) Compared to my other meals, I felt pretty piggish this night.
Had a few minor twinges of nausea, but nothing much to speak of the rest of the night. I went to bed and slept soundly again. Not bad for Day 2.
02/28/10
DAY THREE
Although I am probably not going to be posting every single day during this “trial”, I figure that I’m going to write every few days after day five and update my progress. I do not weigh myself every day, but I’ll probably weigh myself tomorrow morning, first thing, and see if I’ve lost any weight thus far.
I awoke this morning with a little achiness in my back – not sure what that’s from. I “stuck” myself again, and again I felt the prick a little more strongly. Enough to utter a little “owie”, but again, nothing too major. I’m a chicken and have an extremely LOW tolerance to pain, so this is no surprise. Plus, I noticed that I seem to “feel” it more while I’m watching the needle go in, hence I think it may be more psychological. I’ll probably try NOT looking while I stab myself next time, and see if that helps. :D
I ate a little breakfast, and I almost felt like I could eat more, but I wasn’t hungry enough, so I decided to wait a little bit longer to see if I ended up feeling too full to eat more.
Yup! I didn’t feel like eating another bite, and started having that “full” feeling, like it was just sitting on my stomach. I drank lots of water, and then had my cup of coffee (didn’t want to repeat the headache of yesterday).
A couple of hours later, I am starting to feel a wee bit nauseous. It’s not enough to make me want to crawl into bed, but it’s subtle and it’s there. Not sure what that’s about, but I still feel very “full”. I sorta burped up some coffee kinda in the form of acid, I guess? I don’t normally get acid reflux, so that was a bit annoying. Yuck.
TMI - One thing kind of strange, though, is that my urine is not clear – it’s a yellow color (not a strong yellow, but for the amount of water I drink every day, it seems a little unusual to me). Prior to this, my urine was pretty clear unless I didn’t drink enough water. Since I’ve started Byetta, I haven’t taken any vitamins (probably need to!), so I know that’s not the culprit. I’m not drinking anything else weird, so I’m a bit curious about this.
I am also feeling more thirsty since being on Byetta. Not sure why, either? I drink a big glass of water before bed, and when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I feel SUPER thirsty to the point that my mouth is parched, almost close to cotton mouth – something I normally don’t feel unless I’m sick or dehydrated. Hmm.
Days 4 - present have been actually pretty good. I haven't felt any nausea anymore (I make sure and eat about 10 minutes or so after I take it, so I think that's the key for me), and I have to REMIND myself to eat. I end up eating 3 fairly small meals a day, and that's it - I'm done and FULL, and don't want anything else. This stuff does work for appetite suppression, that's for certain!
I weighed myself yesterday, and I actually LOST about 2.5 lbs since starting this last Friday. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!! I'm trying not to weigh myself every day and not be too obsessed about it, even though the point of this whole thing is to lose weight. Um...I guess that doesn't make much sense, eh? :D Oh well...c'est moi!
Will post more tomorrow!
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