Exenatide for Type 2 Diabetes User Reviews (Page 4)

• mrs...
• December 3, 2008

"I started using Byetta in May '07, my A1C was 9.1, now it's 5.2. My blood sugar levels are excellent and, as an added bonus, when I started, I weighed 340 lbs and currently weigh 239 lbs. I have watched my diet. It makes you feel full and controls blood sugars. It is awesome, I would highly recommend it to anyone. 5 mg is what I use. 10 mg is too much, it makes me sick. Good luck to you all."

• Mo ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 28, 2013

"I was on Bydureon for about 2 months. I really noticed the loss of appetite and lost my sweet tooth. My weight came down, and my blood sugar levels dropped from 8.5 to 6.0. I was really happy with the medicine until the known side effects started to show. They were nausea, this happened approx once a week in the fourth week in on taking the medicine, and bloating, indigestion, a lot of passing wind, and acidy burps. Also, I felt a bump and itchy feeling around the injection area whenever I injected. If they can sort out these side effects, then it would be really fantastic for people with Type 2 diabetes. I was really reluctant to stop, but the horrible nausea beat me."

• Sea...
• April 1, 2015

"I'm in my fourth week of taking the med. I'm down 17 lbs, my blood sugars have been reduced to where sometimes I have to reduce my nighttime Lantus or I end up with a low blood sugar event. I love this. I've struggled for years, read about this online, talked with my Dr. and now I'm on my way to getting better."

• Anonymous
• June 22, 2009

"I have been off and on Byetta for about 2 years. I had issues with vomiting and not being able to tolerate the 10 mg. Finally, I found the answer. My doctor said to take the injection, then wait 1 full hour to eat, and not to eat more than a very, very small portion of food. I have not had any upset stomach doing this. I thought it was because of what I ate, like salad dressing or greasy foods, but it was the amount of food that I ate that was making me sick. I haven't been sick this round of using the medicines, using this method, and feeling very full after just a few bites of food. Try limiting your food intake to relieve stomach upset."

• dra...
• June 14, 2013

"I too am experiencing hair loss and want to know what to do about it. I had been taking 5 mcg of Byetta twice a day with only minimal side effects for about 3 months. Then the specialist recommended increasing to 10 mcg, and that is when I noticed the severe hair loss. I had been losing my hair before in small amounts, but after taking 10 mcg, it started really falling out in great clusters. Once I realized that it must be the Byetta, I stopped taking 10 mcg and have gone back to 5, but am still losing hair - not as much, but still happening. Does anybody know what I should try - I have read some other blogs, and this has been great because now I know I am not alone. I too have this dilemma - stop the Byetta and gain several stone or no hair?"

• mag...
• July 29, 2018

"Started taking Bydureon BCise in February 2018, 7 months in and nothing short of miraculous and has changed my life in so many positive ways. A1C at the start was 8.0 after my first blood test, it dropped to 5.9 and I've lost approx. 43 lbs. I take Metformin 500 mg twice a day, my fasting sugar varies, from low 80s to 115. On two occasions, I experienced lows at 70 and 80, it was a new experience for me, but a chocolate candy bar and good to go. I, like others, have read scary reviews about side effects, so apprehensive at first, but after my 3rd month, I noticed nothing bad and began to get comfortable with the injection part. I've found taking the pen out of the refrigerator 30 min prior to injection helps with mixing and comfort when injecting, and it works best if you inject into fatty tissue in your lower abdomen and alternate weekly. Also, it is my courage as I've changed my lifestyle to healthy eating, as the medication will punish you if you make a bad choice, trust me on this one!"

• Mst...
• May 18, 2016

"I have been taking Bydureon for several years. Prior to Bydureon, my A1C was 9.2. It's now 6.4. It took about 6-8 months, but the bumps did disappear. The other side effects are now very minimal. I do get bad GI effects if I overeat... but that's a good deterrent. Over three years and still loving it!"

• 68...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 17, 2015

"My wife started a course of Bydureon in the summer. After 3 months, she had not only lost weight, but her A1C went from 9 to 6 something. She felt healthier and had no severe reaction. I went on it when I saw how it worked for her. It affects your appetite, and you can avoid junk food without any compulsion to eat it. No problems at all except for constipation. I've lost 20+ pounds in three months and have gone down a few inches on the waistline. Very expensive drug, with a month's supply being over $1600, but my insurance covered it for both of us."

• Anonymous
• October 22, 2010

"I have been on Byetta for 3 months now. The weight loss is good, 10 lbs, and I haven't even exercised. I am on 10 mcg and still have some minimal lingering nausea. My blood sugars are doing great. The biggest side effect for me is that I never feel hungry, and this is amazing to me, since before I started taking Byetta, I had a constant feeling of hunger and ate everything in sight. Now, I have to make myself eat. I love Byetta."

• Hog...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 17, 2012

"Took over a month for my numbers to begin coming down. Now, after 6 weeks, I'm lower than anything obtained on my previous meds, but still not down to 'normal.' Injections are not a problem. I've been giving my wife B-12 shots for years, so I know to not be timid about sticking the needle in. Does it hurt? Not really. Just a prick that's not any worse than the prick needed for using my meter. Did develop a few nodules that are slow about going away, but they are not sensitive or uncomfortable. No nausea, and my appetite is similar to before. Don't like the cost but expect to stay with Bydureon."

• kat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2019

"I did a review on 2019-09-02 under the same name (kathyonobx), and this is my update. Bydureon BCise was used for several months. I began to suspect that it had contributed to or caused a deep depression as well as daily migraine headaches, which began almost immediately upon use. Update 09-02-2019: My last Bydureon BCise injection was on Aug 5, 2019. My first Ozempic .25 mg injection was on Aug 12, 2019. I was told it would take 2 weeks for the Bydureon to leave my system. At almost exactly the 2-week mark, my depression stopped, and the migraines stopped! I still have an occasional headache, but not migraine strength and not daily."

• brn...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 20, 2013

"My A1C is in the normal range now, and I have lost 42 lbs. All my labs are great due to the weight loss. I have been on 10 mcg for over 2 years. My last A1C was so good last time, my doctor wants me to decrease to 5 mcg. I have been to several dermatologists over the last 2 years trying to figure out why I am having hair loss, unhealthy hair, and change in texture. I never wanted to attribute it to the Byetta, although the hair loss started a few months after I began taking it. I am now so desperate to stop the hair loss, I'm considering stopping the Byetta. I can't decide which would be worse - being bald or gaining back 42 pounds! I would really love to know if the person who recently posted had any hair regrowth after stopping Byetta."

• gra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2013

"Sugars are running 120. Have to be careful though. I have had them drop as low as 73. Have been on Bydureon for 3 months now. Lost a little weight. Appetite is completely gone. Probably wouldn't eat at all unless I didn't have to take other medicine. Have found that the bumps go away better if you shoot in your legs and mix the solution together for about 10 minutes. Still have bumps in stomach from 3 months ago. Hope they will go away over time. Every once in a while, I have a bad reaction at the injection site. Itching and little pain. Usually goes away in 4 days. The price could've been cheaper to start with. Was paying full price. Insurance finally picked up, and I'm now paying $74 a month for it. Also taking metformin 2 times a day, 500 mg each time."

• Cat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 3, 2020

"I took Bydureon for 8 weeks. The nausea built up every week. My blood sugar did drop. But the nausea got so bad I could not continue. Stopped 2 weeks ago, I am still sick, can't look at food, even the thought of eating makes me sick. Yes, I lost 22 pounds so far because I can't eat. This is not good. I get lightheaded, cold, and very tired. Sorry I ever tried this medicine."

• mr ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 29, 2013

"I am back to update my time on Bydureon. It has been going pretty well. My sugars were really going down, I suffered a few lows, 40 to 50s, so the doctor dropped Januvia and Actos. Then my sugars started going up. It's been a rough two weeks, but hopefully they will level out. My appetite has gone down a lot, and it looks like I am finally losing some weight."

• Mel...
• June 14, 2016

"Bit of nausea at the start but eased off until I changed my stab day, then sickness came back for a couple of weeks. 11 weeks in and have dropped 12 kg in weight. Blood sugars are way down and have more energy. Struggle to always eat three times a day, but when I do, I feel great and that's when the weight melts off."

• Hob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 11, 2013

"I have taken 7 shots of Bydureon, and my numbers have decreased dramatically, and I have lost 21 lbs. I changed my diet completely, so that helped with the weight loss, but the medicine helps curb my appetite also. The medicine hurts pretty bad going in. The needle size doesn't bother me as much as the pain from the thick medicine. Lumps at each injection site also. Have had more lows since starting the injections. I take 2000 mg of Metformin and 4 mg of Glimepiride daily, so I'm going to talk to my doctor about cutting back on something."

• Lan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 2, 2016

"I took my sixth Bydureon injection yesterday. The great news is my morning BG levels have dropped dramatically, to the 100 range (after being in the 200s). Bad, however, I am debilitatingly nauseous 12 to 24 hours after injecting and 4x have thrown up at the 12-hour mark. I am not a fan of the pea-sized lumps at each injection area. The first from 6 weeks ago has not shrunk one iota. The three abdomen injections each itched considerably the first week. I switched to injecting the front of my legs, which do not itch. My vision, especially at computer monitor distance, is horrible, but I think that is due to the drop in my overall blood sugar. I am not sure if I can hang with the nausea and would like more info as to whether it will go away in time."

• Lor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 20, 2018

"Taking Bydureon is not worth the risk of pancreatic cancer, lymphoma, or pancreatitis, of which I developed. It almost killed me; which at this point, it may have been better to be gone. I was admitted to the hospital 1 month ago with acute pancreatitis, renal failure, hepatic and kidney failure. I was on Dilaudid IV every 2-3 hours. I developed dissolution of my common bile duct, which Bydureon also causes. Had an ERCP which was a failed attempt because the Bydureon had caused such havoc in the anatomy of my biliary tree and liver. So if that isn't enough, I had to have a percutaneous intrahepatic biliary line placement (drilling into my liver to thread a plastic tube to drain my bile out from the side of me!!). Yes, I walk around with a bag strapped to my leg. My bile can't get through to my intestine!"

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 6, 2016

"This drug is horrible!!! For the entire month I was on it, my blood sugars were never under 200. I was on Trulicity before this, which is a wonderful medication that is the same type as Bydureon, but my insurance said it wouldn't cover the Trulicity for me anymore unless I tried the Bydureon first (prior authorization). Well...obviously it sucks, so thankfully I'll get to go back on the Trulicity, which made my blood sugars extremely steady (around 110) and I was losing weight...like 2 pounds per week. The Bydureon also hurt horribly to inject and always made me bleed, and mixing it was a pain in the butt. With the Trulicity, it's all done for you and is almost painless, and I never bled at the injection site."

• dab...
• April 12, 2014

"This is an update from my previous posting. I need to correct that I take 1000 mg of Metformin, NOT 2000 mg a day. On Thursday, I took my 4th injection of Bydureon. At first, I had some nausea and heartburn. By my 3rd injection, that has subsided. As far as weight loss, I've only lost 9 lbs so far. My fasting sugar in the morning the day after injection is about 118. However, as the week goes on, they tend to spike. The highest I've had is 185. Before Bydureon, I ranged between 120-150. I've also noticed that my ankles swell by the evening time, which is somewhat new. During these four weeks, I had stopped my Actos because I couldn't afford the copay, but I was able to restart it this week. I put a call into my doctor. I'll see what she has to say."

• Ama...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 18, 2015

"I started 10 weeks ago and saw an immediate drop in my home testing glucose levels, from double-figure mmol readings to 4/7 mmol after fasting. I had no side effects at all for the first four weeks but subsequently suffered terrible nausea, overnight hypos, skin rash, and the most revolting sulfur/egg-smelling burps (cured immediately by Alka-Seltzer if anyone else has the same problem!). I've noticed no reduction in appetite (except when nausea has prevented me from eating at all) but had already reduced my intake to 1200 calories a day in an effort to lose weight. If anything, Bydureon is hindering my weight loss. I often see no loss after a week of eating like Snow White, which is disappointing. Overall, delighted though."

• MiM...
• April 10, 2015

"Started taking Bydureon 6 weeks ago. The first 4 weeks, blood sugars were lower by 15-25 points, no weight loss, but happy with BS results. Week 5, began to be very nauseous on and off, being around food or cooking for family difficult. Could only eat bland, room temp/cold foods like half a bagel, granola bar, cereal, bananas. Everything else made me sick. Week 6, nausea much worse without stopping, could not tolerate the smell/sight of food, especially meat. Weekend trip with family was ruined because I could not be in any restaurants. Vomited several times. Finally called my doctor, and he took me off of it. Waiting to get it all out of my system. Will look for an alternative drug."

• Cin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 7, 2021

"Been using Bcise for 10 weeks. 3 times it has not fully injected, so I only got a partial dose. Unlike the old Bydureon, you can't move this to find a different spot or change needles to try again. Yes, it's easier to work with, but I find it unreliable."

• nor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 21, 2013

"Update: Took 1st shot 2/8/13. Have little nausea, but raised bump for every injection and intermittent, intense itching. Numbers seem good, but I have changed up diet to Paleo plan. I think that has more to do with good numbers, as when I do have the occasional piece of bread or potato, blood sugar shoots up way over 200 and can take many hours to normalize. I've lost 20 lbs since diet change. I am very concerned because so much of my hair is falling out since I started Bydureon. I find Drs. don't like to address anything that the manufacturer does not have on their list of side effects."