It actually does several things...
Normally, after you eat, your pancreas releases insulin to help your body store excess sugar for later use. This process occurs during normal digestion of food. In type 2 diabetes, your body does not work properly to store the excess sugar and the sugar remains in your bloodstream. Chronic high blood sugar can lead to serious health problems in the future. Proper diet is the first step in managing type 2 diabetes but often medicines are needed to help your body. Exenatide helps your body cope with high blood sugar in several ways. Exenatide helps the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin when there is too much sugar in your blood. Exenatide helps the cells of your liver to decrease the amount of sugar the liver dumps into your blood. Exenatide slows down the passage of food from your stomach and helps to decrease the amount of sugar added to your blood after eating. Exenatide also reduces the amount of food needed because the sugar in the bloodstream is processed more effectively.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Byetta and Weight Loss; mixed results
I thought it was about time to make another post about Byetta and weight loss, since that is the thrust of this website, and I wanted to relate my impressions about that topic, gleaned from letters I've received, and forum postings.
When I started this website, I had byetta and weight loss in mind primarily, and not byetta for diabetes treatment. However, since Byetta is still not yet officially approved for obesity treatment, there was not much traffic specifically for byetta and weight loss; instead, byetta for diabetes has been to topic du jour. That's fine, because those folks also talk about Byetta and it's effect on their weight loss (if any). Diabetics have a difficult time with weight loss.
The results of Byetta for weight loss on diabetics has been mixed, from what I have understood. It seems that diabetics that use Byetta, usually have experienced a positive result in controlling their glucose levels, but weight loss has been slow in coming. I can't recall anyone saying that they still are gaining weight; most have stopped gaining weight (at least) and some are experiencing no, or slow, weight loss. However, even for those diabetics that are only experiencing mild (or no) weight loss, they tend to report that they just "feel better" on the Byetta. For those that have lost weight, all the better the report.
What seems to be a mitigating factor in a diabetic's weight loss (or lack of it, I should say) is that they are on other diabetic treatment drugs that usually cause weight gain on their own. Drugs, such as Metformin or Glucophage, have, from what I understand, a tendency to help diabetics gain weight. I'm not a doctor, I haven't done a clinical study - that's my observation from anecdotal evidence. So then, a diabetic patient is on, for instance, Glucophage, and seeing a steady, if not slow, weight gain, is put on Byetta expecting weight loss, and doesn't experience it, wonders what is going on. The Byetta, in this case, has been the "antidote", so to speak, to the Glucophage's weight gain characteristic, it seems to me.
In another instance, a diabetic, also taking Glucophage, might see Byetta cause some weight loss. The two get together, compare stories, and wonder...what is going on? That's a reasonable question. I think the answer is: you're two different people, with different chemistries. One person might have a pretty severe case of diabetes, the other, moderate. One might be morbidly obese, the other, simply overweight. Certainly, these variables would factor in to the effect of Byetta on weight loss. Nevertheless, each one should ask themselves, "Is this Byetta Drug improving my health?" From what I have understood, that answer is almost always a "Yes", if not a "Yes!"
So what is next for Byetta and diabetes? For Amylin, the makers of Byetta, the future is bright. Byetta sales continue to rise as more and more diabetics are put on this drug. Is it a wonder why? Glucose levels are often brought in line with the "normal" range, diabetics tend to report "feeling better" and even experience weight loss, while experiencing nausea as the side effect - and that is not that often. If diabetics on this drug can lower their glucose levels and weight, that means less complications from diabetes, and therefore, more profit for the insurance company, bottom line. It's a win-win sitauation.
As for the diabetic, they can look forward to a possible Long-Acting Release (LAR) version of Byetta. What that means is that instead of a twice daily injection of Byetta, they would only need to inject once a week. This would be advantageous for several reasons. For one, more diabetics would sign up for Byetta - those that fear injections. They could also be liberated from Byetta's need to be kept cold in a fridge, enabling them to go on extended periods away from a cooler, such as camping, or on vacation. For Amylin, they could reduce their costs of the syringe, enhancing profits. Those are just benefits off the top of my head; there are probably more.
For us obese folks, byetta for weight loss is in the final phase of clinical trials before getting FDA approval. If that comes to fruition, Amylin won't be able to make Byetta fast enough; that market is HUGE, pun intended! It will have a track record of showing significent weight loss in diabetics, a notoriously obese group resistant to weight loss, a huge ace in the hole.
Overall, the future for Byetta is a very bright one, from what we can see at this point!
When I started this website, I had byetta and weight loss in mind primarily, and not byetta for diabetes treatment. However, since Byetta is still not yet officially approved for obesity treatment, there was not much traffic specifically for byetta and weight loss; instead, byetta for diabetes has been to topic du jour. That's fine, because those folks also talk about Byetta and it's effect on their weight loss (if any). Diabetics have a difficult time with weight loss.
The results of Byetta for weight loss on diabetics has been mixed, from what I have understood. It seems that diabetics that use Byetta, usually have experienced a positive result in controlling their glucose levels, but weight loss has been slow in coming. I can't recall anyone saying that they still are gaining weight; most have stopped gaining weight (at least) and some are experiencing no, or slow, weight loss. However, even for those diabetics that are only experiencing mild (or no) weight loss, they tend to report that they just "feel better" on the Byetta. For those that have lost weight, all the better the report.
What seems to be a mitigating factor in a diabetic's weight loss (or lack of it, I should say) is that they are on other diabetic treatment drugs that usually cause weight gain on their own. Drugs, such as Metformin or Glucophage, have, from what I understand, a tendency to help diabetics gain weight. I'm not a doctor, I haven't done a clinical study - that's my observation from anecdotal evidence. So then, a diabetic patient is on, for instance, Glucophage, and seeing a steady, if not slow, weight gain, is put on Byetta expecting weight loss, and doesn't experience it, wonders what is going on. The Byetta, in this case, has been the "antidote", so to speak, to the Glucophage's weight gain characteristic, it seems to me.
In another instance, a diabetic, also taking Glucophage, might see Byetta cause some weight loss. The two get together, compare stories, and wonder...what is going on? That's a reasonable question. I think the answer is: you're two different people, with different chemistries. One person might have a pretty severe case of diabetes, the other, moderate. One might be morbidly obese, the other, simply overweight. Certainly, these variables would factor in to the effect of Byetta on weight loss. Nevertheless, each one should ask themselves, "Is this Byetta Drug improving my health?" From what I have understood, that answer is almost always a "Yes", if not a "Yes!"
So what is next for Byetta and diabetes? For Amylin, the makers of Byetta, the future is bright. Byetta sales continue to rise as more and more diabetics are put on this drug. Is it a wonder why? Glucose levels are often brought in line with the "normal" range, diabetics tend to report "feeling better" and even experience weight loss, while experiencing nausea as the side effect - and that is not that often. If diabetics on this drug can lower their glucose levels and weight, that means less complications from diabetes, and therefore, more profit for the insurance company, bottom line. It's a win-win sitauation.
As for the diabetic, they can look forward to a possible Long-Acting Release (LAR) version of Byetta. What that means is that instead of a twice daily injection of Byetta, they would only need to inject once a week. This would be advantageous for several reasons. For one, more diabetics would sign up for Byetta - those that fear injections. They could also be liberated from Byetta's need to be kept cold in a fridge, enabling them to go on extended periods away from a cooler, such as camping, or on vacation. For Amylin, they could reduce their costs of the syringe, enhancing profits. Those are just benefits off the top of my head; there are probably more.
For us obese folks, byetta for weight loss is in the final phase of clinical trials before getting FDA approval. If that comes to fruition, Amylin won't be able to make Byetta fast enough; that market is HUGE, pun intended! It will have a track record of showing significent weight loss in diabetics, a notoriously obese group resistant to weight loss, a huge ace in the hole.
Overall, the future for Byetta is a very bright one, from what we can see at this point!
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