# Byetta Babes!



## caroleann

I will be out all day on sunday most likely before breakfast untill after dinner so obviously will be having both meals out, so will i need to keep my byetta cool throughout the day,i will be out side all day.


----------



## Steff

Byetta is taken by subcutaneous injection twice per day, usually an hour before breakfast and dinner so i guess if your gunna be out just take the jab before you leave for the brekkie one, as for keeping it cool i dont know ive never not had it in the fridge , id wait and see if thedame comes on she has way more knowledge then i do on byetta.


----------



## sofaraway

It is fine to be kept at room temperature in your bag, just don't leave it in the car or sun or anything like that.


----------



## caroleann

This my problem i will only be able to leave it in the car,im doing a dog show so inbtween grooming the dogs and going in the ring  i wont be able to carry it about in a bag.


----------



## Steff

Carole do you have a ice pack lay it inside a cooler bag i think they can hold there cool for upto 4 hours.


----------



## caroleann

Thanks Steff i will do that.


----------



## sofaraway

Could think about getting a frio bag, I have used mine on holiday and think it's fab


----------



## Lizzie53

I have a Frio bag too and it's just the job. You can get them on line but I bought mine in my local chemist. I took it away on holiday with me and it stopped me worrying about it going above the 25c they say it should not go above.
Apparently it's not cold enough for unused Byetta so I am hunting around for something to transport my new pen when I go away in a few weeks. I found one on the web - medicool protectall but it is nearly 40 pounds. It says it keeps it at the required temperature for up to 12 hours so I think to be safe I'll get one. For an opened one though the Frio should do you.


----------



## margie

Check with the pharmacy if you are going to put an ice-block next to the byetta - it might damage it, it would most likely damage insulin. 

I would suggest a frio pouch too, or ask your local pharmacist what they would recommend.


----------



## Lizzie53

I'm not sure putting an ice block any where near it is a good idea either. The Frio wallet is quite good, no ice involved.
http://www.arcticmedical.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d7.html
This is the link to the medicool bag I think I will buy to transport unused Byetta. It says it will keep it between 2 -8C for up to 12 hours so I'll just have to hope I'm not delayed.
http://www.insulincase.com/Small-Me...axone-Embrel-Forteo-Humulin-Xolair--P397.aspx
This is the one I really want but I can't find it for sale in UK.


----------



## thedame

Try this link:http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/m77.htm

You are right to be concerned about the current heat wave! We go away in our caravan a lot but luckily it is fairly new and does not heat up like an oven. However, I find the coolest spot when we go out to leave it.

If you will be out in the heat you may be best to carry the pen rather than leave it in the car. Maybe you could find something which will keep it cool but not risk it freezing, so my advice would be to maybe use some sort of cool bag with an ice block,  like the kids have for sandwiches but wrap the pen in bubble wrap or something which will insulate it from the actual ice.

By the way, you can get a free wallet (not insulated) to keep a pen and some needles in from elilly I will dig out the telephone number I used to get mine and post it -it is on their web site somewhere - you need the UK number of course! This is handy when you go out for the evening but I keep mine in it all the time. I keep my case in the downstairs loo as it it is cooler in there. 

When I first got the pen I kept it in the lounge but when the heating got turned on last winter, tiny little bubbles appeared (as well as the usual single bubble) and it turned out the room was too warm! If you should get some small bubbles, you should be OK to used the pen as long as the liquid is clear - just tilt the pen needle down before injecting and flick the pen to encourage the bubbles to float up and away from the needle - like they do on the TV- makes me feel very important when I do that


----------



## Steff

hi thedame just butting in id also appriciate that number .


----------



## thedame

I'm rummaging now Steff!


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> I'm rummaging now Steff!



cmom cmon corrie is about to start hehe


----------



## caroleann

Boots have the frio ones the small one is 13.99


----------



## thedame

This is the UK phone number for eLilly - they should be able to help you with the wallet- 01276 483000

I got this tip from another forum ages ago and seem to recall there was no info on their site about it for UK users but a quick call to the UK office and I got the wallet!

This is what it looks like open - I pulled the pen and needles out a bit so you can see where they fit! It folds up to a 3rd of that size so slips into a handbag fine


----------



## Steff

thanks ever so much dame x


----------



## caroleann

Thank you from me too.


----------



## thedame

You are welcome! Just popped in quickly to say good luck today caroleann- will meet you back here later to see how you got on Got my own check up this morning so will be thinking of you


----------



## Steff

Carole good luck xx


----------



## Lizzie53

Hope it went well Caroleann and thanks the dame for the phone number.


----------



## caroleann

My app not til 2 o clock, im a nervous wrek at the moment but i will be ok when i get there its just the waiting that getting to me.
Ihave already rang for the pen pouch, the lady i spoke to was realy nice.
Carole


----------



## Steff

Hi Caroleann hope things went ok for you, ? x


----------



## caroleann

Im home and im a very happy bunny,every thing was great the nurse was realy nice,she stuck the needle in me first and i dident feel a thing and then she got me to try it my self although it still dident hurt i was aware of itbut the nurse said that was just because i hesitated a little.
Im all set to go from tomorrow morning.
Thankyou for asking.
Carole


----------



## thedame

Well done Carole - best of luck xxx


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Im home and im a very happy bunny,every thing was great the nurse was realy nice,she stuck the needle in me first and i dident feel a thing and then she got me to try it my self although it still dident hurt i was aware of itbut the nurse said that was just because i hesitated a little.
> Im all set to go from tomorrow morning.
> Thankyou for asking.
> Carole





excellent well done hun, anything you feel worried or uneasy about just ask and we will try our best to help x x


----------



## caroleann

Im sure i will be asking lots and keeping you updated too,you will get fed up with me.
Carole


----------



## thedame

caroleann said:


> you will get fed up with me.
> Carole


No chance- we are all holding each other up in here


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> No chance- we are all holding each other up in here



Yeah we are and without that id be lost.


----------



## Lizzie53

Hey Caroleann, another Byetta Buddy - love it. I shall be so pleased to hear how you get on. I've been floating around on a cloud today, just over 3 weeks and I have now lost 5.5 kg - hooray! My waking BG's are around 6 now. They used to be around 12.
I just love those lizards and my husband nearly choked when I announced I was going to get a lizard tattoo. I was joking but for a minute he believed me.


----------



## Northerner

A woman whose dress didn't fit
Was advised to inject lizard spit.
'I'll have some of that please,
For I have diabetes,
And my last pair of knickers just split!'


----------



## caroleann

I have a confession to make guys, the nurse was pretty pleased with every thing i was doing so i dropped you lot in it and told her that if it haddent been for all of you on here i wouldent have beeb there today getting the help i so clearly need i would still be sat at home not realizing just how much trouble i was in.
Thankyou all so very much,i can now see a future ahead of me.
Carole


----------



## Copepod

Caroleann - great to hear about your Byetta success, don't do yourself out of the credit you deserve for seeking out help, both from this forum and your nurse. Keep on letting us know how things are going.


----------



## Lizzie53

Northerner said:


> A woman whose dress didn't fit
> Was advised to inject lizard spit.
> 'I'll have some of that please,
> For I have diabetes,
> And my last pair of knickers just split!'



hehe I think that poem is about me. Think I've dropped a dress size today! I might need some new undies or they'll be falling down, not splitting.
Good luck for tomorrow Caroleann. Remember to keep the portion sizes really small or you'll be complaining of being bloated.


----------



## caroleann

Took first jab at 11 ended up with three pin pricks cos i was shaking so much,now having lunch so far so good.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Took first jab at 11 ended up with three pin pricks cos i was shaking so much,now having lunch so far so good.



Dont worry i was the exact same my hand would not stay still, in fact i could not even do my first jab my OH had to so your braver then me lol. x


----------



## Lizzie53

Well done, you'll soon be jabbing like a pro.


----------



## Northerner

caroleann said:


> Took first jab at 11 ended up with three pin pricks cos i was shaking so much,now having lunch so far so good.



Well done Carole! It will get easier, try not to stress and worry about it and you'll be fine


----------



## sofaraway

I foudn the first one the worst one and after a few days it didn't even bother me anymore, so hopefully you will find it comes much easie in a few days time.


----------



## thedame

Hi Carole- bet you had the leaflet spread out as you took your first jab as well - I think I wasted a good portion of my first pen fiddling with it and only just made it through the 30 days!

Keep it up  the good work


----------



## caroleann

Im very very happy,dinner consisted of 2 bites of grilled burger a couple of pieces cucumber a bite of lettuce and slice of tomoto,just could ent eat any more then that.about 30 minutes later the nausea set in but that eased off after a couple of hours,but i am pleased to report i went to bed on 5.7 and got up this morning with 6.4 thease are numbers i havent seen for years.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Im very very happy,dinner consisted of 2 bites of grilled burger a couple of pieces cucumber a bite of lettuce and slice of tomoto,just could ent eat any more then that.about 30 minutes later the nausea set in but that eased off after a couple of hours,but i am pleased to report i went to bed on 5.7 and got up this morning with 6.4 thease are numbers i havent seen for years.



Brilliant Carole it is so pleasing is it not to see numbers like this i felt the same after consistently having numbers in double figures it was great for me to be getting figures in the 7s and 6s, long may it continue hun xx


----------



## caroleann

Its fantastic if i keep getting these numbers its well worth the nausea, my brothers getting married in september,i dont know how realistic this is but i would like to try and get into a sice 14 im in size 16-18 at the mo.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Its fantastic if i keep getting these numbers its well worth the nausea, my brothers getting married in september,i dont know how realistic this is but i would like to try and get into a sice 14 im in size 16-18 at the mo.



It can be achievable hun anything can be if you put your mind to it so think i can i can do this and sure enough you will good luck 

P.s hope you have a good day at the dog show tomorrow x


----------



## caroleann

Thankyou steff, can i jut ask are you on oral meds as well the reason i ask is because i have to take 7 pils in the morning so i am taking first injection at 11 and having lunch at 12 but if i do at any time have to change it to the morning not sure if it would affect the pils.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Thankyou steff, can i jut ask are you on oral meds as well the reason i ask is because i have to take 7 pils in the morning so i am taking first injection at 11 and having lunch at 12 but if i do at any time have to change it to the morning not sure if it would affect the pils.
> Carole



Hiya im on meds as well yeah i take metformin 1000mg twice a day hun.Im not to sure if it will effect your meds but if you have any reservations im sure asking your doc would help, or even someone might know in here x


----------



## Steff

Hi carole how are you feeling today  ? x


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Hi carole how are you feeling today  ? x



Hi steff im feeling much better today thank you although i think i messed up my injection this morning so im not sure if i got my dose or not, i also decided to give the dog show a miss until i get into a propper routine,i have decided to change to brekki injection to see if that makes a difference.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi steff im feeling much better today thank you although i think i messed up my injection this morning so im not sure if i got my dose or not, i also decided to give the dog show a miss until i get into a propper routine,i have decided to change to brekki injection to see if that makes a difference.
> Carole



Ok Carole glad your feeling better, i've done that myself and in fact i once thougth they was no liquid in my pen lol but of course they was.Id say you made the right choice in missing out on the dog show like you say once you are more confident and have a better routine then go for it.


----------



## Lizzie53

It's good to hear your progress report caroleann. I had a couple of bouts of slight nausea back at the start when I probably tried to eat too much, so I do try not to do that now. I am having a weekend in Cornwall and my family wanted to try Rick Stien's fish and chip shop last night. I really didn't want to slip off the wagon too much so had a childrens portion and that was more than enough as I had to leave half of the chips. It was really yummy though.
I had a dodgy moment with the injection when my leg felt wet a couple of weeks ago and so I assume more went on me than in me. They did warn us at the training course to leave it rather than risk 2 doses.
I think it's really good to have something to aim for like a wedding. You have to really go for it. In almost a month I have dropped 1 dress size and 6 kg without too much stress. It is a drop in the ocean as I think I need to loose more than 20 kg but I have a holiday next month with friends I haven't seen for a year so I'm going to try really hard for another 5 kg in 5 weeks and then I'm sure I will look a bit different and I won't be stretching my swimming cossie quite so much.
Oh yes I had that little nibble of cheese and a biscuit before bed last night and my am BG was 5.2 which is really fantastic for me.
I have my jab before breakfast which means I feel full until lunch which I like. I asked about the 7 pills I take in the morning and the nurse said it was ok to take them at the same time so I have been.


----------



## Steff

Hi Carole hope you dont feel im badgering you keep asking how your doing, is all well? x


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Hi Carole hope you dont feel im badgerign you keep asking how your doing, is all well? x



Hi Steff, of course i dont think that ,its actualy nice having someone ask how i am,anyways im feeling pretty good,although i did have another hypo yesterday 3.9 so was'nt as bad as sats,nurse rang this morning to see how i was i told her about the hypo's so she said stop taking the glimepiride and that should be enough to stop them,she's not concerned about the amount im eating so all good there.
Iwould be very interested in how you are doing as well steff.
Thankyou Steff.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi Steff, of course i dont think that ,its actualy nice having someone ask how i am,anyways im feeling pretty good,although i did have another hypo yesterday 3.9 so was'nt as bad as sats,nurse rang this morning to see how i was i told her about the hypo's so she said stop taking the glimepiride and that should be enough to stop them,she's not concerned about the amount im eating so all good there.
> Iwould be very interested in how you are doing as well steff.
> Thankyou Steff.
> Carole



Hiya i hope coming off the glime helps hun.

Thanks for asking hun im really good, been abit forgetful last 2 days and have been taken my byetta about 15 minutes late, its always hard to remember every single day lol.Other then that the only other news i started injecting in the thigh on thursday after giving my tummy a break and i was nervous to start but it is really painless so im happy.


----------



## thedame

Hi Guys

Glad to hear you "Lizard Spitt:ers are all doing well- Carole a big well done hug to you - I know how worried you were and you are doing great

Bit busy right now trying to sell FIL's bungalow (he is in a home due to dementia) but I like to pop in to see waht is going on even if I miss the point of the thread by the time I get here!


----------



## Steff

Good luck with the bungalow selling hun X

Dont worry we will keep this thread going i like it , its like our own little byetta club hehe x


----------



## caroleann

Yep i think thats a great idea steff, its nice to be able to chat with people who know what im going through, steves great but he is getting into a flap over it more then i am he was supposed to be at work at 6 but i just about managed to get him out the door 20 minutes ago he is worried i might hypo while he is out,just told him if i need him i will ring him luckily he works just around the corner.
Steff can i be cheeky and ask you for tips on the best foods to eat.
Carole


----------



## caroleann

thedame said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Glad to hear you "Lizard Spitt:ers are all doing well- Carole a big well done hug to you - I know how worried you were and you are doing great
> 
> Bit busy right now trying to sell FIL's bungalow (he is in a home due to dementia) but I like to pop in to see waht is going on even if I miss the point of the thread by the time I get here!



Thank you Dame hope all goes well with the sale.
Carole


----------



## Steff

Oh good greif i have just realised i forgot to take my jab grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.



P.s food wise carole i cant pinpoint one thing that i do, i grill everything and never touch a frying pan i cook most things home made and hardly buy any packet food and also i make sure i fill up on the good things then i know i wont fall back into filling myself up with all the rubbish.


----------



## DiabetesPartner

Hey,

Sorry to get back on topic, but I had a question about Frio wallets. They say they are resusable, but how does this work exactly, when you add water, is the following reaction reversable?
Do you just use cold water again to re-use, and how many times can it be done?


Hope you can help,


DP


----------



## sofaraway

DiabetesPartner said:


> Hey,
> 
> Sorry to get back on topic, but I had a question about Frio wallets. They say they are resusable, but how does this work exactly, when you add water, is the following reaction reversable?
> Do you just use cold water again to re-use, and how many times can it be done?
> 
> 
> Hope you can help,
> 
> 
> DP




I have used mine on about 4 holidays so far and it's working fine still. You just add more water each day to keep the gel. If you leave it for a few days then it goes back to the crystals. Not sure about the science of it


----------



## Steff

Morning all.

Phew taking my byetta nearly 2 hours late does not seem to have caused to much of a diasaster


----------



## Lizzie53

DiabetesPartner said:


> Hey,
> 
> Sorry to get back on topic, but I had a question about Frio wallets. They say they are resusable, but how does this work exactly, when you add water, is the following reaction reversable?
> Do you just use cold water again to re-use, and how many times can it be done?
> 
> 
> Hope you can help,
> 
> 
> DP



Hi DP I have also used mine quite a bit. I've been on holidays and also eating out quite a bit and wanted to ensure the pen didn't go over 25c. It stays cool for quite some time. I reactivated mine with cold water on Sunday and it's still cold enough now. I think it works through evaporation and the act of evaporation cools the gel. I did make a mistake of leaving it to soak in water for too long and then it was so swollen I couldn't get the pen in! Mine hasn't reverted to granules yet but I do use it quite often.

I love hearing from all the lizard spitting gang here. For some reason this weekend was my most difficult yet. I was away - camping and I started eyeing up all sorts of rediculous foods like flap jacks and one did find it's way into my mouth, a massive one at that lol. The result was BG over 10 for a few hours. Anyway I'm home now so back to the usual routine and no Cornish cafes to tempt me.

In order to get my am jab early enough I have started keeping it by my bed and do it as I get up. To begin with we were told to eat 30 mins after injecting but now I have been told to extend that to 45 - 60 mins and in the morning that is a bit of a hassle if I am working. I think that some days that wait will be impossible but I don't think it will be too much of a problem if I only wait 30 mins.
Carole I have really started to enjoy fish and have steamed, grilled or baked salmon a couple of times a week, also tuna. It's quick and easy to cook and I usually put a salad and a couple of tiny new pots in skins with it.
Good luck with the house sale the dame.


----------



## caroleann

Well after experimenting with the best time for me to have first jab i have found 11am suits me best so i am now looking foreward to seeing better results, think i have lost a bit of weight too,i can do my belt up another notch,mind you my gold fish are eating more then me at the moment.lol.
Steff pleased to hear you did'nt suffer to much for taking your meds late.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Well after experimenting with the best time for me to have first jab i have found 11am suits me best so i am now looking foreward to seeing better results, think i have lost a bit of weight too,i can do my belt up another notch,mind you my gold fish are eating more then me at the moment.lol.
> Steff pleased to hear you did'nt suffer to much for taking your meds late.
> Carole



LOL@ goldfish good to hear things are on the up hun , And 11am sounds about right its all about what best fits into your life.


----------



## thedame

Hi Gang

I sometimes forget my jab until just before eating - they say 30 mins beofore is the "ideal" - too early and you can feel a bit sick, too late and it doesn't do it's job so well but I reckon as long as you take it some time in that magic hour it will help. 

I was told that although brekkie is not usually your biggest meal (shh, had bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms today ) it is good to have it before the first meal of the day as it helps to bring down those wretched fasting highs.

However a lot of this advice is given by the medics and they can become detached from the reality of normal life sometimes so I think we should all be allowed to find our own balance - stressing out to meet impossible guielines is not good for your heath either is it!

A PS - Steffie, you are brave with your late jabs - I was out for dinner last Saturday and the service was rubbish. We waited 50 mins (after I jabbed) for our meal and I grabbed the waitress and told her that if they didn't get me my food within 10 mins I would be very ill and they wouldn't appreciate a lump like me spark out on their crowded pub floor. It arrived with 5 mins to spare! Was touch and go though as Hubby was going a bit green with worry - me, I felt fine sipping my diet lemonade which I had to bring from home cos these places think we all drink coke or that fresh orange is sugar free

It's a challenge trying to be normal isn't it!


----------



## caroleann

Hi all,hope you are all well today,i was wondering if any of you have experienced a very dry mouth after your injections its not that im thirsty just my mouth going realy dry,im not worried about it just curious.
Carole.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi all,hope you are all well today,i was wondering if any of you have experienced a very dry mouth after your injections its not that im thirsty just my mouth going realy dry,im not worried about it just curious.
> Carole.



That for ME is a sign of high bs but thats just me so dont panic, have you checked your levels?


----------



## caroleann

Hi Steffie yep my levels have been high since coming off the glimepiride so im going to go back on them tomorrow but am going to cut the dose to see if that helps.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi Steffie yep my levels have been high since coming off the glimepiride so im going to go back on them tomorrow but am going to cut the dose to see if that helps.



ok hun are you ok to do that yeah ? x

g/l


----------



## caroleann

yeah should be ok as i still have a couple of 2ml ones left so will take one in the morning but i will ring the nurse and let her know that im trying it that way.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> yeah should be ok as i still have a couple of 2ml ones left so will take one in the morning but i will ring the nurse and let her know that im trying it that way.



okay hun whatever you feel best doing. x


----------



## Steff

Good early evening all, hows things today Caole hun?

p.s i always have 2 pens in the fridge at the same time and the other day i got 2 new ones i opened one on the morning and used it then in the evening i think i used the other 1 , so in essence i think i used them both by accident, i was thinking of putting a star on the pen i currently use and then that will stop me doing that again does anyone think thats a good/bad idea?


----------



## Lizzie53

Got my 10 pen ready for Friday so I'm all set for the higher dose. No big problems with the 5 pen so fingers x for me. What about keeping the unused one in it's box in the fridge until you need it Steffie?


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Got my 10 pen ready for Friday so I'm all set for the higher dose. No big problems with the 5 pen so fingers x for me. What about keeping the unused one in it's box in the fridge until you need it Steffie?



Good luck for that i was totally fine x

p.s i have thrown the box away


----------



## caroleann

Im so envious ,i think i must have your share of the nausea Steffie.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Im so envious ,i think i must have your share of the nausea Steffie.



Yeah first 5 days i was that way hun, it passed for me and hopefully it will you x


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Yeah first 5 days i was that way hun, it passed for me and hopefully it will you x



Did you get the teredness as well,thats what im finding the hardest its virtualy knocking me off my feet.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Did you get the teredness as well,thats what im finding the hardest its virtualy knocking me off my feet.



I was feeling that way before going on the byetta hun lol so made no difference.


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> I was feeling that way before going on the byetta hun lol so made no difference.



Yeah me too, but now i eat a couple of mouthfuls 10 minetes later im on the sofa snoring my head off,to be quite honest i have thought about stopping the injectios when i feel at my worst but once i start to feel better i come to my senses,and thats good cos no one can accuse me of being a sensible person.lol


----------



## katie

My insulin seems to be doing ok in 30+ heat.  I haven't been using my Frio wallets because it's too much effort, ooops!


----------



## Steff

hey katie lovley to see you x


----------



## thedame

Carole - I spent the first week in a drunken-like haze and slept every afternnon right after what passed for lunch. Good thing though is lying down helped the sickness- some others reckon it is like motion sickness so lying down helped! 

This passed after couple of weeks but I had a bit of tiredness when going up to the higher dose, although not so badly.


----------



## caroleann

Im very pleased to say the nausea and tiredness is waring off now and feeling much better,i have even been shopping it was a bit dodgy on the raw mwat section but hey i got through it.
Ihope you are all well and are enjoying the lovely weather,oh whilst i remember just want to ask how long it takes for it to look like the byetta is going down in the pen,mine still looks full but i know im getting the right dose.
Carole


----------



## Steff

Hi Carole how are things


----------



## caroleann

Hi Steff i have found eatin 30 minutes after injecting is the best time for me to eat so i i am realy on the up now,according to my scales i have lost half a stone but hey we will see what the scales say when i go back on the 30th.
I hope you are doing ok now and you have ha a good weekend,thankyou Steff you have been a great help to me.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi Steff i have found eatin 30 minutes after injecting is the best time for me to eat so i i am realy on the up now,according to my scales i have lost half a stone but hey we will see what the scales say when i go back on the 30th.
> I hope you are doing ok now and you have ha a good weekend,thankyou Steff you have been a great help to me.
> Carole



Well fingers crossed you have hun that will be great news, yeah little old me is fine hun xxx


edit: just wanted to say i forgot to take my evening jab altogether on Saturday night not realising till 8 the next morning grr, so i know im abit slow but my alarm has been set .


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi all the Byetta peeps. Well I had a fab first month with hardly any problems but now I'm on the 10 pen I'm getting the nausea big time about an hour after breakfast and it lasts for 2 hours. I can feel it coming on now. I've given up waiting almost an hour to eat and am trying various times to see if I can avoid this awfulness. I have told the agency I work for that for this week I am only available afternoons as I'm flat out during the morning.
On the positive side my BG's are great, almost always between 4 and 7. I have lost 7 kg and when I'm not feeling sick I feel good. So fingers x it will pass soon.
I have been invited to a wedding on October 1st so I am looking forward to buying a dress a couple of sizes smaller (I hope). I was size 22, am now 20 and it would be great if I could slip into an 18 or even, dare I wish it, a 16.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi all the Byetta peeps. Well I had a fab first month with hardly any problems but now I'm on the 10 pen I'm getting the nausea big time about an hour after breakfast and it lasts for 2 hours. I can feel it coming on now. I've given up waiting almost an hour to eat and am trying various times to see if I can avoid this awfulness. I have told the agency I work for that for this week I am only available afternoons as I'm flat out during the morning.
> On the positive side my BG's are great, almost always between 4 and 7. I have lost 7 kg and when I'm not feeling sick I feel good. So fingers x it will pass soon.
> I have been invited to a wedding on October 1st so I am looking forward to buying a dress a couple of sizes smaller (I hope). I was size 22, am now 20 and it would be great if I could slip into an 18 or even, dare I wish it, a 16.



Hi Lizzie thats great news on the drop is dress size and your BGS thats great thats how it went with me, luckily i had no nausea or side effects with the 10mg.Aww well least you have something to have a goal towards hun, good luck xx


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi all the Byetta peeps. Well I had a fab first month with hardly any problems but now I'm on the 10 pen I'm getting the nausea big time about an hour after breakfast and it lasts for 2 hours. I can feel it coming on now. I've given up waiting almost an hour to eat and am trying various times to see if I can avoid this awfulness. I have told the agency I work for that for this week I am only available afternoons as I'm flat out during the morning.
> On the positive side my BG's are great, almost always between 4 and 7. I have lost 7 kg and when I'm not feeling sick I feel good. So fingers x it will pass soon.
> I have been invited to a wedding on October 1st so I am looking forward to buying a dress a couple of sizes smaller (I hope). I was size 22, am now 20 and it would be great if I could slip into an 18 or even, dare I wish it, a 16.



Hi Lizzie - nice hear you are feeling so positive and doing so well. I am sure the nausea will pass - give it a couple of weeks. I still feel a little queasy around mid morning - put it down to smallish food intake in the morning as I never get this after the evening dose - nothign enough to stop me doign anything though. I tried ginger (sugar free) and it did help a bit. Ironically, I could not face my mid morning coffee at all in the first few weeks but now it is coffee with some coffee whitener which can relieve the sick feeling. Try a ginger or other plain bicce if it gets too much - it might just give you that lift - you can look on them as medicinal in the short term. I found low fat Rich Tea the least damaging diet wise!


----------



## Magic Muscles

*All Byetta pin cushions*

Hi, lovely to read all the thoughts and feeling of being on Byetta. Just wish it would kerb my appetite. Still I start the gym today and hopefully the weight will start to shift....otherwise surgery might be the next step. 

I was just wondering if any of you are feeling depressed on the stuff. I was fine on insulin (although getting fatter by the minute) but at times on the Byetta I feel really depressed and low. Infact it was a terrible weekend and my husband and I have not spoken to each other for over 40 hours!

Any advice?  Is it better to be more regular with the timings of the injections?
I seem to take it when I think about it in the morning and evening usually between 10/20 minutes before a meal but reading your comments I feel this might be wrong (no one has told me anything).

Please forgive me if I have interrupted the 'thread'. I am a bit new toall this chatroom stuff!


----------



## Steff

Magic Muscles said:


> Hi, lovely to read all the thoughts and feeling of being on Byetta. Just wish it would kerb my appetite. Still I start the gym today and hopefully the weight will start to shift....otherwise surgery might be the next step.
> 
> I was just wondering if any of you are feeling depressed on the stuff. I was fine on insulin (although getting fatter by the minute) but at times on the Byetta I feel really depressed and low. Infact it was a terrible weekend and my husband and I have not spoken to each other for over 40 hours!
> 
> Any advice?  Is it better to be more regular with the timings of the injections?
> I seem to take it when I think about it in the morning and evening usually between 10/20 minutes before a meal but reading your comments I feel this might be wrong (no one has told me anything).
> 
> Please forgive me if I have interrupted the 'thread'. I am a bit new toall this chatroom stuff!



Dont apologise hun everyone can post in any thread they want we all welcome each others thoughts, regarding when to take byetta it is suggested you find a regular time and stick to it but best suited with your life, for me i take it 30 mins before evening meal and same in the morning i have the times saved into my phone now as a couple of times its slipped my mind to take the jab lol.Regarding depression I cant say i have had any actually i had 1 tiny lull on thursday but that was down to a hyper if anything for me the byetta seems to have improved my mood.can i ask are you on both byetta and insulin or just byetta?

p.s good luck at the gym x


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi magic muscles. Sorry to hear you are feeling down. How long have you been taking Byetta? Hope going to the gym perks you up a bit and kick starts that weight loss. I swim a lot now and that helps me considerably. I'm wondering if you need to look at when you are injecting and eating. I find if I can wait almost an hour between jabbing and eating I get the most effect of fullness. However at the moment I'm getting quite a bit of nausea so I'm not waiting so long in the morning. Has it helped your BG levels? Watching those drop has cheered me up no end.
I had a few run ins with my husband, he really has no idea about diabetes, doesn't really want to know and hates having to eat when I say I must especially when we are away or out for the day. However I have noticed a change in him during the last week or so and he is getting more considerate about it all. I think it has dawned on him that I am now making an effort with myself. Please keep posting and let us know how you are getting on at the gym.


----------



## Magic Muscles

Steffie said:


> Dont apologise hun everyone can post in any thread they want we all welcome each others thoughts, regarding when to take byetta it is suggested you find a regular time and stick to it but best suited with your life, for me i take it 30 mins before evening meal and same in the morning i have the times saved into my phone now as a couple of times its slipped my mind to take the jab lol.Regarding depression I cant say i have had any actually i had 1 tiny lull on thursday but that was down to a hyper if anything for me the byetta seems to have improved my mood.can i ask are you on both byetta and insulin or just byetta?
> 
> p.s good luck at the gym x


Hi Steffi

Great idea about putting the timings on the phone. I will defo try this and see if it helps.

I am only on byetta. I was having too many 'funny turns' with byetta and insulin.


----------



## thedame

Hi magic muscles

Nice to hear from you - we are a fast growing clan of Byetta users here it seems - the more the merrier I say

I don't attribute any depression to Byetta (been on it since last Oct) but I do get down at times and as someone who had a "dose" of depression some years back, I get scared in case it turns into something more severe.

I get very agitated when things are on my mind - a born worrier, and if I have nothing much to worrry about, I just worry that I am not being careful enough with my food, not taking enough exercise etc- sounds about normal for a lot of us I expect and not just those of us on Byetta 

As Lizzie has asked, how long have you been on Byetta- it may just be either too high expectations or not enough knowledge of what it is doing to you if you have been left to get on with things? If you feel like discussing it in here, feel free to get things off your chest- I surprise myself some time with my own confessions...but then they say it is good for the soul


----------



## Magic Muscles

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi magic muscles. Sorry to hear you are feeling down. How long have you been taking Byetta? Hope going to the gym perks you up a bit and kick starts that weight loss. I swim a lot now and that helps me considerably. I'm wondering if you need to look at when you are injecting and eating. I find if I can wait almost an hour between jabbing and eating I get the most effect of fullness. However at the moment I'm getting quite a bit of nausea so I'm not waiting so long in the morning. Has it helped your BG levels? Watching those drop has cheered me up no end.
> I had a few run ins with my husband, he really has no idea about diabetes, doesn't really want to know and hates having to eat when I say I must especially when we are away or out for the day. However I have noticed a change in him during the last week or so and he is getting more considerate about it all. I think it has dawned on him that I am now making an effort with myself. Please keep posting and let us know how you are getting on at the gym.


Hi Lizzie
Thank goodness someone else finds their husband's don't understand diabetes. So greatful I have found this website. Great to speak to others who do understand and have some good suggestions to make things easier. 

Been on Byetta now for nearly 9 months. Consultant in Scotland wanted to take me off it since my HbA1c was sticking at 11. Still Consultant in Bournemouth has given me a second chance and sayes if I can loose some weight and behave myself and take diabetes seriously then she will happily let me stay on it. Don't want to go back purely on insulin as was making me so very fat.

Still, of to the gym I go......wonder if I will manage to break any of the equipment!?!


----------



## Steff

Magic Muscles said:


> Hi Lizzie
> Thank goodness someone else finds their husband's don't understand diabetes. So greatful I have found this website. Great to speak to others who do understand and have some good suggestions to make things easier.
> 
> Been on Byetta now for nearly 9 months. Consultant in Scotland wanted to take me off it since my HbA1c was sticking at 11. Still Consultant in Bournemouth has given me a second chance and sayes if I can loose some weight and behave myself and take diabetes seriously then she will happily let me stay on it. Don't want to go back purely on insulin as was making me so very fat.
> 
> Still, of to the gym I go......wonder if I will manage to break any of the equipment!?!



Can i just ask everyone on byetta am i the youngest one on it?
The reason I ask is i dnt seem to be getting any nausea and or depression im wondering  if its down to my age.


----------



## Copepod

Hi Magic Muscles - I know you're joking about breaking things in gyms, and don't think you will, whatever weight, but for me, the fresh air and freedom from rules of running, including Parkruns, and orienteering are preferable to gym workouts and contracts.


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Can i just ask everyone on byetta am i the youngest one on it?
> The reason I ask is i dnt seem to be getting any nausea and or depression im wondering  if its down to my age.



Hi Steff i think most of you are younger then me,i will be 46 next birthday.
carole


----------



## Lizzie53

Right magic muscles. I'm going to tell it as I see it. I saw Byetta as my chance - possibly last chance to do something about myself before they put me on insulin. At the hospital the consultant looked me in the eye and told me that Byetta wasn't magic and would only work if I changed my life and made it work.
So from the word go I made massive changes to my diet, listened to everything the dietician told me (I wasn't told to eat lots of carbs), and followed all instructions from the nurse. The Byetta has taken away my appetite and so those changes were much easier to do but I still had to put my mind to it. 
I think I was depressed before the Byetta and certainly felt vile much of the time. Weight kept going up and Bg's were in double figures. So now I have made this work and I feel in control resulting in a much happier outlook. The swimming makes me feel good too. I enjoy the little bits of very nice food that I eat, it's considerably different and much less than I used to have. I am battling a bit with nausea now but it isn't going to get me down. Standing on the scales every few days, seeing my clothes get looser and getting those good BG readings keep me positive.
I do have a husband who doesn't really want to understand diabetes but now he sees me making an effort he is getting better.
I think you really must give yourself a good talking to as it is only you who can do this and you have been given a very good tool to help you.

The changes I made to food were:
Eat from a smaller plate.
No snacks apart from fruit.
No complicated foods with rich sauces.
A huge reduction in carbs and then only the slower release ones.
several meals of fish each week especially oily fish.
Not finishing everything on the plate if I don't want it.
Eating slowly.
Drinking more water with a meal.
I've also had to trust the Byetta to make me feel full about 30-60 minutes after eating. I don't always feel full during the meal. It comes later.

I hope you don't feel I'm being hard on you but it would be great if it worked for you. I think I'm getting the results I wanted because of the changes I made. I think the reduction in my BG's are more to do with what I eat than the Byetta although without it I just couldn't change what I was eating. Enjoy your gym and I hope this is the start of change for you too.

PS Steff and Carol you are both younger than me lol. I'm the wrong side of 50 and the right side of 60!!


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Right magic muscles. I'm going to tell it as I see it. I saw Byetta as my chance - possibly last chance to do something about myself before they put me on insulin. At the hospital the consultant looked me in the eye and told me that Byetta wasn't magic and would only work if I changed my life and made it work.
> So from the word go I made massive changes to my diet, listened to everything the dietician told me (I wasn't told to eat lots of carbs), and followed all instructions from the nurse. The Byetta has taken away my appetite and so those changes were much easier to do but I still had to put my mind to it.
> I think I was depressed before the Byetta and certainly felt vile much of the time. Weight kept going up and Bg's were in double figures. So now I have made this work and I feel in control resulting in a much happier outlook. The swimming makes me feel good too. I enjoy the little bits of very nice food that I eat, it's considerably different and much less than I used to have. I am battling a bit with nausea now but it isn't going to get me down. Standing on the scales every few days, seeing my clothes get looser and getting those good BG readings keep me positive.
> I do have a husband who doesn't really want to understand diabetes but now he sees me making an effort he is getting better.
> I think you really must give yourself a good talking to as it is only you who can do this and you have been given a very good tool to help you.
> 
> The changes I made to food were:
> Eat from a smaller plate.
> No snacks apart from fruit.
> No complicated foods with rich sauces.
> A huge reduction in carbs and then only the slower release ones.
> several meals of fish each week especially oily fish.
> Not finishing everything on the plate if I don't want it.
> Eating slowly.
> Drinking more water with a meal.
> I've also had to trust the Byetta to make me feel full about 30-60 minutes after eating. I don't always feel full during the meal. It comes later.
> 
> I hope you don't feel I'm being hard on you but it would be great if it worked for you. I think I'm getting the results I wanted because of the changes I made. I think the reduction in my BG's are more to do with what I eat than the Byetta although without it I just couldn't change what I was eating. Enjoy your gym and I hope this is the start of change for you too.
> 
> PS Steff and Carol you are both younger than me lol. I'm the wrong side of 50 and the right side of 60!!



Very well put Lizzie

Just slip in at under 60 ...until next birthday


----------



## Steff

Very well said Lizzie.



p.s age is only a number. x
had my first alarm call and managed to have my jab tonight wooohoo lol.


----------



## Magic Muscles

*Thanks to everyone...don't let me self indulge*

Hi, especially to Lizzie and thedame. Thank you... for kicking me in the bum. Life really isn't that bad. I think I just miss all the crisps and biscuits and cakes and....and... and....BUT now I have a chance at getting this right. With you guys around I won't be able to self indulge and start binging. 

So please if I start to feel sorry for myself ......Lizzie and thedame.....please kick me again....I really do thank you for your words.

Loving the Gym although I like the thought of orienteering.


----------



## Lizzie53

Yes just think of us waving our fingers at you and just do it! lol
Seriously though I'm sure you can have the odd thing just not all the time. When you start seeing those inches drop off you will feel so much happier.


----------



## Steff

Just a quick question,i cant remember whether we discussed this or not but does everyone inject in there tummy?I do my thigh now and it is unbelievable the size of some of the bruises its leaving, i was just wondering if i am doing something wrong


Cheers.


----------



## Lizzie53

I find tummy easiest but do thigh when I'm out and don't want to expose my vast (but shrinking) tum. I refuse to go into toilets and can usually manage a discreet jab up my skirt without anyone really noticing. I've had some tiny bruises just a couple of mm across but nothing huge.


----------



## thedame

Well done with the alarm Steffie!

I do get a small bruise sometimes both on stomach and thigh - nothing too huge though - let's see what our other friends' lizards do to them -maybe I just have too much fat to bruise! If it is just you Steffie, maybe a different needle is needed? I have 0.25 x 8mm ones.

Magic Muscles - please don't beat yourself up - I hate exercise and am slowly creeping along a treadmill we bought for home trying to get the confidence to stride out in public- at least you are going to the gym! A couple of weeks ago I got very stressed and ate a whole packet of cakes one day and a whole multi pack of penguins bought for my Hubby's lunch box the week before. We all fall from grace but we can't hide it for ever and have to come in here and confess


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Well done with the alarm Steffie!
> 
> I do get a small bruise sometimes both on stomach and thigh - nothing too huge though - let's see what our other friends' lizards do to them -maybe I just have too much fat to bruise! If it is just you Steffie, maybe a different needle is needed? I have 0.25 x 8mm ones.
> 
> Magic Muscles - please don't beat yourself up - I hate exercise and am slowly creeping along a treadmill we bought for home trying to get the confidence to stride out in public- at least you are going to the gym! A couple of weeks ago I got very stressed and ate a whole packet of cakes one day and a whole multi pack of penguins bought for my Hubby's lunch box the week before. We all fall from grace but we can't hide it for ever and have to come in here and confess



Yeah im on 6mm, shall see what thedame has to say. These are not small bruises  there like a small country size lol


----------



## Lizzie53

I have the 5mm needles. I agree about not beating yourself up. I'm most impressed with the gym activity. Not sure I could cope with that, we all have to find the thing we enjoy most. I really fancy salsa dancing but will wait until I'm a bit thinner for that. I've had a few treats but I think the secret is not to expect them every day.


----------



## caroleann

Ihave the 8mm needles and have had a couple of very small bruises, i have'nt had the courage to inject in the leg as yet,i have noticed that i can tend to be a bit clmsy when i inject some days and have bled a couple of times but nothing major, i wish you all the best with your exercise.
Carole


----------



## Magic Muscles

Hi Steffi, I inject in my tummy. Get some bruises but nothing too bad. Never had the courage to inject anywhere else. I have been told that it can be down to the size of your needles. Mine are 6mm.


----------



## Steff

I'm in shock this morning i took my jab and a load of blood started coming out when i took the needle out, i was near screaming pleased i was in the house on my own.Thats never happened before and it's making me scared to do my thigh again later


----------



## Lizzie53

Funny that, I used my thigh last night and for the first time it really hurt. Then it bled a little. I wouldn't say it was a load of blood though, just a smidge. It went back in the tum this morning with no probs.


----------



## Copepod

Just have a tissue or similar within grabbing reach and press on puncture hole, so blood doesn't get on your clothing. Perhaps 1 of my 5 or 6 insulin injections per day bleed - it's no big deal, unless you get a blood stain on a new white shirt or similar.


----------



## thedame

Oh dear Steffie - hope you are ok now? 

I have had the odd bleed - I just dab with a tissue - you can apply pressure with the back of a cold spoon if you have have one handy - it might help with the bruising. My DSN told me not to rub the site though. I have to say I get more pricks of blood from the thigh than the stomach - there is a considerable amount of flab to get through on my tum before anything like a capilliary could be found

Re your bruising, I can't find any definitive guide to this - just a lot of theory - one guy on a forum said it is a fact of life and to look on it as a "diabetic hickey" - very funny unless you want to wear a bikini!

Re the needle size- it seem like the gauge is determined by the type of medication - so I expect we on Byetta are all on the same - 0.25mm. The length seems to depend on your body fat- longer if you have more flesh but some stuff I read seemed to imply that this wasn't really necessary - the shorter needles can do the job just as well. However, they seem to suggest that with the shorter needles, you need to be sure to leave the needle in longer or risk not delivering the full dose. I wonder if you could try the longer ones and see if they make any difference- they can hurt a little more though, so some people say. Maybe you can get your DSN to give you a few to try out?


----------



## Steff

Thanks thedame i'm going to ring my DSN thursday anywats about a diffirent matter but i will mention this also.

I like the diabetic hickey idea lol.


----------



## Steff

Hi all hows everyone doing?

I have little or no issues with bleeds or bruising since speaking to my DSN last week so thankfully that is something.x


----------



## caroleann

Hi Steff glad to hear you are doing ok, sadly things have not been so good for me today i went to my mums to day and took my injection there and things went down hill very quickly for me did everything the same as normal and started to feel realy tired and sick so when i got home i had a little lie down but dident go to sleep ,i got up a little later and cooked dinner cos i was feeling much better i ate dinner quite a lot of dinner and i have done nothing but eat since,i dident have my dinnertime injection because the way i felt earlier,i had actualy decided to give the byetta up because i was feeling so ill,dont worry though i am going to stick with it im going to start a fresh from the morning.
sorry about all the doom and gloom.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi Steff glad to hear you are doing ok, sadly things have not been so good for me today i went to my mums to day and took my injection there and things went down hill very quickly for me did everything the same as normal and started to feel realy tired and sick so when i got home i had a little lie down but dident go to sleep ,i got up a little later and cooked dinner cos i was feeling much better i ate dinner quite a lot of dinner and i have done nothing but eat since,i dident have my dinnertime injection because the way i felt earlier,i had actualy decided to give the byetta up because i was feeling so ill,dont worry though i am going to stick with it im going to start a fresh from the morning.
> sorry about all the doom and gloom.
> Carole



Dont apologise hun , give your dsn a ring hun and have a chat with her see wat she says, certainly treat tomorrow as a new day hun xx I had similier at the start and about 4 weeks in i was thinking the same, my issues were not the tiredness etc etc but just the sheer anger of getting myself in this mess and having to inject, but i took a deep breathe had a good talking to myself and got on with it.x


----------



## Lizzie53

Glad you haven't had too much more bleeding Steffie. I'm sticking to the tum where possible as the only few times I have bled a little has been in my thigh.
Well I have had a vile week too. As soon as I started the 10 pen last weekend I felt dreadful - very sick and very, very tired and headachy. I haven't been to work all week. I work for an agency and just told them I couldn't do it, so no work no money. There was no way I could drag myself out of the chair and some days off the bed. However I felt pretty awful before Byetta so I was thinking do I feel vile and fat or vile and thinner. I was a bit weepy about it all too. Anyway I have made a remarkable recovery over the past couple of days and have felt quite chirpy and not so sick. I have reduced the time between jabs and eating and that seems to have helped. On the bright side I am still losing about 1 kg per week and my BG's are within NICE guide lines.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Glad you haven't had too much more bleeding Steffie. I'm sticking to the tum where possible as the only few times I have bled a little has been in my thigh.
> Well I have had a vile week too. As soon as I started the 10 pen last weekend I felt dreadful - very sick and very, very tired and headachy. I haven't been to work all week. I work for an agency and just told them I couldn't do it, so no work no money. There was no way I could drag myself out of the chair and some days off the bed. However I felt pretty awful before Byetta so I was thinking do I feel vile and fat or vile and thinner. I was a bit weepy about it all too. Anyway I have made a remarkable recovery over the past couple of days and have felt quite chirpy and not so sick. I have reduced the time between jabs and eating and that seems to have helped. On the bright side I am still losing about 1 kg per week and my BG's are within NICE guide lines.



Hi Lizzie sorry to hear you have been unwell, it seems that changing over to the 10 pen can reach bad with some of us, pleased to hear your losing the weight though thats what its all about good going hun xx PLeased you have made a recovery.x
I've gone back to my tummy now my left thigh is like a dartboard


----------



## Lizzie53

Are you left handed injecting in the left side? I can't seem to do it in the left side lol. Too much reaching over so my right side is the dart board.
Going back to the original post. I am in the process of ordering a polar bear cooler from America. I'm worrying about carting my unused Byetta off to Turkey in a couple of weeks. The pharmacist said it would be risky carrying it over 8c. They have banned Byetta in Turkey so there would be no way of replacing it there. Any way this particular company say it will stay between 2- 8c for quite some time and longer than any other I have found. Unfortunately they don't have a supplier in UK. I have also bought a thermometer so will report back once I have tried it.


----------



## Steff

Nice one Lizzie, yeah im left handed lol.


----------



## Steff

Hi Carole how are things going hun x


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Hi Carole how are things going hun x



Hi Steff hope you are well,im sorry to say i have not had avery good week i went off the rails a bit its been that nasty time with tummy cramps and aching back,the docs and chenist havent helped much either,iput my script in last thursday and only got it yesterday minus the test strips finaly got them this evening the doc tookthe script to chemist his self for hubby to pickup on way home from work,i was supposed to hve a toe nail removed yesterday but dident go cos i felt so bad, but to day i have felt better but i think thats because i simply refused to take my injections today i know im realy bad but i just wanted a normal day, i think i have learnt my lesson though numbers 16.4 so tomorrow im going to get stuck in again and stop being so stupid,i see dsn on friday so hopefully things will be better then.
God im looking foreward to coming on here and saying ive had a good day,i seem to be realy moany at he moment.


----------



## Lizzie53

Poor you Carolanne, you moan all you want. I think if you continue to get stomach and back aches you really should see your doctor soon or at the very least speak to one on the phone. I hope you feel better soon. I had a couple of weeks with nausea in the mornings, bad enough not to go to work and I felt exhausted. I'm starting to think that perhaps I wasn't eating enough carbs for breakfast. I have been reading that we need around 30g with each meal so I have changed breakfast to include the 30g and the nausea is much better. I hope you manage to get back on track very soon.


----------



## caroleann

Lizzie53 said:


> Poor you Carolanne, you moan all you want. I think if you continue to get stomach and back aches you really should see your doctor soon or at the very least speak to one on the phone. I hope you feel better soon. I had a couple of weeks with nausea in the mornings, bad enough not to go to work and I felt exhausted. I'm starting to think that perhaps I wasn't eating enough carbs for breakfast. I have been reading that we need around 30g with each meal so I have changed breakfast to include the 30g and the nausea is much better. I hope you manage to get back on track very soon.



Hi Lizzie sorry to hear you have ot been feeling to good,hope you have started to feel better,i know what caused the tummy and back aches, lets just say same problem every month


----------



## Steff

Sorry to hear that carole hun not nice for you xx

I've maoned my heart out on here so dont you apologise hun 


good luck for Friday


----------



## Lizzie53

So glad to hear your pains were not the Byetta, I just felt a bit alarmed for you. Hope all that hormonal stuff has settled a bit now. I'm fine now with no nausea so that's a relief. There were a few days when I questioned if I could keep going with it. I went out for dinner last night and you'd think I knew better by now but I had too much to eat. I fell off the wagon big time and I still feel stuffed now! Anyway I had a bit of excitement this morning. I have been having a wardrobe sort out. I'm one of those with a fat section, thin section and a few in between outfits. Well the fat section is mostly far too big now (whoopee) the in between section is very comfortable and the thin section is not far off fitting me. It has been a very long time since I could even bear to look at the thin section . I'm longing for the day that I'll look ok in jeans again. As long as I can keep the weight loss going I reckon it'll be about 8 weeks.


----------



## caroleann

I feel realy good to day,perhaps it has something to do with me losing a stone in 3 weeks


----------



## Northerner

caroleann said:


> I feel realy good to day,perhaps it has something to do with me losing a stone in 3 weeks



That's brilliant caroleann! Well done!


----------



## Lizzie53

Well done Caroleann, brilliant news.


----------



## Steff

Totally ace news hun, well done x


----------



## Steff

Morning all hows the byetta bunch doing lol?

Had an uneventful week, had my dad here and got a new pup so thought might of been lots of stress and the odd forgetting to take my jab, but the latest i took it was 10 minutes late so thats all good.
Had a nightmare Thursday mind you I was taking my injection and the pup jumped up nearly $?$?? myself lol.


----------



## thedame

Hi Steffie and fellow lizards

Been all over the place this past week or two - not with the meds- they are about the only stable thing in our lives right now!

Trying to get my FiL's bungalow sold (he is in a home due to dementia) and the people at the bottom of the chain keep messing us about, son got his results finally after doing his degree- first letter got lost in the post - he had a them off the web site but needed the paperwork for a job he applied for and then we had a nightmare weekend in the caravan

Son is now qualified with the result he needed to get the job which he starts on the 18th What a relief as jobs seem even scarcer right now - about time our family got some of the luck I reckon! Tom (son) now having a well deserved holiday before joining the wage slaves so I have the house to myself....temporarily as hubby retires at the end of the month.

Had a few ups and downs with comfort eating but bloods are fine even though the weight loss has been zero - better than plus though, so looking on the bright side. 

All in all pretty much average daily life for most people my age I reckon - don't have to cope with school hols do I, so can't complain!


----------



## Steff

hya dame nice to hear from you , good news about your son, sorry to hear your getting messed about hope it gets sorted.x


----------



## Lizzie53

Great news about your son dame. Well done to him. My eldest graduated last year and now has a fabby job in Switzerland although I miss him lots. Might need a little trip out in September lol. Other son has just finished his second year at uni. The good news is he is coming on holiday with us - yipeeee.

How long have you been a lizard dame? I'm sure you must have said before but being a blonde lizard I tend to forget stuff. Good news today no nausea at all so I have been nibbling a bit but only celery sticks and stuff. Just cooking a bit of chicken and some nice veggies.


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Great news about your son dame. Well done to him. My eldest graduated last year and now has a fabby job in Switzerland although I miss him lots. Might need a little trip out in September lol. Other son has just finished his second year at uni. The good news is he is coming on holiday with us - yipeeee.
> 
> How long have you been a lizard dame? I'm sure you must have said before but being a blonde lizard I tend to forget stuff. Good news today no nausea at all so I have been nibbling a bit but only celery sticks and stuff. Just cooking a bit of chicken and some nice veggies.



Thanks Lizzie and Steffie for the good wishes for Tom - Lizzie this job might be the making of me as he will have to spend weeks if not months at various client locations and I have been so used to him being around these past 3 years as he couldn't really afford to live out whiel he studied. I will really miss him but he allows me to ne lazy - now I will have to do a lot more for myself which will be good for me!

I have been ont he spit since last October. I got a lot of support from the "other" forum at the time but it is not nearly as personal as this one so I am so pleased a friend put me onto this one. There are not too many of us Byetta users out there yet and it is nice to know we can come on here and get a response more or less right away -Steffie is a real star isn't she - don't know how she finds the time!

Glad to hear the sickness is getting a bit better Lizzie- it does hang around a while with some people it seems - took me a few weeks to get it under control. The heat we had recently made it worse for me but then I am always uncomy in the humid weather so I can't blame it all on the meds!


----------



## Lizzie53

My youngest is a Tom too Dame. I really miss both of mine, eldest went off to uni 5 years ago and youngest 2 and I was such an empty nester and missed all the music and jolliness. Thank god for skype as I speak to them both a lot and they come home now and again.
I agree with you about the friendliness of this site and it is nice to pop in and out and have a chat, moan, celebration or whatever. 
Well the nausea has pretty much gone. It lasted about 2 weeks and at times it was so awful I questioned whether I could continue with it. I have felt so tired this week but as it turns out some of that was hormones (about time that all finished lol). 
I'm just about to try a different breakfast (steady I hear you say). Before Byetta I used to always have porridge but went off it and onto egg on toast or yog with fruit. So now I'm going to have it with a few raspberries and see what it does to the old BG's.
Have a great weekend all.


----------



## Steff

Hi Caroleann how are things hun now your nearly 3 weeks in ? x


----------



## Lizzie53

Yes how are all the Byetta babes doing? My sickness has passed. Had a drama with blood getting into the chamber of my pen making it unusable. I'm in Turkey so was in a panic. Anyway my son flew out the next day (he was coming anyway lol) with my new pen so now  I must be very careful how I do the jabs as there is no chance of replacing this one. I also got a really bad boil with swollen glands so am now taking penicillin. I was surprised at that as BG's are very good. Anyway penicillin has kicked in and I feel better now. I had a naughty ice cream today but didn't test my blood so no idea of what that did to me but I won't be having one every day.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Yes how are all the Byetta babes doing? My sickness has passed. Had a drama with blood getting into the chamber of my pen making it unusable. I'm in Turkey so was in a panic. Anyway my son flew out the next day (he was coming anyway lol) with my new pen so now  I must be very careful how I do the jabs as there is no chance of replacing this one. I also got a really bad boil with swollen glands so am now taking penicillin. I was surprised at that as BG's are very good. Anyway penicillin has kicked in and I feel better now. I had a naughty ice cream today but didn't test my blood so no idea of what that did to me but I won't be having one every day.



Hey i like it byetta babes that has to stick now, glad to hear your over the sickess and the penicillin is working both me and OH are allergic to that.Anyways nothing much to report my end put a new script in for pens and thats about all no startling news lol xx

Are you in turkey you say lizzie at the mo??


----------



## Lizzie53

Yes steffie I am here for a month and it is very hot. I am getting a lot of  swimming exercise and it's too hot to eat a lot. My BG is tending to be in the 5's most of the time which I'm delighted with. The infection doesn't seem to have affected it. The blood in the pen was a bit of a pain but luckily my son was bringing my new pen so I shall have to be very careful with this one now.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Yes steffie I am here for a month and it is very hot. I am getting a lot of  swimming exercise and it's too hot to eat a lot. My BG is tending to be in the 5's most of the time which I'm delighted with. The infection doesn't seem to have affected it. The blood in the pen was a bit of a pain but luckily my son was bringing my new pen so I shall have to be very careful with this one now.



thats brill Lizzie hun i had a spike tonight after eating a jacket potato got up to near 15 at one point but now down to 7 so thats good enough to go to bed on x


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Yes steffie I am here for a month and it is very hot. I am getting a lot of  swimming exercise and it's too hot to eat a lot. My BG is tending to be in the 5's most of the time which I'm delighted with. The infection doesn't seem to have affected it. The blood in the pen was a bit of a pain but luckily my son was bringing my new pen so I shall have to be very careful with this one now.



Hope you get over the infection soon and can enjoy your break - I had the same problem with one of my pens a few months back - felt really scared in case I was doing it wrong- never got any feedback from pharmacist. Sorry you had the hassle but glad to know it wan't just me!

So all you Byetta Babes out there- if you get some blood in your pen, do report it to your pharmacist and on here Do any of you insulin takers have this problem - I imagine the pens work in a similar way to our Byetta ones except that our dose is fixed?


----------



## Steff

Feeling awful at the minute sudden hot feeling and green spots in front of my eyes, god knows whats going on tested and 5.9 and i'm on my own abit scared to be truthful, if i waffle on in this thread tonight just ignore it its just panic talking, i've just had this sudden feeling that my byetta did not come out proper tonight


----------



## Steff

Well im over my lull now and im behaving myself knew it would not last long.Got to say i weighed myself last night and im pleased to say im still the same weight i was back in july so not lost but not gained anything either.x


----------



## caroleann

Hi hoope you are all well, im just popping on to say hi for now as ive not been on for a while and to let you know i am ok,i will come on tomorrow and give you a propp-er up date as i am absolutly shattered at the moment due to having our twin grandchildren visit for the day 15 months old and on the go constantly but real little sweethearts.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi hoope you are all well, im just popping on to say hi for now as ive not been on for a while and to let you know i am ok,i will come on tomorrow and give you a propp-er up date as i am absolutly shattered at the moment due to having our twin grandchildren visit for the day 15 months old and on the go constantly but real little sweethearts.



Ahh nice to hear from you Carole if feeling a little tired lol, shall wait for the update tomorrow and hope they dont ware you out to much more in the meatime hehe.xx


----------



## caroleann

Thanks steffie, they have gone home now so a nice relaxing evening for me i think,steve can get his self a bag of chips from chippy so i dont have to cook.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Thanks steffie, they have gone home now so a nice relaxing evening for me i think,steve can get his self a bag of chips from chippy so i dont have to cook.



ha wish i could send mine out, had to be really careful what i buy as he been in hospital this morning he has infection in tooth so all spicy food is out the window, so chilli was going to be on the menu but now its cottage pie x


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi BB's just noticed the posts and hope you are all ok. You sound a bit perkier steffie. I'm feeling very tired but probably more to do with the heat, around 38 most days. Don't need to rush around though. Weight is dropping fast now and another kg off today so thats 12 now, I feel even less like eating now it's so hot but I did have a magnum this afternoon. No idea what bg did and I'm having a break from testing although I did do it this am and it was 5.1 the lowest it has ever been on waking I think.


----------



## Northerner

Lizzie53 said:


> ...I feel even less like eating now it's so hot but I did have a magnum this afternoon. No idea what bg did and I'm having a break from testing although I did do it this am and it was 5.1 the lowest it has ever been on waking I think.



My jaw dropped when I read that Lizzie - I immediately thought you meant a magnum of champagne!


----------



## caroleann

Just a quick question, would you say going to bed when your bg is in the low 4s


----------



## thedame

Het Carole - you Ok m- you seemed to drop off in mid sentence?

Steffie, I missed you post about the injection the other day - just noticed what you said about not gettigna dose. Glad you brought this up and now an again, I find my pen gets stiff when I try to reset it after taking a dose - sometimes when I do get it to turn, quite a bit of Byetta comes out and I have felt I have not got the full dose but have been worried about taking another. Then I found that if the pen is stiff when dialling a dose, if I push the plunger in a bit and try again, the stiffness might go and the reset is fine. So I thought I had it cracked. Then the toher day when I reset it, it was stuff to turn againand so much came out, I decided it was a full dose so dosed again and felt no bad effects.

So I am a little confused here. I think that air might be getting trapped in the needle preventing it working correctly. I am posting this in the hope that some more experienced T1's might have had similar experiences?. I will raise this issue with my DSN who I am due to see in a few weeks- I have been injecting this med for long enough now to have got the hang of it...or so I thought...but you never know do you! I do try to keep the pen cool and tap out any little bubbles.


----------



## caroleann

Im fine thanks, think i meant to say is the low 4s to low to go to bed on.
Carole


----------



## Northerner

thedame said:


> ...So I am a little confused here. I think that air might be getting trapped in the needle preventing it working correctly. I am posting this in the hope that some more experienced T1's might have had similar experiences?. I will raise this issue with my DSN who I am due to see in a few weeks- I have been injecting this med for long enough now to have got the hang of it...or so I thought...but you never know do you! I do try to keep the pen cool and tap out any little bubbles.



A different pen, but I have had this sort of thing happen to me with my lantus pen - the much-vilified Autopen 24  Sometimes it doesn't deliver the full dose and you are left wondering how much of the dose you got. With this though, I don't think it has anything to do with air, but the delivery mechanism sticks.


----------



## Steff

yeah i worry sometimes the byetta aint going in me, but carole i never go that low so sorry i cant help from reading in here i would say maybe a big dangerous but like i said im not expert.


----------



## Lizzie53

Ha ha Northener now that would be nice - a drop of champagne. I haven't actually had any alcohol since starting Byetta. I assume we can have some. I'm usually ok with my glass of sparkling water but I would like a cocktail one night during my hols. The problem is they make them so strong here.
I have never been in the 4's when going to bed and for a while now it's been in the 5's but I'm having a bit of a break from testing at the mo. I usually manage a morning one and then forget the rest of the day! I'll get back into a routine soon.


----------



## Northerner

Good for you Lizzie, it sounds like you are having a nice relaxing time


----------



## Lizzie53

yep I'm so chilled I'm horizontal! lol. Just getting ready to go to the beach for the rest of the day and will collapse under a tree with my book and then I'll have a little swim with the fishes. I don't think there is a problem with me not testing much at the moment, I know what to eat now and BG's have been pretty much the same for a few weeks. I'm still not eating much, the sickness has more or less gone but I did have it a bit this morning. It has passed now though. What do folks think about the alcohol- am I gonna be ok with just 1 pina colada. I know it is packed with sugar and all kinds of evil things but I only want the one. My BG has been so good for 2 months now and I'm not eating many carbs at all.


----------



## Steff

Well I hope you all like the new title of the thread, a brill idea by carole and the kind gent by the name of northerner obligied by chaging the name sounds good when you see it in type haha xxx


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Well I hope you all like the new title of the thread, a brill idea by carole and the kind gent by the name of northerner obligied by chaging the name sounds good when you see it in type haha xxx



yes thankyou Northener you are a very very nice man


----------



## Steff

have you had your first dose of 5 yet carole?


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> have you had your first dose of 5 yet carloe?



Not yet steffie they want me to start afresh from tomorrow morning, i had a shock tonight the consultant i saw in ae satureday rang to see if i was ok.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Not yet steffie they want me to start afresh from tomorrow morning, i had a shock tonight the consultant i saw in ae satureday rang to see if i was ok.




 very good consultent , thumbs up x


----------



## caroleann

Well after my first day back on the 5 dose im feeling suppising well considering i dident have any for two days,i thought i would be as bad as i felt when i first started on the byetta,yes i am still feeling a bit tired and nausea but nothing compared to the last couple of weeks when i was on the 10 dose.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Well after my first day back on the 5 dose im feeling suppising well considering i dident have any for two days,i thought i would be as bad as i felt when i first started on the byetta,yes i am still feeling a bit tired and nausea but nothing compared to the last couple of weeks when i was on the 10 dose.



glad to hear it carole x

i accidnetly left my pen out for 2 hours, grr teaches me not to run to th e door and then forget to put it in fridge when im finished gabbing


----------



## caroleann

I keep my pen on top of toilet system ,coolest place in the house.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> I keep my pen on top of toilet system ,coolest place in the house.



I cant trust the nosey sods in this house to not open it though.


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Babes, I like the change of title.  Well I tried a little alcohol tonight, I had a party and the guests have just left (I am 2 hours ahead here). Well I only had a small glass of wine as some German friends brought a lot of very good wine with them. I haven't tested my blood so heaven knows what it is doing but I very quickly felt quite dizzy and odd. I didn't like the effect so probably wont have it again.
I'm off on a boat trip tomorrow so I really hope I don't feel sick before I even climb aboard.
I'm glad you are feeling a bit better Caroleann


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi Babes, I like the change of title.  Well I tried a little alcohol tonight, I had a party and the guests have just left (I am 2 hours ahead here). Well I only had a small glass of wine as some German friends brought a lot of very good wine with them. I haven't tested my blood so heaven knows what it is doing but I very quickly felt quite dizzy and odd. I didn't like the effect so probably wont have it again.
> I'm off on a boat trip tomorrow so I really hope I don't feel sick before I even climb aboard.
> I'm glad you are feeling a bit better Caroleann



Hi hun just typical huh, hope it does not spoil your day on the boat tomorrow , have a great time X


----------



## Steff

Grrr forgot to take my jab again ate my tea then an hour later realised id not took it, this is after iv'e even started marking it off on the calender with a little star to remind me ....


----------



## Lizzie53

Oh steffie you are soo forgetful. I always manage my jab but am hopeless with pills. Might have to get one of those little box things with the days in sections.
My nausea has subsided now and the boat trip was lovely. I think I have lost 14kg now but my scales got a bashing in my suitcase and I dont think they are working properly. Never mind, people I haven't seen for a year are commenting so thats good. I had a couple of glasses of wine last night then felt so very tired. I was at a friends house and had to crash out on a sunbed in the garden lol. Maybe I'll have to give alcohol a miss if it affects me like that. I should have tested but didn't.


----------



## thedame

Hi Gang

Thought I would just pop in to say hi Lot going on in my life these past weeks- Hubby retired on Friday, son, newly graduated started his shiny new job on Weds, been dealing with the sale of father-in-law's bungalow - my head is all over the place - my own life is very dull though...I am pleased to say!

Lizzie - sound slike you are having a ball I have one of those pills boxes - we have his and hers ones actually! I keep them on the kitchen counter right by where I serve up meals - I either put our doses on our trays or by our cutlery when setting the table- it is the only way I can remember! Always take my doses out with me when going out but invariably forget to take them -good job I don't go out much!

Steffie, what are we going to do with you! I keep my pen in the downstairs loo where it is cool so it reminds me to take my dose when I visit for a comfort break (as they say I the USA) before meals - being older and needing the loo does have it's advantages!!! Plus Hubby nags me! How did you get on with your hypers by the way?

Going away tomrrow for a few days so will catch up later in the week.


----------



## Steff

Hi gals,

Lizzie great that you had a good time nice to hear things are all good.

Dame I know im just to bad surely the alarm on my phone will remind me , well you would hope so .

Have a good time on your break enjoy yourself xX


----------



## Northerner

Interesting blog post about Victoza for you Byetta Babes:

http://www.diabetesmine.com/2010/08...ctory-over-diabetes-worth-the-discomfort.html


----------



## caroleann

Sorry to say im deserting the byetta babe's, after a lot of thought i have decided to come off the byetta as the side affects are just to bad for me,im a sleep 18 out of 24 hrs and the sickness is just beyond a joke.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Sorry to say im deserting the byetta babe's, after a lot of thought i have decided to come off the byetta as the side affects are just to bad for me,im a sleep 18 out of 24 hrs and the sickness is just beyond a joke.



Have you discussed it with your GP hun, might not be a good idea to just stop taking it ? x xxxx


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> Have you discussed it with your GP hun, might not be a good idea to just stop taking it ? x xxxx



Hi Steffie yep i have spoken to the doc and she is fine with me coming off it,she says its perfectly clear that it dosent siut me so now all i have got to do is ring dsn in the morning to see what the alternatives are.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi Steffie yep i have spoken to the doc and she is fine with me coming off it,she says its perfectly clear that it dosent siut me so now all i have got to do is ring dsn in the morning to see what the alternatives are.



oh dear, what about victoza? has that been mentioned.


----------



## sofaraway

You might be able to tolerate victoza better. Did the byetta work for you? if so probably worth giving victoza a go


----------



## caroleann

Just waiting for the DSN to ring and i am so not looking foreward to it because she seems to want to keep me on the byetta no matter how ill it makes me, will let you know the outcome later.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Just waiting for the DSN to ring and i am so not looking foreward to it because she seems to want to keep me on the byetta no matter how ill it makes me, will let you know the outcome later.
> Carole



I'm sure she is just trying to do her best for you, but on the other hand its your body and you are the one that has to suffer these effects, like i suggested mention victoza to her and she what she says x


----------



## Steff

hi carole how did it go?


----------



## bigpurpleduck

Just wanted to add - Frio all the way! Amazing things!

Em
x


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi all, how did you get on Caroleann? It's no good feeling vile all the time. I'm having another phase of 2 hours nausea in the morning so I'll have to change my beakfast again. Fruit and yog in tiny quantities seems to help me but I usually really fancy an egg in the morning. Today I slept from 9-11 and I hate having to do that. I'm on my holidays at the mo and I couldn't even face wallowing in the pool. Thing is after the 2 hours I'm fine again and because of the weight loss I'm reluctant to give it up. It is going to cause me problems when I get home and want to work again. I'm just hoping it passes soon. I had a couple of weeks like this before and then it passed. I shall be interested to hear what they suggest for you.


----------



## caroleann

Dsn has'nt got back to me yet but i think i have pretty much decided to stick with it but im going to change my routine,im going to take it in the morning when i get up and have breakfast this will be abg change for me as i have never eaten breakfast i am also going to try and eat more carbs ie bread potatoes pasta and rice i know this maybe frowed apon but for some reason when i started the injections i went off all those things so perhaps i was'nt having enough carbs i have also gone off cheese fish and eggs, has anyone else found they have gone off foods they normaly like since being on the byetta.
Thankyou for your concern.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Dsn has'nt got back to me yet but i think i have pretty much decided to stick with it but im going to change my routine,im going to take it in the morning when i get up and have breakfast this will be abg change for me as i have never eaten breakfast i am also going to try and eat more carbs ie bread potatoes pasta and rice i know this maybe frowed apon but for some reason when i started the injections i went off all those things so perhaps i was'nt having enough carbs i have also gone off cheese fish and eggs, has anyone else found they have gone off foods they normaly like since being on the byetta.
> Thankyou for your concern.



yeah i do that in the morning hun works good, I have found i dont like fish as much but still stick to my 2 oily fish a week,plus dont like butter for some unknown reason lol x

Good luck with it Carole we are here if you need us ok xxx


----------



## Lizzie53

Good luck Caroleann. I think it is a question of tinkering with our diets to get it right or at least tolerable. I read somewhere on another forum that you need some carbs to make the Byetta work which seeing as it springs into action when you eat carbs sounds about right. 30-40g per meal was quoted. I'm not sure I can always eat that many but I try. I have always had my Byetta before breakfast and while feeling nauseus have only waited 10 mins or so before eating. I think it helps a bit. Then there is the old ginger tea trick which I think also helps a bit. My favourite breakfast is egg and toast but I think sometimes it sits heavily on my stomach so for now I'm having fresh fruit and plain yogurt and only a little. I can have the egg and toast for lunch instead. I've had some days when I think 'I can't do this anymore' but it's really only 2 hours or less that I have a problem and the weight loss is so great (14kg since 9th June) and BG numbers so good that I'd be silly to give it up.

On a brighter note I am reaping the benefits of being a bit lighter - I can - get up off the floor without needing a crane, get up from chairs easily, roll over in bed without a struggle, walk further, do up the plane seat belt easily, get the aeroplane table right down, wear my smaller clothes, paint my own toenails lol.


----------



## caroleann

Well done on the weight loss lizzie,but sorry to hear nausea is spoiling your hols, i hope things pick up so you can enjoy the rest of your holiday.
At last a bit of good news on my front virtualy no nausea today still a bit tired but im working my way through it and i did find out i definatly cant have milkshake from mc d's 15.3 not good at all, so here comes the experiments to try and make a milkshake that wont affect me so badly.


----------



## Northerner

caroleann said:


> Well done on the weight loss lizzie,but sorry to hear nausea is spoiling your hols, i hope things pick up so you can enjoy the rest of your holiday.
> At last a bit of good news on my front virtualy no nausea today still a bit tired but im working my way through it and i did find out i definatly cant have milkshake from mc d's 15.3 not good at all, so here comes the experiments to try and make a milkshake that wont affect me so badly.



So pleased to hear that you are feeling a lot better today carole  Feeling nauseous all the time really is awful - I was like that for the first 6 months because of some or all of the pills I was put on. If it said 'may cause nausea' on the packet - I felt it!


----------



## Steff

great news Lizziee x


----------



## Lizzie53

Good news, no nausea today. Ditched the breakfast egg and had plain yog and some bits of fruit. Had the egg for lunch and some lamb cutlets and salad for dinner. Managed a mid morning swim so all is well.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Good news, no nausea today. Ditched the breakfast egg and had plain yog and some bits of fruit. Had the egg for lunch and some lamb cutlets and salad for dinner. Managed a mid morning swim so all is well.



mmmm lamb cutlets sounds yummy not  had lamb for ageessss,reckon i know whats for Sunday lunch now hehe

p.s great news r.e no nausea,im wondering if theres something wrong with me as i seem to have bypassed all the nausea lol x


----------



## Lizzie53

You are very lucky Steffie. I don't have it all the time and only for 2 hours in the morning but it is a nuisance. It is definately affected by what I eat for breakfast and I seem to be able to avoid it with something light such as the yog and fruit. The only thing is the egg with Burgen or similar doesn't affect BG much but the yog and fruit sends it a bit higher. I found berries were the best but can't get any in Turkey at the moment. It's all peaches, oranges, melons, grapes and stuff in season. I haven't touched most of them but have had half a peach for breakfast or half a banana which seems better than the citrus fruits for me. I'll be home next week though and can get back to a routine with the berrries again.
I can have my Hba1c next week, it'll be the first one since I started Byetta 3 months ago so I wonder what it'll be?


----------



## thedame

Hi Guys

Back from our little break - managed to get home just before the heavens opened 9am yesterday and brekkie in the open air in a big field watching rabbits graze- only sound was from the birds....absolute heaven

Nice to hear the positive news from you ladies but sorry to hear how poorly you have been Caroleann and to a lesser extent Lizzie - Lizzie, maybe the nausea will settle when you are back in our cooler climate? I suffered with nausea for months a few years back when I had an illness - it really drags you down doesn't it? There are onyl so many pills you can take so trying to combat it with other remedies is worth a go - especially with the Byetta if it is workign for you in all other respects, don't you think? Poor Caroleann though - you can only suffer it for so long beofre it affects your quality of life but heres hoping your new brekkie regime will help get you sorted.

I would really recommend that anyone who works should book off some time when starting on Byetta to allow things to settle - what with the sickness and the overwhelming tiredness, I just gave up trying to do anything much for the first few weeks- I am lucky to have retired so just pottered about sipping diet ginger ale, ginger tea, warm water with a spoon of cider vinegar, sucking on mints and sleeping it all off when I felt tired (that helped the sickness as lying down seemed to lessen it!). 

I think it is hard for the diabetes teams to give specific advice on how to work with the Byetta as it has not really been around long enough and they don't seem to always request feedback from users do they? My DSN gets chapter and verse from me whether she likes it or not! I wrote my experiences down over the first few weeks and it it did help to see how far I had come- small steps and all that.

The way I see it is that everyone benefits from user feedback with a new treatment and from our experiences on here all of us benefit from testign and experimenting with different foods as it is obvious that we are all different in what we can tolerate....this true is not just for Byetta Babes of course. So refusing testing strips for T2s is not helpful. I am lucky not to have these restricted but this is not always the case. I reckon that the more reluctant GPs might be persuaded to rethink their policies if they made a deal with their patients: they will supply the necessary strips for a trial period if the patient provides some sort of feedback on their experiences to show what works and doesn't work for them food wise etc. Fat chance of that though of course...but we can dream

PS Had fish and chips Tuesday night shhhhhhhhhh


----------



## Lizzie53

Good to see you back thedame. The rabbits sound wonderful.
I agree about booking some time off when starting out on Byetta. I am semi   retired and now do some part time work through an agency. I took 2 weeks off when I went onto the 10 dose and really needed it. Now the nausea is not as bad and I do seem to be able to control it to some extent by tinkering with my diet. The last 2 days with the yogurt breakfast have been fine and the rest of the day seems to be trouble free. The good results are worth any of these problems but I don't have severe problems like caroleann.
Luckily I am not restricted with strips. I was told to test 2 -4 times a day or more if I was concerned about hypos. Well I did test a lot in the Byetta early days but no matter when I did it the results were almost always in the NICE guidelines and I was able to identify some foods that were not such a good idea. I'm on holiday at the moment and I decided to reduce the testing for the duration. I do it every couple of days just to keep an eye on it and all seems ok. I haven't had any hypo symptoms. I'll get back into a routine next week and try to tighten up even further. The good thing with the Byetta is I don't yearn for food at all and now I eat to live rather than live to eat. So the little bits of food I do have can be the ones that are best for me rather than what I am craving for.
I am asked for feedback by my GP's nurse. She phones me now and again to see how I am doing. She wants to refer more of her patients for Byetta - there are only 2 of us at her surgery using it so she is interested to know all about it from me. The DSN at the hospital also seems interested and we had a training group of 6 of us. We were asked for feedback at the end of our first month. I am on a 3 month trial and go back to the consultant soon when she will decide if I can continue. She did say that as long as I have either lost weight or have a lower Hba1c i would be able to continue with it. Well the weight is down by quite a lot and from my testing I reckon the Hba1c will show a spectacular drop. So I think the old lizard spit will be part of my life for a while longer.


----------



## Steff

Nice to see you bac thedame sounds like u had wonderful time x


----------



## thedame

Lizzie- your team should be the model for all GPs 

Steffie -3 days away with sun and now look at what they are throwing at us- well down here in Essex anyway - it has rained almost solidly since we got back! We are off for our main holiday on the 7th Sept - Isle of Wight - I am digging out my thermals just in case


----------



## Steff

lol.

well the phone alarm is a godsend byetta taken 6 o clock on the dot now x


----------



## thedame

Steffie said:


> lol.
> 
> well the phone alarm is a godsend byetta taken 6 o clock on the dot now x



Now we have to find a way to make sure you have your phone switched on Steffie.......................ducks down behind sofa


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Now we have to find a way to make sure you have your phone switched on Steffie.......................ducks down behind sofa



*growls*

Its never off hun x x


----------



## Lizzie53

Thats great steffie just make sure you have it charged up lol.
Yeah I think I'm lucky with the team I have now thedame although it wasn't always the case I had a clueless first three years with useless advice and things just carried on getting worse when with what I know now I could have been helping myself. I really had no idea of the seriousness of the situation. Thankfully a new and very caring nurse took me on at the surgery and she has been fab. She was the one who suggested Byetta and pulled out all the plugs to get me the appointments as soon as she could. The one thing I have noticed at the hospital is that they are rushed off their feet and although they do seem to care they are pushed for time.


----------



## caroleann

Just want to share with you guys, I feel fantastic


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Just want to share with you guys, I feel fantastic



Carole im *SO* pleased its about time you started feeling better x x


----------



## caroleann

Thanks Steffie the tiredness as all but gone the nausea only lasts for an hour or two,the main lesson i have learnt is if you are feeling nausea dont try going to the butchers to buy something for dinner did this yesterday and ended up having left overs frome the fridge, i just could'nt cope with the sight of all that raw meat,today i waited until the nausea passed and i came away from the butchers with a bag full, i have started to buy my meals daily as it gives me extra exercise and just to give me that bit extra i do a full circle of the town.
Thankyou for the support it means a lot to me,everyone has been sonice and helpful.


----------



## thedame

That is such great news Caroleann- you had us all a bit worried there for a while

I went of steak and coffee for ages and it was one of my favourites - still enjoyed roast beef but not steak. Isn't that strange? I can eat it now but only a small piece - wish I had gone off bread too but lovin the coffee again  Like being pregnant but it doesn't take 9 months to get over it


----------



## Lizzie53

Great news Caroleann. I was worried we were going to lose a Babe and that would be so sad. I have gone off red meat most of the time but did manage some lamb cutlets the other night. I've had to ditch my breakfast egg for now due to nausea and it's much better with fruit and yog. Tonight we are off to a fish restaurant and I usually end up giving half of my meal to hubby but I will enjoy the half that is left.


----------



## Steff

Ive gone off steak and pork lol


----------



## caroleann

How are all the byetta babe's to day.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> How are all the byetta babe's to day.



Hiya Carole im good how are you ?


I had a anti diabetic night last night as we had mates from london visiting i had a ndian takeaway and a bit of alchol took my BS x 2 and was 7.9 and 6.8 so not to bad I was impressed, thats it for me now though back on track hehe xx


----------



## caroleann

Hi steffie sounds like you had a better night then me but glad you had a good evening, starting to wish i had a diabetic free night now,i made a stewcos steve was fishing thought it would be easier to work round two different meal times with out too much detail lets just say my poor little tummy can't tolerate stew now,still its a new day and another lesson learned.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi steffie sounds like you had a better night then me but glad you had a good evening, starting to wish i had a diabetic free night now,i made a stewcos steve was fishing thought it would be easier to work round two different meal times with out too much detail lets just say my poor little tummy can't tolerate stew now,still its a new day and another lesson learned.



thats it carole chin up,its trial and error all the way with the big D, x

hope you have a better day today


----------



## Lizzie53

I'm fine Caroleann and hope you are too. My digital scales have died and so have no idea how much I have lost so s*d it for now. I'll find out when I get home Tues night lol.
I had a bit of a fall off the wagon yesterday. I'm finding it tricky whilst on holiday as we eat late - around 8 or 9 pm and really I need to have my main meal about 6pm.  I've been getting round it by having something small and carby around 5pm usually a banana or similar. Then I have the jab around 7-ish and the meal within an hour and that seems to have been ok. Well yesterday we went to the beach and I forgot to put the piece of fruit in my bag. Hubby was enjoying the rays later in the afternoon and around 5.30 I started to feel a bit low but was 4.1 so I had one of those cooked sweetcorns they sell on the beach here and I thought that would do. Then we drove home and by the time we got here I felt starving and didn't test just scoffed a load of toast and jam and then a lump of cheese. By the time I had finished scoffing it was almost time for my jab and thought it was probably not a good idea to have it as you are not supposed to have it right after eating. So last night for the first time I skipped it. Of course by the time I got to the restaurant i was stuffed with bread so I didn't want much of my meal. Anyway BG has been ok today and I  have climbed aboard the waggon again. Off to the beach to catch those afternoon rays now and have a peach in the bag so hope I'll manage to behave myself today.


----------



## thedame

Hi Gang

Had a chinese last night - I tried to choose wisely! Had chop suey which is mostly ver isn't it Just had to have some chow mein though didn't I! Well it was Saturday! Left the really naughty bits to the boys though. They don't like my choices so I halve my portions and freeze for another day. The trick is to freeze it asap so you don't go back and pick!!!

Not feeling on top of the world today - not food related - think I may be starting cold. Now here's a thing. I am not one for a lot of colds and now I am in better control, I don't seem to get them (famous last words...I hope not) but I get symptoms and then a day two alter I feel better again without the stuffed up, can't taste, sore thoat stuff. I expect is just me - can't give Byetta all the credit

Never mind - Hubby is fussing round me like he does- I can't complain! Have a nice BH everyone out there in diabetic land


----------



## Lizzie53

Hope your cold came to nothing thedame. I think they are so much worse in the summer. I didn't make a pig's ear of things today and stayed firmly on the waggon. We stayed late at the beach - until 7pm but I took fruit with me and some nuts, also had coffee and made it through until 9pm when we ate. I shall be home on Tuesday and back into a normal routine for a while which makes it all so much easier. Enjoy the BH everyone.


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Hope your cold came to nothing thedame. I think they are so much worse in the summer. I didn't make a pig's ear of things today and stayed firmly on the waggon. We stayed late at the beach - until 7pm but I took fruit with me and some nuts, also had coffee and made it through until 9pm when we ate. I shall be home on Tuesday and back into a normal routine for a while which makes it all so much easier. Enjoy the BH everyone.



Well would you believe it - had a good night's sleep for once and no cold! Must be stress and lack of sleep that made me feel so rotten?

Poor you Lizzie- having such a great holiday but almost wishing it over so you can get back into a routine! I bet you wish you could stay for ever! Having done so well under such tempting conditions, just think what you will be like when you get back though

How do the rest of you cope on holiday? We got a caravan last year and I made myself a promise that I would not treat the weekends away, which we aim to grab every other weekend in the season, into an eating fest! When I was on my  annual holidays I used to cut myself some slack and have the odd treat (oh how I longed for that plate full of freshly cooked fish and chips by the sea and not some rotten dried up fish with fat soaked batter we get round here!).

So far I am just about keeping my head above water. I take extra fruit and sometimes nuts for a treat but find myself grabbing the odd scone after a morning out pottering. So far, the extra exercise involved when touring (ie not sitting in front of a computer all day) balances any extra treats. I am not very active - one of those catch 22 situtations - I need to exercise to get the weight shifting but am limited in what I can do.

I have a treadmill at home which I hate but force myslef to use for a limited time each day - it has made a huge difference to my hips and legs so I should try to do more but when we are away, I need to get out and walk more cos we sure can't take it with us! Off to the Isle of Wight next week- will have to do lots of power walks round the van to offset the wondeful ice creams we found at a craft place and the scones served at a little hidden away cafe on a tiny pier. Heaven ...or diabetic hell?


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi thedame - Isle of Wight - sounds lovely and all those tea rooms lol. Well almost the end of my holiday and I am kind of ready to go home and get into a routine. I've had a month here and always find that just about enough. Three weeks is nice but always a bit too short and 5 weeks is too much. Can't do more than that without hunting round for a different insurer and now I have the extra hassle of carting an extra Byetta pen over in conditions of 2-8C. Not an easy task. So fortunately 30 days is enough for me. I'm back again in a few weeks for a wedding so that'll be fun but only 10 days that time. So my routine will be upset again lol. In fact I was only all over the place with food on one day and it was because I was not organised enough. I failed to put that bit of fruit and a few nuts in my bag so it has taught me a lesson. It has been a very much hotter summer than usual here so the walking I usually do has been restricted and we hired a car for the entire time. I have swum at least twice a day though. It has been easy to eat the small portions because of the lizard spit and the heat. My digital scales got a bashing in my luggage and don't work properly so although my cossies and skirts are looser I don't know how much weight I have lost. I have succomed to a few ice creams but BG was not too bad with them. I had to steer clear of citrus fruit, melon and grapes though and they appear on the table after almost every meal. Anyway I'm ready to go home tomorrow and face being a bit cold and then I'll be working from about Friday. Nausea at the moment has gone so I hope it continues that way or work will be grizzly.


----------



## Steff

had enough today, im in a shocking mood, and i.ve just thrown all my dinner at the dog


----------



## caroleann

Hi steffie sorry to hear your not having a good day but on a lighter note did the dog enjoy the dinner.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi steffie sorry to hear your not having a good day but on a lighter note did the dog enjoy the dinner.



lolololololol carole i like that,yes he left a clean plate


----------



## caroleann

Better let you know im not realy a byetta babe anymore last night was the last straw with me, i came down in the night feeling realy ill my loos down stairs ended up collapsing on the hall floor sweating like a mad man in agony with my stomach was'nt in a position to get help but my little dog stayed with me so when i managed to get up i layed on the sofa and fell asleep. so im off to docs tomorrow and demand they either sought me out some new pils or put me on insulin.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Better let you know im not realy a byetta babe anymore last night was the last straw with me, i came down in the night feeling realy ill my loos down stairs ended up collapsing on the hall floor sweating like a mad man in agony with my stomach was'nt in a position to get help but my little dog stayed with me so when i managed to get up i layed on the sofa and fell asleep. so im off to docs tomorrow and demand they either sought me out some new pils or put me on insulin.



awwe no carole so sorry to hear that, it is obvious the byetta just does not suit, i quite agree make your feelings very clear hun, good luck xxx


----------



## Lizzie53

Aww caroleann so sorry to hear that. It's no good if it's making you that ill. You'll always be a babe though and I hope they get you something to make you feel good soon.


----------



## caroleann

Thanks guys,maybe i can be your little mascot i say little im 5ft, what  you think


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Thanks guys,maybe i can be your little mascot i say little im 5ft, what  you think



hehe nooo you have been with us for soo long you cant be demoted to mascot.


----------



## thedame

Oh Caroleann - that is such sad news  I do hope you get sorted really soon. As far as being  B Babe is concerned, you only have to have taken it to qualify. I was a Girl Guide - still am in theory but I don't sit crossed legged on the floor and sing any more - well not sober anyway and not on the floor - huh, I would never get up again...but you see my point

Keep us posted- it is important for others to realise that all this raving about this stuff doesn't mean it is for everyone. Big hugs xxx


----------



## caroleann

Spoke to DSN this morning after telling her what happend she told me to stop takinf for a week and then start taking one 5 dose daily see how i go with that, she has said there is one more pil i can try or insulin but what to do im thinking blow it all and going straight on to the insulin cos the way things are going im going to end up on at some point anyway so i just as well do it now that i have got used to injecting,all i know is i want my life back,i can honestly say whilst taking the byetta i did'nt have a life just been like a zombie most of the time.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Spoke to DSN this morning after telling her what happend she told me to stop takinf for a week and then start taking one 5 dose daily see how i go with that, she has said there is one more pil i can try or insulin but what to do im thinking blow it all and going straight on to the insulin cos the way things are going im going to end up on at some point anyway so i just as well do it now that i have got used to injecting,all i know is i want my life back,i can honestly say whilst taking the byetta i did'nt have a life just been like a zombie most of the time.



Hi hun hope this works taken a week off might change things x x good luck


----------



## Lizzie53

Hope you are feeling a bit better today Caroleann.
I have a new problem today. My new pen is due on 6th September but today noticed a few floaty bits in my pen. So anyway nipped down docs and the receptionist said she can get me a new prescription for 6pm and the pharamcist said he'll get the pen for 10.30 tomorrow. So I suppose I had better not use it tonight. This is the second pen I have had problems with, the other had blood in it. Has anyone else had these kind of problems?


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Hope you are feeling a bit better today Caroleann.
> I have a new problem today. My new pen is due on 6th September but today noticed a few floaty bits in my pen. So anyway nipped down docs and the receptionist said she can get me a new prescription for 6pm and the pharamcist said he'll get the pen for 10.30 tomorrow. So I suppose I had better not use it tonight. This is the second pen I have had problems with, the other had blood in it. Has anyone else had these kind of problems?



Hi Lizzie sorry hun ive never had any bother like that.x


----------



## Lizzie53

Well I know how it feels to be hungry again. Can't stop eating. Anyway just off to get my prescription and will get the new lizard spit tomorrow. Course I have the sharps box collectors coming in the morning sometime between 8 - 13.00 so can't get to the chemist until they come. Apparently you have to be in to hand it over. I can see that in future I'll have to hoard a few boxes as I can't keep taking a morning off work to hand them over. They said they can collect from my place of work but I never know where I'll be working from one day to the next.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Well I know how it feels to be hungry again. Can't stop eating. Anyway just off to get my prescription and will get the new lizard spit tomorrow. Course I have the sharps box collectors coming in the morning sometime between 8 - 13.00 so can't get to the chemist until they come. Apparently you have to be in to hand it over. I can see that in future I'll have to hoard a few boxes as I can't keep taking a morning off work to hand them over. They said they can collect from my place of work but I never know where I'll be working from one day to the next.



nightmare hun, i am quite surprised you get that good a service lol i had to beg them to take my sharps box at the surgery it was a right palava.


----------



## caroleann

Hi ya its me again,hope you are all well and steffie i do hope you have'nt been over feeding that dog of yours  Lizzie i did have a problem with blood in one of my pens.
I thought i would let you all know its official im no longer on the byetta and with luck i will know either tomorrow or friday if im going on insulin which if the consultant says yes it should start next week, must admit im quite nervous about it but im adament im not going back on the byetta and im not going shove more pils down my throat just to find out they are not working and end up on insulin anyway,i know i have a lot of hard work a head of me but but im not going to let this thing get the better of me.
Carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi ya its me again,hope you are all well and steffie i do hope you have'nt been over feeding that dog of yours  Lizzie i did have a problem with blood in one of my pens.
> I thought i would let you all know its official im no longer on the byetta and with luck i will know either tomorrow or friday if im going on insulin which if the consultant says yes it should start next week, must admit im quite nervous about it but im adament im not going back on the byetta and im not going shove more pils down my throat just to find out they are not working and end up on insulin anyway,i know i have a lot of hard work a head of me but but im not going to let this thing get the better of me.
> Carole



Aww Carole i do hope you will still pop in here though whatever happens, fingers crossed you get to know ASAP.

P.s the dog has had little from me today lol x


----------



## caroleann

Thanks steffie,i will always pop in even if its just to make sure your not slacking on your jabs. your lucky you only have one dog i have six imagine throwing 6 dinners lol.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Thanks steffie,i will always pop in even if its just to make sure your not slacking on your jabs. your lucky you only have one dog i have six imagine throwing 6 dinners lol.



least u have had some practice with the jabs as well carole hun x

aww poor u x


----------



## Andy HB

caroleann,

Can you put me out of my 'misery'?

I can't work out what your avatar is and I've been squinting at it for minutes!!

Andy


----------



## caroleann

Hi Andy yep that is one of my dogs his name is Harley he is a shih tzu the chubby little thing squating behind him is me,we did go on to win first place in that class.


----------



## Andy HB

caroleann said:


> Hi Andy yep that is one of my dogs his name is Harley he is a shih tzu the chubby little thing squating behind him is me,we did go on to win first place in that class.



Aha got it, I think, Harley is looking to the left (i.e. your right in the picture)?

By the way, this is more a comment on my eyesight than the quality of the picture! 

Andy 

p.s. And I very rudely ignored your mention of 1st Prize! Well done, Harley!!. I think that he looks like a lovely dog (if only I could see him!)


----------



## caroleann

Lol i would'nt blame you if you did hubby is useless at taking photo's and that one i did'nt know he was taking .


----------



## thedame

Hi Guys

I go out for the day and miss all the banter! Carolann - best of luck with the insulin- sometimes you juat have to go with what your body tells you don't you. You gave it your best shot - time to move on and upwards to feeling a lot better eh? 

Lizzie, yes, me too- re the blood in the syringe thing. The pharmacist was not really all that interested and like you I had to get another script- luckily I get 2 at a time so had a spare. I insisted he sent the dodgy pen back to the manufacturer but not had any feedback. Given that there are only a few of us posting on Byetta and 3 of us have had this problem, it is a little worrying, especially as we might have to miss several doses while a new pen is ordered - my local pharmacy won't stock Byetta so you can't just walk in and get a replacement. 

Also I have had problems with pens "sticking" and not delivering the full dose. This has only been in the past few months - I didn't like to take a second dose when I wasn't sure how much I had got from the first one but the other week it sprayed out a lot when I reset the pen so I took a second dose and had no problem. Then on Tuesday the pen stuck again - by this I mean it it is hard to turn the end to reset it after dosing and when it does move, a big drop appears as if there is air or something caught in the mechanism. So I took a chance and took a second dose even though this time it was a big blob rather than a spray. Anyway, I felt a bit odd after dinner and my BS levels were quite low for me - 2 hours after the meal I was 4.5 when I would normally expect to be 6+ after a big meal. I had a teacake and the level went up to 4.8 after an hour and I went to sleep then and no further probs but it did worry me.

I am seeing my DSN tomorrow for a checkup so will have a chat to her about this - any advice from insuling users would be appreciated- not sure how similar the pen mechanism is with you?


----------



## Lizzie53

This blood in the pen lark is going to be a major concern for me I think. I travel frequently. I am often away for a few days but sometimes for as long as a month. So I could be left without a pen for considerable amounts of time. I had the problem while I was away for a month but luckily my son was flying out to join me and was able to bring a new pen with him. Taking a spare one is a problem as keeping an unused one at 2-8 C is not easy. The Frio bags keep them around the 25C which is ok for an in use pen. I suppose I could have 2 in use ones at the same time but that would be costly for the NHS and I wonder if anyone would be annoyed.
I have the new prescription and see the doc has put 2 on it so maybe she thinks it a good idea for me to have a spare. The pharmacist has one coming at 10.30 am so today I shall do the jab before lunch and then hopefully be back in routine.
I don't think I have had a problem with it delivering the dose and I always hold the plunger in until it clicks. I think the problem with blood getting into the chamber happens when I inject into the thigh as that is sometimes more painful and sometimes bleeds. I'll have to stick to the tum I think but I am not so good at doing that discreetly while out.
Anyway on a cheerful note I have had so many people this week do a double take and tell me I look thinner. I have promised hubby and a group of friends that I will try hard to shift another couple of stone and begin a programme of workouts in the gym so that I can ski next February. So I have time to do it. I used to ski regularly until 4 years ago and the last time I did it I felt so unfit that I hung up my skis and said 'that's it - never again'. I think that even if all I can manage is an hour or 2 a day on blue runs it will be an acheivement. So fingers x for me. I swim several times a week but from this week I shall add a session in the gym and increase it gradually to 4 times a week as we get nearer to February. Wish me luck and even if I don't get to ski I will be fitter.


----------



## thedame

Lizzie you are a real inspiration with your lust for life and positive attitude. You and Steffie make me feel young again 

Re the pens and you travels - well I can't see the NHS agreeing to you running 2 pens at a time - they would go into meltdown with the cost!!! When you travel is there not somewhere you could store the spare pen -hotel may have a fridge (not in the kitchen of course) or something- you don't need to take 2 out with you if you know there is one close in an emergency. If not how about a local pharmacy or medical centre- not sure what sort of travelling you do so this may not be convenient but, if it could be arranged, you GP might give you a letter explaining the need for you to have a spare unopened pen somewhere in an emergency. After all there must be lots of insulin users around the world who need similar facilities.

I will probaly write to eLilly when I have spoken to my DSN and possibly the Byetta expert DSN who is at our local hospital but who advises GPS on this newish treatment- I am a firm believer in feedback and I do like a good moan too so I will keep you posted...expected it to take some time though! The sticking I can deal with - missing the odd dose can't be helped but the blood thing could be a disaster if you can't get a new pen for days.

As a frequent traveller ( being nosey, is this for your job?) can one get a UK issued prescription filled abroad easily - suppose this depends on the country> I was wondering if people - T1's for example, carry a prescription when they travel for long periods rather than taking a huge supply of drugs?

Now what we need is small portable solar powered medicine fridge..or maybe that Trevor Bayliss could invent a clockwork one like the radios and stuff he does! Come on you engineering people!


----------



## thedame

http://www.insulincase.com/Medi-Fridge-IIx-Micro-Refrigerator-P302.aspx

Wow that was quick!  Now need a UK source!


----------



## Lizzie53

Thanks thedame. I saw that one but it needs an electric supply and would be ok plugged into a car. I spent hours/days hunting for something suitable and the best thing I have found is a Polar Bear cooler form USA and there is no supplier in UK. It promises to keep Byetta at a temperature of 2-8C for 12 hours which may just be enough for me. Nothing else I have found will do the job for mnore than 8 hours apart from that fridge which needs to be plugged in. I need to get one of these Polar Bear things sent to me.
I am now semi retired and travel for pleasure. I have a second home in Turkey in a fairly remote area and go as often as possible. It is a 12- 14 hour journey, the last bit often in temperatures of over 35C by bus. You cannot get Byetta in Turkey although they do sell Victoza. I often visit my son in Switzerland although that is usually just long weekends and friends in Italy and Germany but again short visits. So if the pen failed there it would only mean a break of a few days. We also go to Egypt for the odd week and anywhere else that takes our fancy lol. I have always had 'ants in my pants' and am getting worse as I get older. I am coming to realise that there are no pockets in shrouds and I need to pack it all in before it's too late. Anyway I have 3 weeks in UK now before my next trip to Turkey and work for an agency so must get a few days done to top up the bank balance. I have also booked my Hba1c and hope to have a clinic appointment soon.
I do have a lust for life thedame and will not let my health stop me for now. I used to be quite a fit person until the diabetes got me and so now I have a second chance with this lizard spit stuff I will make the most of it. I am not so young - 57 but reckon I'm about 27 in my head lol. The wish to ski again may not be possible and I don't want to end up with anything broken so we'll see how I go in the gym. I managed to ski for over 30 years without any serious injuries so I don't want to break anything now. Getting fitter again though will only be beneficial even if I don't venture onto those skis again. 
Right it's gone 10.00 and the chemist said he would have my new lizard spit by 10.30 so will head off soon and then go for my swim.


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Thanks thedame. I saw that one but it needs an electric supply and would be ok plugged into a car. I spent hours/days hunting for something suitable and the best thing I have found is a Polar Bear cooler form USA and there is no supplier in UK. It promises to keep Byetta at a temperature of 2-8C for 12 hours which may just be enough for me. Nothing else I have found will do the job for mnore than 8 hours apart from that fridge which needs to be plugged in. I need to get one of these Polar Bear things sent to me.
> I am now semi retired and travel for pleasure. I have a second home in Turkey in a fairly remote area and go as often as possible. It is a 12- 14 hour journey, the last bit often in temperatures of over 35C by bus. You cannot get Byetta in Turkey although they do sell Victoza. I often visit my son in Switzerland although that is usually just long weekends and friends in Italy and Germany but again short visits. So if the pen failed there it would only mean a break of a few days. We also go to Egypt for the odd week and anywhere else that takes our fancy lol. I have always had 'ants in my pants' and am getting worse as I get older. I am coming to realise that there are no pockets in shrouds and I need to pack it all in before it's too late. Anyway I have 3 weeks in UK now before my next trip to Turkey and work for an agency so must get a few days done to top up the bank balance. I have also booked my Hba1c and hope to have a clinic appointment soon.
> I do have a lust for life thedame and will not let my health stop me for now. I used to be quite a fit person until the diabetes got me and so now I have a second chance with this lizard spit stuff I will make the most of it. I am not so young - 57 but reckon I'm about 27 in my head lol. The wish to ski again may not be possible and I don't want to end up with anything broken so we'll see how I go in the gym. I managed to ski for over 30 years without any serious injuries so I don't want to break anything now. Getting fitter again though will only be beneficial even if I don't venture onto those skis again.
> Right it's gone 10.00 and the chemist said he would have my new lizard spit by 10.30 so will head off soon and then go for my swim.



OMG Lizzie- I had to lie down in a dark room and rest after all that- I am only 2 years your senior - talk about young at hear! You go for it girl - make those memories while you can Not that you seem to need it - talking as if Switzerland was just round the corner- you crack me up - but that fridge things does say "12V DC power cord for auto socket and a 110/240V AC worldwide power cord for domestic sockets" so I assumed it would work in car- I can see you getting on the bus and plugging it in by the driver's seat! Had a quick google and saw similar in th UK at over ?200 - are they having a laugh!

Anyway, hope you got your spit OK-now go do some work so we can get you away again and inspire the rest of us soon with your tales of travel We are off to the Isle of Wight next week - that is "foreign" enough for me just right now


----------



## Lizzie53

Haha well I have to think like that about Switzerland as my son lives there and would miss him so much if I thought it was hard to get there. What with airmiles on my Tesco shopping providing a couple of flights a year and Easyjet, Ryanair etc I can get out there quite often, the flight is only an hour or so and the public transport system to where he lives forn the airport is fantastic and only 20 minutes. It is a very beautiful place and he wanted to live there after his first visit while at uni. I have a feeling that he'll never want to return to UK. He is a linguist with 3 languges so it makes working in europe easy for him.
Thedame at 59 you are just a spring chicken!


----------



## caroleann

Hope you girls are all well.


----------



## thedame

caroleann said:


> Hope you girls are all well.



Hi Carole 

I am well thaks for asking - how are you though after all the upset with your meds?

Had my regualr checkup with my DSN on Friday - she did the usual checks and told me that she was so pleased with my BS levels that I was unlikely to see the visitng consultant again for some time. Not sure if this is good or bad! I will take it a good. 

Plan now is to continue to refine my food types until I feel confident I know what suits me carb wise and then focus on shifting some weight. Not lost much these past months but I have put none on which is a big thing for me, especially with my history and the fact that I can eat well and with some treats means I can finally feel in control

Re the faults with the Byetta pens, I reported the blood in the syringe which several of us have reported- she is very worried abotu this and has noted it down to discuss furhter with her colleagues. She tried to replicate the occasional sticking pen which I have reported but understands that this is too random to pin down. I am going to write to Lillys about the blood and the sticking when I come back from my holiday ina couple of weeks so if any of you other Byetta users have had the same probs and want to let me know, I can tell them some numbers. I will scan this thread on my return or you can PM me. Thanks.

I will pop in today and tomorrow but might not get to chat for a couple of weeks. We are taking our caravan to our favourite destination - Isle of Wight - first time with the van so very excited. I have a mobile dongle and netbook but the signal out there can vary and I can't be sure to get a good signal in the middle of a farm!

You all take care and no throwign wild parties whiel I am away! Carole- hope to hear that you are nicely settled on your insulin when I get back! x


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Lesley, nice to hear all your news and have a fab time on the Isle of Wight. I haven't been there since the 1970 pop festival lol. I'm due a hospital appointment this month so will bring up the blood in the pen problem too. I have been using The Spit for 3 months and have had blood in 2 pens. I am now so careful when injecting but I was pretty much careful before. I have noticed I bruise much more than I used to with the jabs. I'm avoiding the thigh as that is when both blood problems happened.
I'm pleased with weight loss and BG but there is always room for improvement so like you I am going to concentrate on fine tuning my diet. I had a month long holiday which was all lovely but of course I eased up a bit and had a few ice creams and some very delicious fruits which may not have been so wise. I also found eating later at night a bit of a problem as I needed a more substantial snack during the afternoon. When I can eat at 6.00pm I don't need much in the afternoon and I don't need to snack in the evening either. So it's much better for the weight loss.  I'm having the Hba1c tomorrow so fingers x it will be good and they have thrown in a whole host of other blood tests.
Anyway have a brill time thedame and I hope the sun shines for you.


----------



## thedame

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi Lesley, nice to hear all your news and have a fab time on the Isle of Wight. I haven't been there since the 1970 pop festival lol. I'm due a hospital appointment this month so will bring up the blood in the pen problem too. I have been using The Spit for 3 months and have had blood in 2 pens. I am now so careful when injecting but I was pretty much careful before. I have noticed I bruise much more than I used to with the jabs. I'm avoiding the thigh as that is when both blood problems happened.
> I'm pleased with weight loss and BG but there is always room for improvement so like you I am going to concentrate on fine tuning my diet. I had a month long holiday which was all lovely but of course I eased up a bit and had a few ice creams and some very delicious fruits which may not have been so wise. I also found eating later at night a bit of a problem as I needed a more substantial snack during the afternoon. When I can eat at 6.00pm I don't need much in the afternoon and I don't need to snack in the evening either. So it's much better for the weight loss.  I'm having the Hba1c tomorrow so fingers x it will be good and they have thrown in a whole host of other blood tests.
> Anyway have a brill time thedame and I hope the sun shines for you.



Thanks Lizzie and good luck with the appointment


----------



## Lizzie53

Right Oh Hba1c tomorrow. Any bets on what it'll be?
Last one was last October and was an awful 10.5, prior to that it was always around 6.5 but for the last 3 months I have been taking Byetta and no matter when I have tested (apart from the flapjack and we wont talk about that lol) it has always been within NICE guidelines. Always between 6.2 - 6.9 on waking and usually in the 4's and 5's before meals. I've not managed to catch it over 8 after meals and I only had the one flapjack once lol.  I've had a few days when there have been problems with my pen so BG's went up a bit and I had a week with an infection but BG's seemed to be ok. I'm hoping for 6.5 but will be thrilled if it is lower. What do you all reckon on?


----------



## Steff

Hi gals just catching up have a good time dame.had my appt this morning with gp unfortunetly i have significant neuropathy i failed all her foot tests boo hoo, on a brighter note i lost a further 9lb since june .
Lizzie i will guess at 6. 8 for your hbA


----------



## Lizzie53

Steffie said:


> Hi gals just catching up have a good time dame.had my appt this morning with gp unfortunetly i have significant neuropathy i failed all her foot tests boo hoo, on a brighter note i lost a further 9lb since june .
> Lizzie i will guess at 6. 8 for your hbA



Ooh Steffie good news about the 9lb - well done. Sorry about the feet though, mine are a bit dodgy too.
I am chirpy this afternoon though because my Hba1c is ---- 6.00. The last test was 10.5 and this has happened from 3 months of Byetta along with 2.5 stone weight loss. Of course my diet has changed dramatically and I am no longer a carb junkie but I couldn't have done it without the Byetta taking my appetite away. So now my aim is to tinker a little more with my diet and get it down to 5 something. Maybe I need to work on the exercise too although I am not a complete couch potato any more lol.


----------



## Steff

Hey Lizzie just mailed you lol, brill news on the hbA hope mine is such a great loss on Monday, your going great guns with everything hun, you seem the type who puts thee heart and soul into things in your life so no doubt the weight will drop off with the exercise xx


----------



## Lizzie53

Thanks Steffie, it has cheered me up no end. I was hoping for 6 ish but was ready for a bit higher. I shall be thinking about you on Monday.
Well I think I have been partly lucky with the old lizard spit as I know it doesn't suit everyone but I also looked upon it as being possibly my last chance to get it right and so tried very very hard to make it suit me. I tinkered with my diet big time and did loads of research in order to get it right. There were bouts of nausea when I wondered how long I could cope with it but I seem to have come out the other side. I was also very very desperate to lose weight. If I don't lose any more it isn't the end of the world but I could do with another couple of stone off really so will try hard.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Thanks Steffie, it has cheered me up no end. I was hoping for 6 ish but was ready for a bit higher. I shall be thinking about you on Monday.
> Well I think I have been partly lucky with the old lizard spit as I know it doesn't suit everyone but I also looked upon it as being possibly my last chance to get it right and so tried very very hard to make it suit me. I tinkered with my diet big time and did loads of research in order to get it right. There were bouts of nausea when I wondered how long I could cope with it but I seem to have come out the other side. I was also very very desperate to lose weight. If I don't lose any more it isn't the end of the world but I could do with another couple of stone off really so will try hard.



Well yeah im sure caroleanne wont mine me mentioning her and i wish her all the sucsess with insulin but it just goes to prove what you say byetta dont suit us all she did give it a good go though, i dont think i could of rode through all the sickness and nausea she had.But like you say i saw it as the last resort in a way and luckily witohut any nausea at all it has done me the power of good.Im just so pleased i wrote off my old GP as he would of still had me on the pills.x


----------



## Lizzie53

Steffie said:


> Well yeah im sure caroleanne wont mine me mentioning her and i wish her all the sucsess with insulin but it just goes to prove what you say byetta dont suit us all she did give it a good go though, i dont think i could of rode through all the sickness and nausea she had.But like you say i saw it as the last resort in a way and luckily witohut any nausea at all it has done me the power of good.Im just so pleased i wrote off my old GP as he would of still had me on the pills.x



I'm sure Caroleann gave it her best shot and a few others too and then there are those who get problems with their pancreas. I always have that feeling that something could go wrong and will make the most of it while it works. I think you and I are very lucky Steffie - you with no nausea and me with only a couple of bad weeks and even then I wasn't actually sick. I get the odd passing wave of it still but a cup of ginger tea usually sorts me out. If it was really bad I couldn't have toughed it out I'm sure. It's no good having perfect BG if you are feeling too vile to live your life is it. Any way my aim now is to try to put the diabetes and the jabs further back in my mind while trying to improve the diet a bit more. There is a danger of all this just taking over. I've tidied up all the stuff that goes with testing, jabbing etc into a bag so that it isn't the first thing I see when I walk into the kitchen. I hope I don't forget to do it lol. Let us know your news on Monday hun. The only slight downside was that my cholesterol has gone up a bit from 4.7 to 5.1 and I reckon its because I've stopped eating porridge. Cant take statins.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> I'm sure Caroleann gave it her best shot and a few others too and then there are those who get problems with their pancreas. I always have that feeling that something could go wrong and will make the most of it while it works. I think you and I are very lucky Steffie - you with no nausea and me with only a couple of bad weeks and even then I wasn't actually sick. I get the odd passing wave of it still but a cup of ginger tea usually sorts me out. If it was really bad I couldn't have toughed it out I'm sure. It's no good having perfect BG if you are feeling too vile to live your life is it. Any way my aim now is to try to put the diabetes and the jabs further back in my mind while trying to improve the diet a bit more. There is a danger of all this just taking over. I've tidied up all the stuff that goes with testing, jabbing etc into a bag so that it isn't the first thing I see when I walk into the kitchen. I hope I don't forget to do it lol. Let us know your news on Monday hun. The only slight downside was that my cholesterol has gone up a bit from 4.7 to 5.1 and I reckon its because I've stopped eating porridge. Cant take statins.



Oh yeah i know im lucky even my GP was astounded at just how little nausea i had, i never take the byetta for granted and i do often de-praise my self if thats even a word lol, because i know i must be doing some of the hard work to.All my diabetic gear sits downstairs in a big mobile phone cardboard box hehe.Sorry to hear about your cholesterol hun hope you manage to manage that, have you been given any advice about lowering it? x


----------



## caroleann

Hi girls hope you dont mind me posting i just want to say hi and of course i dont mind you mentioning my byetta disaster i think its a good thing that needs to be mentioned like you say people who are considering using byetta need to see both sides of the coin so to speak,i personly went on forums and read every thing i could about what users were experiencing with it most of it was good and that did help me to make the choice of using it and i have to admit if it ha'nt been for my night in AE and collapsing i would have stuck with it regardless of the nausea.
Im realy pleased that the byetta is working so well for you gals.
carole


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Caroleann of course we want you to post here, you are one of our old buddies and we want to know how you are. I agree it is very important for those who are thinking of Byetta to see both sides of the coin. I still realise that it could all go pear shaped at any moment although as time goes on I feel more confident in it.
I am experimenting today with BG and had porridge with raspberries for breakfast. It's something I used to have almost daily and I'm convinced it brought the cholesterol down. Well I haven't had porridge for 3 months and the flipping cholesterol is back up and I can't tolerate statins so I'll start with the porridge again if it doesn't raise BG too much. Has anyone tried those drinks?


----------



## Steff

Hi Caroleann we would be offended if you did not post here lol.Hope things are going ok with the insulin i know its early days for you but hope your getting to grips with things ok.I woke this morning at 4 with a BS of 16.3 for some reason i cant decide if it was the smell of my garlic brethe or the slice of toast i had before bed lol.


----------



## Lizzie53

Well have now completed the porridge experiment. It went much better than expected. I didn't weigh the quantities but had a small bowl of porridge at 7.45 am made with half skimmed milk and half water, a sprinkling of Splenda and 8 raspberries. On waking BG was 6.  1 hour after eating it was 5.9 and 2 hours after 6.4. This time it didn't sit too heavily and now at 11.30 I am still not hungry so it looks as though I can get porridge into my diet again. I'll try the experiment a couple more times just to make sure there are no massive spikes and perhaps I should test at 3 hours. This means I can have the poached egg and tomato on toast for lunch - brill. I have a squillion tomatoes ripening in the garden. I may have to get all domestic and make stuff with them - any good lowish carb recipes folks? I was thinking of soup as I can bung that in the freezer.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Well have now completed the porridge experiment. It went much better than expected. I didn't weigh the quantities but had a small bowl of porridge at 7.45 am made with half skimmed milk and half water, a sprinkling of Splenda and 8 raspberries. On waking BG was 6.  1 hour after eating it was 5.9 and 2 hours after 6.4. This time it didn't sit too heavily and now at 11.30 I am still not hungry so it looks as though I can get porridge into my diet again. I'll try the experiment a couple more times just to make sure there are no massive spikes and perhaps I should test at 3 hours. This means I can have the poached egg and tomato on toast for lunch - brill. I have a squillion tomatoes ripening in the garden. I may have to get all domestic and make stuff with them - any good lowish carb recipes folks? I was thinking of soup as I can bung that in the freezer.



Thats weird i thought i had replied to this comment at lunch time today but i must be losing it lol, im sure thedame will have some ideas for you hun im useless at that, but the prridge experiment sounds like a sucess well done its one cereal i can get along with well kind of but i still prefer my bacon and egg x


----------



## Northerner

Lizzie53 said:


> Ooh Steffie good news about the 9lb - well done. Sorry about the feet though, mine are a bit dodgy too.
> I am chirpy this afternoon though because my Hba1c is ---- 6.00. The last test was 10.5 and this has happened from 3 months of Byetta along with 2.5 stone weight loss. Of course my diet has changed dramatically and I am no longer a carb junkie but I couldn't have done it without the Byetta taking my appetite away. So now my aim is to tinker a little more with my diet and get it down to 5 something. Maybe I need to work on the exercise too although I am not a complete couch potato any more lol.



Hey Lizzie, hiding your brilliant success away! Well done on the HbA1c!!!!


----------



## Lizzie53

Thanks it is fab but not really all down to me. I couldn't have done it without the old lizard spit. I'm so very relieved though and I do feel better.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie whens lesley back do you know? hope she having a good time in IOW x


----------



## Lizzie53

Dunno Steffie. I am in Cornwall at the mo and the weather is nice so I hope it is the same for her. Had a real piggy day yesterday eating what I thought were all the wrong things and then got to the restaurant at 8pm and felt a bit queer only to find BG was 3.8 most odd. Anyway I over stuffed on really yummy food all fairly low carb apart from the orange juice before I started. When I rolled into bed I felt totally over stuffed. Anyway woke up today to the lowest ever for me BG (morning one) at 5. I'm usually in the 6's. All very strange. Dare not stand on the scales so back on the waggon today.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Dunno Steffie. I am in Cornwall at the mo and the weather is nice so I hope it is the same for her. Had a real piggy day yesterday eating what I thought were all the wrong things and then got to the restaurant at 8pm and felt a bit queer only to find BG was 3.8 most odd. Anyway I over stuffed on really yummy food all fairly low carb apart from the orange juice before I started. When I rolled into bed I felt totally over stuffed. Anyway woke up today to the lowest ever for me BG (morning one) at 5. I'm usually in the 6's. All very strange. Dare not stand on the scales so back on the waggon today.



Hi hun them days happen all to often with me lol, last night i had some garlic bread with cheese on it was so yummy but you know those regrets you have afterwards lol.Glad your having a good time hun x


----------



## Steff

Afternoon fellow babes lol.

Had a weird one this morning took my pen out the fridge as usual and undone my jeans to do my tummy and when i went to inject it felt like the end of the needle went in me it was very strange feeling and i had to pull the pen straight out so im unsure if i got the full dose of lizard spit grrr.Nevermind i have felt ok the rest of the day and BS has been below 6.5 all day so cant have effected me to bad.


----------



## Lizzie53

OOh what do you mean? Like gone in and not gonna come out again? I've had a couple of times when I wondered if the stuff had actually gone in but then BG's were good all day so I suppose that shows it has worked. Hope it works ok tomorrow. I have my appointment with the hossie next week so I suppose I'll be told if I can remain on the spit. Nursie said I would as long as I lost weight or the BG was down so as I have passed on both counts I assume I'll be able to continue.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> OOh what do you mean? Like gone in and not gonna come out again? I've had a couple of times when I wondered if the stuff had actually gone in but then BG's were good all day so I suppose that shows it has worked. Hope it works ok tomorrow. I have my appointment with the hossie next week so I suppose I'll be told if I can remain on the spit. Nursie said I would as long as I lost weight or the BG was down so as I have passed on both counts I assume I'll be able to continue.



Yeah exactly that i was nervous about tonight but things went smoothly x


----------



## Steff

Good morning girlies hope all is fine this Friday morning,Off to get my prescription later should hope it will be easier then last time, i got some snotty nosed pharmacist who said to me i will have to show you how this works if you have not used it before , i said to her you should know ive been on 4 month  silly moo lol...

Anyways ope your all going well and Caroleann you must pop in let us know how its going hun xx


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Steffie, oh well let her show you ayway lol perhaps she's bored. I've had a vile couple of days with sinusitis and a skin infection. I can't believe it - my BG is fantastic but I still got infections and 2 at once. Thats 3 in 6 weeks. The good thing is one antibiotic is killing 2 birds with one stone and I feel ok again today. This afternoon I'm going to pop out for a spot of retail therapy. I can now fit into the M&S Per Una range and I just love that stuff but never thought I'd be able to wear it. Hope hubby's credit card is robust, it could get a bashing.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi Steffie, oh well let her show you ayway lol perhaps she's bored. I've had a vile couple of days with sinusitis and a skin infection. I can't believe it - my BG is fantastic but I still got infections and 2 at once. Thats 3 in 6 weeks. The good thing is one antibiotic is killing 2 birds with one stone and I feel ok again today. This afternoon I'm going to pop out for a spot of retail therapy. I can now fit into the M&S Per Una range and I just love that stuff but never thought I'd be able to wear it. Hope hubby's credit card is robust, it could get a bashing.



hey hun sorry to hear you been having it rough last few days x

nothing that a spot of retail therapy cant handle hehe 

whats his card there for if its not for you to spend on it x


----------



## thedame

Hi Guys

Made it back finally Hope you are all well - Lizzie I like your blend of antibiotics and retail therapy to sort your ills

Had a great holiday to the Isle of Wight - mixed weather but beautiful place in all weathers really. I am not a craver of ice cream but have to have one on holiday and found a new variety- vanilla with big lumps of crystalized ginger- had to try it in the spirit of research and nearly passed out with the pleasure of it Hubby had to calm me down with a common 99 later in the week! Managed to keep my levels pretty low and still indulged in a few treats like pie and chips in a little pier head cafe we love and a whole dressed crab - that was not so sinful but the garlic ciabatta I had with some lovely pasta was. Oops what a naughty girl I am! Funnily enough, my levels were higher after a couple of days back - delayed reaction I guess-call it ferry-lag! Started out with a fasting level of 7 yesterday but was down to 3.7 before dinner. So must get a grip now I am offcially not on holiday any more and get back into a routine. To be honest, I welcome this - sometimes the tempations are so overwhelming that I am glad to be able to to just turn my back and tell myself to not even look. 

As nice as it is to have a good long break, I think I cope better with short trips in our van when I only take the "good" foods and can control things better. Hubby is now retired so we spend a lot of time together and having his watchful eye helps!

Will get back into the other topics this week - need to attack my weight issues now in time for the dreaded Christmas period- does anyone else hate shopping with all those goodies spread around-puts me off the season all together sometimes


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Made it back finally Hope you are all well - Lizzie I like your blend of antibiotics and retail therapy to dort your ills
> 
> Had a great holiday to the Isle of Wight - mixed weather but beautiful place in all weathers really. I am not a craver of ice cream but have to have one on holiday and found a new variety- vanilla with big lumps of crystalized ginger- had to try it in the spirit of research and nearly passed out with the pleasure of it Hubby had to calm me down with a common 99 later in the week! Managed to keep my levels pretty low and still indulged in a few treats like pie and chips in a little pier head cafe we love and a whole dressed crab - that was not so sinful but the garlic ciabatta I had with some lovely pasta was. Oops what a naughty girl I am! Funnily enough, my levels were higher after a couple of days back - delayed reaction I guess-call it ferry-lag! Started out with a fasting level of 7 yesterday but was down to 3.7 before dinner. So must get a grip now I am offcially not on holiday any more and get back into a routine. To be honest, I welcome this - sometimes the tempations are so overwhelming that I am glad to be able to to just turn my back and tell myself to not even look.
> 
> As nice as it is to have a good long break, I think I cope better with short trips in our van when I only take the "good" foods and can control things better. Hubby is now retired so we spend a lot of time together and having his watchful eye helps!
> 
> Will get back into the other topics this week - need to attack my weight issues now in time for the dreaded Christmas period- does anyone else hate shopping with all those goodies spread around-puts me off the season all together sometimes



Morning Lesley nice to see you back hun, glad you had a good time.I think i agree with you r.e short trips maybe weekends away or just day trips lol.

Gotta say i worked myself up last year as it was my first xmas with diabetes and i think i coped really well, i never bothered with a pudding even though it was mega hard watching the rest dip into yule log and xmas pud..The hard part is going around looking for pressies and seeing all the choccy goodies the shops have lol.


----------



## Lizzie53

Glad you had a fab time. I think we could do with a holiday photo section here lol. Although I don't need a photo of that ice cream to make me drool lol.
I haven't given Christmas any thought yet. I'll do that on December 1st although both my sons have mentioned that they will be coming home so that's something to look forward to.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> I haven't given Christmas any thought yet. I'll do that on December 1st QUOTE]
> 
> *I'll do my thinking about the 23rd as per usual lol*


----------



## Steff

Morning all x

Got no electricity today for several ours while the electricity company do some emergency work on cables, i hope my byetta will be ok as the fridge will be off for  for 8 hours


----------



## caroleann

Ok Bb's where you all hiding,would like to hear how your doing,not eating ginger cake i hope.


----------



## Steff

Hey hun im doing good and no cake for me hehe well at least not 2night..not sure how liz and lesley are doing but hope there good good, gotta get used to updating this thread every now and again its even part of my subscribes threads so i should'nt forget it really lol x

HOws things with you?


----------



## caroleann

Glad to hear your ok steffie,well i had a bit of a binge last night steve and i shared a chinese meal for one,we dont eat food like that very often so normaly enjoy it but last night i dident,insulin still not getting the nubers i want so im realy going to have to get to work on that i dont hesiteate when doing the jabs now i just shove it in and i did my first jab in public yesterday in the cafe in tj hughes bit scary but steve sood in front of me so other diners couldent see.
so all in all every things pretty good with me.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Glad to hear your ok steffie,well i had a bit of a binge last night steve and i shared a chinese meal for one,we dont eat food like that very often so normaly enjoy it but last night i dident,insulin still not getting the nubers i want so im realy going to have to get to work on that i dont hesiteate when doing the jabs now i just shove it in and i did my first jab in public yesterday in the cafe in tj hughes bit scary but steve sood in front of me so other diners couldent see.
> so all in all every things pretty good with me.



hey hun good news going public hun, nothing to be ashamed of xx

dont worry to much about the chinese we can all have little treats from time to time x


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi all. Glad you've gone public caroleann. I vowed never to hide in the loo again after wobbling around with one foot on the loo and the needle cap between my teeth! Under the table and hitch up my skirt every time when out now.
I have now lost 15kg and feel much better for it. However weight loss has stalled and I know it's because I am eating a bit more now so I must up the exercise as I'd like to shift another 15 really. I have been experimenting with food and testing. Yesterday I had a breakthrough with puddings. We have tons of blackberries in the garden so I made crumbles. I didn't add any sugar to the fruit and the crumble was made with oats, flour, butter and just a little sugar, I know I could have used splenda. I had a small portion with cream and 2 hours after eating BG was 5.2 and 3 hours 4.5. I was stunned so will have to try the experiment again just to make sure. My main course was bolognaise sauce with sprouts so not many carbs there.
I'm off on my hols tomorrow but should still be able to look in here. Keep up the good work BB's.
Oh just one other thing. The needle disposal thing is a small problem while travelling so I bought a needle clipper yesterday, what a clever little device. Why on earth don't they give us those instead of the boxes. It holds 1500 needles so will keep me going for a while.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Hi all. Glad you've gone public caroleann. I vowed never to hide in the loo again after wobbling around with one foot on the loo and the needle cap between my teeth! Under the table and hitch up my skirt every time when out now.
> I have now lost 15kg and feel much better for it. However weight loss has stalled and I know it's because I am eating a bit more now so I must up the exercise as I'd like to shift another 15 really. I have been experimenting with food and testing. Yesterday I had a breakthrough with puddings. We have tons of blackberries in the garden so I made crumbles. I didn't add any sugar to the fruit and the crumble was made with oats, flour, butter and just a little sugar, I know I could have used splenda. I had a small portion with cream and 2 hours after eating BG was 5.2 and 3 hours 4.5. I was stunned so will have to try the experiment again just to make sure. My main course was bolognaise sauce with sprouts so not many carbs there.
> I'm off on my hols tomorrow but should still be able to look in here. Keep up the good work BB's.
> Oh just one other thing. The needle disposal thing is a small problem while travelling so I bought a needle clipper yesterday, what a clever little device. Why on earth don't they give us those instead of the boxes. It holds 1500 needles so will keep me going for a while.



morning lizzie nice to hear from you hun, so pleased about the weight loss that is fantastic news..m not one for crumbles but sounds like you got something going on there hun well done.Ive seen those needle clippers online but as yet have not bought one they sound like a good investment so may take the plunge hehe.
Have a good holiday catch you soon hun x


----------



## thedame

Steffie said:


> morning lizzie nice to hear from you hun, so pleased about the weight loss that is fantastic news..m not one for crumbles but sounds like you got something going on there hun well done.Ive seen those needle clippers online but as yet have not bought one they sound like a good investment so may take the plunge hehe.
> Have a good holiday catch you soon hun x



Mmmmmmmm crumbles- I can smell them from here Here I am again -sorry to have gone off air again! Been catching up on a few things- there have been a lot of appointments etc this past week - none medical I am please to say! 

Nice to hear that you Byetta Babes are doing well and lovely to hear from you too Caroleann - you will get the results you want from the insulin soon I am sure - like the Metformin, it takes a bit of time I should think.

I am doing OK here - finding it hard not to grab the odd treat- I do find it so hard to get back on the wagon after a break but things are much better for me these days- in the past, I not only didn't get back up on the wagon, but I got trampled as I fell under the wheels! So I got back from the shops today without anything sinful and have plenty of fruit in the fridge for the weekend. 

Just found out today that my recently graduated son has got his first project from the company which took him on a month ago as a software engineer- he has been training and is now being let loose on the real thing! He will be away from home Mondays to Fridays so no excuse for me to buy in treats from him and then pinch them! Shame


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Mmmmmmmm crumbles- I can smell them from here Here I am again -sorry to have gone off air again! Been catching up on a few things- there have been a lot of appointments etc this past week - none medical I am please to say!
> 
> Nice to hear that you Byetta Babes are doing well and lovely to hear from you too Caroleann - you will get the results you want from the insulin soon I am sure - like the Metformin, it takes a bit of time I should think.
> 
> I am doing OK here - finding it hard not to grab the odd treat- I do find it so hard to get back on the wagon after a break but things are much better for me these days- in the past, I not only didn't get back up on the wagon, but I got trampled as I fell under the wheels! So I got back from the shops today without anything sinful and have plenty of fruit in the fridge for the weekend.
> 
> Just found out today that my recently graduated son has got his first project from the company which took him on a month ago as a software engineer- he has been training and is now being let loose on the real thing! He will be away from home Mondays to Fridays so no excuse for me to buy in treats from him and then pinch them! Shame



Hey Lesley.

Lovely to hear from you hun, nice one regarding your son hehe poor you  no excuses now.I can totally relate to finding it hard resisting the treats its soo hard at times, usually if i am feeling low is when im more prone to snack, but i am slowly getting in the habit of snacking on good things like celery very boring but hay better for me in the long run.


----------



## Lizzie53

Thought I should post before our thread got lost in cyber space. How are all the babes (see we have a bloke too now)? Congratulations to your son Lesley. The blinking nausea has kicked back in after having no probs for a while but I suppose it might get the weight loss going again which has come to a halt at 15 kg - very nice but I do need to shift more. Anyway I'm sitting on the terrace on my hols listening to the sea crashing on the beach sipping the old ginger tea, I just can't manage booze any more as it sends me to sleep straight away lol. Temperature is 25C so very pleasant, it was about 30 during the day. I'm off to a wedding on Thursday which will be lots of fun.


----------



## caroleann

Nice to hear you girls and boy are all doing ok,i was having problems with snacks so the other day i decided to have a play around in the kitchen and managed to make a realy nice soup with one of many cucumbers in my fridge and some leftover broccoli i just chopped it all and cooked with a veg stock cube and then blended,nothing too fancy but was realy tasty and did what i wanted it to kept my numbers down plus low calorie.


----------



## Steff

Hi babetts and babe due now, yes squidge has joined the gang now.
Sorry to hear about the nausea Lizzie hope it passes hope the wedding goes well hun.Hi carole hun snacks are a big pain are they not grrr sounds like your ploughing through hun xx


----------



## thedame

Hi All

Still struggling with the temptation of left over Bourbons in the biscuit tin from Tom's supply - they are not even my favourites but hey, they have chocolate in them! Luckily, I think Hubby has now finshed them off!

Bought a nice melon and pineapple yesterday and decided on a fruit salad with these and a few grapes and orange segments for brekkie with a few seeds to give it a bit of oomph. Forgot to test - happens now Hubby is home and distracts me, but I was suprised not to feel hungry after a couple of hours and, more importantly, the usual mild sick feeling I mostly get a couple of hours after brekkie was nowhere to be seen. I am thinking it is the milk on cereal or in the yoghurt I sometime have which makes this worse?

So will try again in a few days and remember to test this time and add this to my list of brekkies- really glad I found the Burgen Bread on here thouggh- toast on Saturdays again...yipee

Hope you are all well


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Hi All
> 
> Still struggling with the temptation of left over Bourbons in the biscuit tin from Tom's supply - they are not even my favourites but hey, they have chocolate in them! Luckily, I think Hubby has now finshed them off!
> 
> Bought a nice melon and pineapple yesterday and decided on a fruit salad with these and a few grapes and orange segments for brekkie with a few seeds to give it a bit of oomph. Forgot to test - happens now Hubby is home and distracts me, but I was suprised not to feel hungry after a couple of hours and, more importantly, the usual mild sick feeling I mostly get a couple of hours after brekkie was nowhere to be seen. I am thinking it is the milk on cereal or in the yoghurt I sometime have which makes this worse?
> 
> So will try again in a few days and remember to test this time and add this to my list of brekkies- really glad I found the Burgen Bread on here thouggh- toast on Saturdays again...yipee
> 
> Hope you are all well



Hi Lesley what melon did you get? i find the water melon the most refreshing,a nice fruit salad goes down a treat with natural yogurt...


----------



## squidge63

Byetta boy popping in to say hi.. makes me sound like a cartoon superhero's sidekick.. !!!


----------



## thedame

Steffie said:


> Hi Lesley what melon did you get? i find the water melon the most refreshing,a nice fruit salad goes down a treat with natural yogurt...



Hi Steffie

It is a Honeydew - I love watermelon when it is really hot but I haven't seen them for sale this time of the year in my local supermarket. I was tempted to add yoghurt too but thought I would see how the mixed fruit go on their own- I am woorried I might overdo the fruit to be honest- I was told 3 not 5 portions a day because of the sugar, albeit natural. Shame isn't it as it a sneaky way round the no sweeties problem!

I sometimes have natural set yoghurt with blueberries and some seeds on top- that is nice but I can only find the full fat set youghurt - Onken one. Anyone know of a low fat set one- I am not keen on the runny type unless it is a Muller Light Cherry or Vanilla! My DSN recommended the Muller Light when I was first diagnosed but a pot for brekkie isn't enough on it's own


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Hi Steffie
> 
> It is a Honeydew - I love watermelon when it is really hot but I haven't seen them for sale this time of the year in my local supermarket. I was tempted to add yoghurt too but thought I would see how the mixed fruit go on their own- I am woorried I might overdo the fruit to be honest- I was told 3 not 5 portions a day because of the sugar, albeit natural. Shame isn't it as it a sneaky way round the no sweeties problem!
> 
> I sometimes have natural set yoghurt with blueberries and some seeds on top- that is nice but I can only find the full fat set youghurt - Onken one. Anyone know of a low fat set one- I am not keen on the runny type unless it is a Muller Light Cherry or Vanilla! My DSN recommended the Muller Light when I was first diagnosed but a pot for brekkie isn't enough on it's own



Hiya yeah they sell them in quarters or halves in morrisons for a ?1.I had a right issue wuith yogurts when iw as diagnosed and they caused me terrible spikes so now i stick to greek or natural yogurt usually rachels which is a nice make but can be expensive x


----------



## Lizzie53

I'm hooked on raspberries and strawberries with Greek yogurt. Melons and grapes seem to send my BG sky high. Cant get them where I am at the moment so have been having peaches and thankfully they seem ok.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> I'm hooked on raspberries and strawberries with Greek yogurt. Melons and grapes seem to send my BG sky high. Cant get them where I am at the moment so have been having peaches and thankfully they seem ok.



cant seem to get on with rasps, but i do love grapes seems alot of people get sky high bgs whereas im ok


----------



## caroleann

Where are you , hope you are all well


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Where are you , hope you are all well



Sorry still alive and kicking just about had a preety bad time depression wise lately and have to be honest i have missed a few jabs i have spoke to my DSN via emails though and she said she admires my honesty but i must not make a habit of doing it.. other then that nothing maor to report, Lizzie im having abit of bother with morning BS levels getting close to 10 on a few more mornings then i want to grr, but not getting to disheartened about it shall just keep tweaking with grub x


----------



## caroleann

Hi steffie sorry you've not been to good lately and hope things get better for you real soon,tut tut fancy missing your jabs your secrets safe with me though,honest.
depression side of things do you feel worse at this time of year what with it dark earlier an all,im terrible at this time.
carole


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Hi steffie sorry you've not been to good lately and hope things get better for you real soon,tut tut fancy missing your jabs your secrets safe with me though,honest.
> depression side of things do you feel worse at this time of year what with it dark earlier an all,im terrible at this time.
> carole



no hun tbh thats the least of my worries, its all boils down to greaving for a family member hun just when i think im on top of it bang it knocks me down like a steam train, but never fear id like to think im strong enough to get over it x


----------



## caroleann

Steffie said:


> no hun tbh thats the least of my worries, its all boils down to greaving for a family member hun just when i think im on top of it bang it knocks me down like a steam train, but never fear id like to think im strong enough to get over it x



Im sorry to hear that Steffie,i know theres no words that can make you feel better but my thoughts are with you, sending huge hugs your way.


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi all back from my hols so in the real world now. No more trips until the end of November and I need to work a bit to refresh the bank balance lol.
Sorry about your morning levels Steffie, maybe something to do with missing some jabs so stop messing you naughty girl and shove those needles in every day. To be honest I have missed a couple, sometimes it is so inconvenient. Do you have a little something before bed time? The oatcake, butter and cheese trick seems to work for me. I haven't lost any more weight for a few weeks and I know why, I seem to be able to eat more despite not being hungry so I must take myself in hand and cut down again. At least I haven't gained and I'm having fun being able to slide into the smaller clothes in my wardrobe. I just feel like a big girl now and not a massive one.
I hope your depression lifts soon. Can you talk to your DSN about it?

Oh dear I just noticed your posts about your sad loss. I'm so sorry about that and you have to take some time to feel sad and grieve. sending a hug your way xxx


----------



## Steff

Thank you Carole hun xx

Yeah Lizzie i know but the levels started going near 10 before i stopped but i guess missing jabs has not helped, for a snack about 10-10.30 i have some dry crackers usually 3...

Regarding the depression i find talking to my GP easier as ive talked to her about personal stuff like this in the past x

lizzie it was not a recent loss but nevertheless still hurts 
thanks for the hug hun and an extra squeeze for good luck hehehehe xx


----------



## Lizzie53

Oh Steffie I do feel for you, grieving is such a difficult thing. I think it can pop up again after many years. Don't beat yourself up about those 10's though. I think with your crackers you should try a little fat and some protein - hence the butter and a small slice of cheese. It brought my am levels down from 6.9 to 6 or less. You must put yourself first for a while and take time to care for you and that means making sure you have the jabs at the right tmes. Hope you get back on track soon. xxx


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Oh Steffie I do feel for you, grieving is such a difficult thing. I think it can pop up again after many years. Don't beat yourself up about those 10's though. I think with your crackers you should try a little fat and some protein - hence the butter and a small slice of cheese. It brought my am levels down from 6.9 to 6 or less. You must put yourself first for a while and take time to care for you and that means making sure you have the jabs at the right tmes. Hope you get back on track soon. xxx



thank you lizziee i always thought i was selling myself short with the crackers lol, is any type of cheese better then the other? xx rainbows honour that i will stick to my jab and take it when i should  xx


----------



## Lizzie53

I really love my bedtime snack. I have an oatcake and if I'm feeling very naughty I have 2 lol. I don't think the type of cheese mattters as it's the fat and protein that is important but I have a small slice of cheddar. Yummy. The best thing is my hubby tends to have a bit of the food police about him and it drives me crazy, so when he says 'Should you be eating that?' I smile and say 'Oh yes its for the dawn dump' well he doesn't know what to reply to that lol.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> I really love my bedtime snack. I have an oatcake and if I'm feeling very naughty I have 2 lol. I don't think the type of cheese mattters as it's the fat and protein that is important but I have a small slice of cheddar. Yummy. The best thing is my hubby tends to have a bit of the food police about him and it drives me crazy, so when he says 'Should you be eating that?' I smile and say 'Oh yes its for the dawn dump' well he doesn't know what to reply to that lol.



rofl love it hun,i have some edam in the fridge but the shape that is might be abit awkward to slice it lol... thanks for all this lizziee its really helping me x


----------



## Lizzie53

Don't worry if you can't slice it - jut bite off a chunk haha. Seriously though lots of folk have reported a difference in their morning BG's with this snack. Don't forget to spread a little butter on the crackers too. If you don't have cheese I think a slice of ham would also do the trick but I really enjoy the cheese, it somehow seems naughtier. I really used to be a very naughty sort when it came to food and I still need a daily fix of naughtiness.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Don't worry if you can't slice it - jut bite off a chunk haha. Seriously though lots of folk have reported a difference in their morning BG's with this snack. Don't forget to spread a little butter on the crackers too. If you don't have cheese I think a slice of ham would also do the trick but I really enjoy the cheese, it somehow seems naughtier. I really used to be a very naughty sort when it came to food and I still need a daily fix of naughtiness.



oooohh doe the hubby know about this ..i have some tesco smoked ham in this just gets better and better lol.i bet they will taste so much better tonight and from now on xx .I shall report back after a few days of having this snack x


----------



## latvian horse

caroleann said:


> I will be out all day on sunday most likely before breakfast untill after dinner so obviously will be having both meals out, so will i need to keep my byetta cool throughout the day,i will be out side all day.



No, you should be fine as long as you keep it out of extremes of temperature (ie really hot or really cold).  Do not leave it on the dashboard of your car for example on a sunny day!
You need to keep unopened injections in the refrigerator when not in use and then remove what you need and bring it up to room temperature (you can do this by warming it in your hands for a few minutes, or I put mine under my thigh for a few minutes) before using it.  Each phial can be kept safely out of the fridge for about a month, but check the labels on the box to be on the safe side.


----------



## squidge63

latvian horse said:


> No, you should be fine as long as you keep it out of extremes of temperature (ie really hot or really cold).  Do not leave it on the dashboard of your car for example on a sunny day!
> You need to keep unopened injections in the refrigerator when not in use and then remove what you need and bring it up to room temperature (you can do this by warming it in your hands for a few minutes, or I put mine under my thigh for a few minutes) before using it.  Each phial can be kept safely out of the fridge for about a month, but check the labels on the box to be on the safe side.



Latvian Horse, Byetta isn't insulin it has to be kept in the fridge or kept cold.. I used a Frio bag when I went away last weekend and that worked well.


----------



## Steff

Hi there squidge i was just thinking about you earlier, how have you been getting on your 2 weeks in now are you not with the byetta?


----------



## thedame

Hi Gang

Just want to clarify the storign of Byetta - from the medicationb leaflet:
*How should I store BYETTA?
• Store your new, unused BYETTA Pen in the original carton in a
refrigerator at 36?F to 46?F (2?C to 8?C).
• After first use, keep your BYETTA Pen at a temperature cooler than
77?F (25?C).*

So don't keep a pen in the fridge once start on but keep it cool and out of the sun!

Sorry I haven't been posting much - one thing after the other here! Got the gas people in today changing our boiler so I sort of stuck at my desk...aren't you lucky

I have to thank you guys for your posts- I had found it hard to get motivated of late. My levels are still good but have crept up to over 7 in the mornings and I know why as I keep grabbing snacks before bed ....but not the right ones! Left over this time from the decorator's visit! Will feed the rest to the boiler men today then chuck any stil lingering- please keep watching me today and yell if I am tempted!

My weight has remained the same since before my hols last month so I am pretty pleased with myself as usually I do well, go away, sin and get back to square one. I am now about a year on Byetta and have lost weight or stayed the same through the whole period- this is the first time for many years I have not gained and the first time for years my levels have been in single figures so I am still very positive!

Off to make the boys a cuppa and give them a sugar overload. Will beb back later xxx


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Hi Gang
> 
> Just want to clarify the storign of Byetta - from the medicationb leaflet:
> *How should I store BYETTA?
> ? Store your new, unused BYETTA Pen in the original carton in a
> refrigerator at 36?F to 46?F (2?C to 8?C).
> ? After first use, keep your BYETTA Pen at a temperature cooler than
> 77?F (25?C).*
> 
> So don't keep a pen in the fridge once start on but keep it cool and out of the sun!
> 
> Sorry I haven't been posting much - one thing after the other here! Got the gas people in today changing our boiler so I sort of stuck at my desk...aren't you lucky
> 
> I have to thank you guys for your posts- I had found it hard to get motivated of late. My levels are still good but have crept up to over 7 in the mornings and I know why as I keep grabbing snacks before bed ....but not the right ones! Left over this time from the decorator's visit! Will feed the rest to the boiler men today then chuck any stil lingering- please keep watching me today and yell if I am tempted!
> 
> My weight has remained the same since before my hols last month so I am pretty pleased with myself as usually I do well, go away, sin and get back to square one. I am now about a year on Byetta and have lost weight or stayed the same through the whole period- this is the first time for many years I have not gained and the first time for years my levels have been in single figures so I am still very positive!
> 
> Off to make the boys a cuppa and give them a sugar overload. Will beb back later xxx



Morning lesley snap if you read my posts im having the same issues but i took Lizzies snack advice last night and really enjoyed it, so please your happy with how the byetta has gone for you hun, im 6 month on it myself now and im really happy with how its going x


----------



## Lizzie53

I was also thinking about you squidge. How's it going? Have you lost tons of weight yet? I agree with the Frio bags, great little things and if I go out I pop my pen in it just to be sure. I bought a little thermometer just to check on how well it does and even in 40C temps it stays just under 25C. I don't keep mine in the fridge at the moment as temps in my house are under 25 so I keep it by the bed in order to jab as soon as I wake. During summer months I kept it in the fridge and had no problems with injecting it cold.

Oh just spotted your post thedame. I like to hear how well folk are doing who have been on it a while. I no longer have a problem with nausea but just now and again it catches me out. Ginger tea is a big help though. My weight loss has stalled a bit but I have lost 15kg which has made a huge difference to me. Another 15kg would just about do the trick I think so I am going to make an effort to shift that in the next 15 weeks. I can now wear all the smaller clothes in my wardrobe and I feel much better. Little things please me like being able to get up off the floor without a struggle. BG's are great always in single figures and rarely over 7.5 even after meals. It' usually 6.2 or less on waking and in 4's and 5's the rest of the time. I'm back to the hossie in a couple of weeks so I'm hoping I'll be allowed to continue with it. Nursie said that as long as BG had come down and/or  weight loss they would let me continue so I'm ok on both counts.
Steffie hope those late night snacks work for you, don't go mad and have too much though or you'll put on weight lol.
My only big problem now though is that the boils I have been plagued with still come. They really make me unwell and usually need penicillin to deal with them. This is despite having fab BG's and using a special shower gel twice a day. During the 4 months I've used Byetta I have had 4 of them, all very debilitating and knock me out for several days. It's on my list of things to discuss at the hossie


----------



## squidge63

Steffie said:


> Hi there squidge i was just thinking about you earlier, how have you been getting on your 2 weeks in now are you not with the byetta?





Lizzie53 said:


> I was also thinking about you squidge. How's it going? Have you lost tons of weight yet? I agree with the Frio bags, great little things and if I go out I pop my pen in it just to be sure. I bought a little thermometer just to check on how well it does and even in 40C temps it stays just under 25C. I don't keep mine in the fridge at the moment as temps in my house are under 25 so I keep it by the bed in order to jab as soon as I wake. During summer months I kept it in the fridge and had no problems with injecting it cold.
> 
> Oh just spotted your post thedame. I like to hear how well folk are doing who have been on it a while. I no longer have a problem with nausea but just now and again it catches me out. Ginger tea is a big help though. My weight loss has stalled a bit but I have lost 15kg which has made a huge difference to me. Another 15kg would just about do the trick I think so I am going to make an effort to shift that in the next 15 weeks. I can now wear all the smaller clothes in my wardrobe and I feel much better. Little things please me like being able to get up off the floor without a struggle. BG's are great always in single figures and rarely over 7.5 even after meals. It' usually 6.2 or less on waking and in 4's and 5's the rest of the time. I'm back to the hossie in a couple of weeks so I'm hoping I'll be allowed to continue with it. Nursie said that as long as BG had come down and/or  weight loss they would let me continue so I'm ok on both counts.
> Steffie hope those late night snacks work for you, don't go mad and have too much though or you'll put on weight lol.
> My only big problem now though is that the boils I have been plagued with still come. They really make me unwell and usually need penicillin to deal with them. This is despite having fab BG's and using a special shower gel twice a day. During the 4 months I've used Byetta I have had 4 of them, all very debilitating and knock me out for several days. It's on my list of things to discuss at the hossie



The first week was hell,  felt so sick I could hardly eat so I stopped it for 2 days and then started it again and so far so good I haven't felt as sick as that first week. I weighed myself in town the other day and it said I had put on weight!!! lol think I will find a different scales lol


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> The first week was hell,  felt so sick I could hardly eat so I stopped it for 2 days and then started it again and so far so good I haven't felt as sick as that first week. I weighed myself in town the other day and it said I had put on weight!!! lol think I will find a different scales lol



Hi squidge sorry to hear you had a bad first week, i know other byetta users had some sick feelings , luckily for me ive experienced nothing, but lets hope things get better for you.. tbh at first i gained a few pounds with the byetta and i thought oh heck but it did drop off me after a wee while x


----------



## thedame

Hi Gang

Now made 2 round of cuppas and not one biccie has passed my lips. Feeling the urge now so came on here!

Lizzie- sorry to hear about the boils but you have done us proud with the weight loss- I will re-read your post everytime those biccies call me! Not that I will ever get to that stage but I do wonder what will happen re the Byetta if anyone loses enough weight to be in a "normal" range?

Squidge - hang on in there- 1st 2 weeks I was sick and tired most of the time but it passed only to return mildly and for less time when I moved up to the larger dose. These days I sometimes get a mild sick feeling a couple of hours after brekkie but it passes witha cuppa. So far I think it is only poor Caroleann who got it really bad so the odds are in your favour! I ams ure the weight will come off once you settle down. I got to the stage where I would eat anythign I could keep down in the first couple of weeks- usually ginger biscuits. Can you see a pattern here with me and biscuits

Steffie, well I am glad I am not the only one who has passed the honeymoon period and fallen off the wagon a bit! I know you have other issues so you have absolution from us all

I have to say that despite my cravings and my eyes bigger than my belly affliction, the old Byetta does slow down the process and helps me to stay reasonably stable. The person who invented it gets my vote if they ever ask


----------



## Lizzie53

Keep off those biccies the dame!! I no longer have them in the house not even ginger ones as I can't leave them alone.
Squidge now come on - you can tell you are not a woman lol. You need your own set of scales, good quality ones, preferably digital. Then you need to weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day with no clothes on. The best time is after a wee first thing lol. That way you will get an accurate picture of your weight loss. Persevere with the nausea. I had a few weeks when I wondered if I could keep going with itbut 4 months on rarely have any problems. You need to tweak your food a bit. I reduced portions even more and cut out anything a bit heavy.


----------



## Steff

Hi all hope everyones ok, back on track r.e the jabs now ..

Just wanted to say Lizzie thank you again for the snack before bed tip, tuesday wednesday and this morning my BS has been 6.7 6.4. and 7.0 so thats brillaint. x


----------



## Lizzie53

Oh thats just great, I'm really pleased it works for you too. I really look forward to my bed time snack. Try oatcakes and see if it gets even better.
I've had a really bad day BG wise. It's the first bad one since starting Byetta. Woke up with a 6 and that was normal and OK for me and then instead of my usual egg and Burgen or yog and berries, I decided to have porridge with a little dried fruit because I was cold. Well what a mistake that was. To start with it was far too heavy and I felt pukey all morning. 1 and 2 hours later BG was 5.9 but then I tested 4 hours later and flip me it was 12!! I haven't gone as high as that since before I started on the spit. It has remained highish all day. I'm used to being in the 4's and 5's now but it stayed in the 8's or higher all day. I shall test again before I go to bed and hope it is back down. No more porridge for me.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Oh thats just great, I'm really pleased it works for you too. I really look forward to my bed time snack. Try oatcakes and see if it gets even better.
> I've had a really bad day BG wise. It's the first bad one since starting Byetta. Woke up with a 6 and that was normal and OK for me and then instead of my usual egg and Burgen or yog and berries, I decided to have porridge with a little dried fruit because I was cold. Well what a mistake that was. To start with it was far too heavy and I felt pukey all morning. 1 and 2 hours later BG was 5.9 but then I tested 4 hours later and flip me it was 12!! I haven't gone as high as that since before I started on the spit. It has remained highish all day. I'm used to being in the 4's and 5's now but it stayed in the 8's or higher all day. I shall test again before I go to bed and hope it is back down. No more porridge for me.



Thanks,,

Sorry to hear about your bad day sounds nasty,lots on here have spikes with porridge and leave it well alone, least you can pinpoint what it was that caused it and will now avoid it hun, hope it has gone down for you when you test before bed hun xx


----------



## Lizzie53

Yeah it was a real pain. I decided to give it  a whirl after a chat with the nurse at my GP's review. Before the spit and when my Hba1c was sky high  (now I know why lol) I had porridge 5 times a week and my cholesterol came down a lot. Now I dont eat porridge at all it has gone up again so she suggested doing an experiment by having it for breakfast but testing at hourly intervals between breakfast and lunch. All seemed well (apart from feeling pukey) until the 4 hour test and then it was the high one so for me it is correct about the stomach not emptying for about 4 hours while on the spit. I have felt really out of sorts all day. Back on the low carb brekky tomorrow, I really think if I get off to a good start the rest of the day is usually fine.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Yeah it was a real pain. I decided to give it  a whirl after a chat with the nurse at my GP's review. Before the spit and when my Hba1c was sky high  (now I know why lol) I had porridge 5 times a week and my cholesterol came down a lot. Now I dont eat porridge at all it has gone up again so she suggested doing an experiment by having it for breakfast but testing at hourly intervals between breakfast and lunch. All seemed well (apart from feeling pukey) until the 4 hour test and then it was the high one so for me it is correct about the stomach not emptying for about 4 hours while on the spit. I have felt really out of sorts all day. Back on the low carb brekky tomorrow, I really think if I get off to a good start the rest of the day is usually fine.




Yes totally agree with that last sentence that was one of the disheartening things for me when i was getting high morning readings i seemed to spent the rest of the day back tracking keep checking my BS to see if it was on the decrease.Hope tomorrow is a better day for you hun 
Goodnight x


----------



## thedame

Hi Lizzie

Sorry to hear about the porridge, I did indulge a couple of weeks back but it doesn't suit me either, more's the pity. I do get a bit bored with brekkies! Used to be a good choice to sustain me for a busy morning and so comforting on chilly winters day. 

Now it is cooler, I find I don't fancy the yoghurt and fruit so much so have taken to a having a little less of my Lizi's Granola but with some of my set yoghurt instaed of milk with a few berries to liven it up - stired up it feels a bit like porridge - shame I can heat it up!!!!

Well guys, I am gradually getting over the post-holiday indulgences - all the custard creams have gone now thanks to the boiler man and his lad on Tuesday - my advice to anyone suffering from low will power after Christmas if to get some workmen in - they can clear a biscuit tin in one tea break! Plus you get to admire the muscles if you get a fit one! (Fanning myself here 

I am chirpy today as it is Friday as my son Tom gets to come home tonight - he is now working away during the week having started his new job as newly graduated software engineer about 2 months ago. He will probably be away on projects most of the time and has decided not to move out right away but get a car of his own instead to make the travelling a bit easier- just hope he isn't posted to Scotland - bit of a trek to and from Essex! I get to see him evey weekend and do all his washing -lucky me

Steffie - hope you are OK and winning the battle- nice to have you back xxx


----------



## Lizzie53

Hah thedame. We will be having some major building work after Christmas so I will remember that tip. I was dreading it a bit but now with the thoughts of those rippling muscles it may not be so bad!
I went to bed on 7.7 last night which was still high for me and this am was 7 so still high as I'm usually 6'ish. I'm starting to wonder if I'm coming down with something as it seems strange to still be up a bit 24 hours after the wretched porridge. I'm having a lazy morning as I'm not working until this afternoon so haven't eaten yet but it'll be the old egg and Burgen in a minute.
Enjoy having your son home and all the washing lol. I think mine is coming home from Switzerland where he works for a few days in November and we will go to see my younger one at uni so I'm looking forward to that.


----------



## Steff

morning ladies, nice work there dame r.e the workmen must remember that one, have a lovely weekend with your son x .Hope your not coming down with something lizzie good luck with your BS for the rest of the day x


----------



## Lizzie53

Feeling much chirpier now. BG is now 5.1 so maybe I can put yesterday down to the damned porridge. Shame cause it's yummy on a cold day. I shall wait for a few settled days to pass and then I am going to take the plunge and stop the gliclazide. I discussed this with the nurse and she reckond that I could go for it but test regularly to make sure my normally good numbers don't creep up. She also seemed to think it might kick start my weight loss which has slowed down although I did notice half a kilo off this morning. I would love to lose another 10 or more kilos.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Feeling much chirpier now. BG is now 5.1 so maybe I can put yesterday down to the damned porridge. Shame cause it's yummy on a cold day. I shall wait for a few settled days to pass and then I am going to take the plunge and stop the gliclazide. I discussed this with the nurse and she reckond that I could go for it but test regularly to make sure my normally good numbers don't creep up. She also seemed to think it might kick start my weight loss which has slowed down although I did notice half a kilo off this morning. I would love to lose another 10 or more kilos.




Ahh thank goodness thats more like it Lizzie, hope it works out ok coming off the glic x
Enjoy your weekend.


----------



## Steff

Good morning all hope everyones having a good weekend
Well another good 2 mornings of BS levels despite yesterday 24.4 reading, i was 6.4 this morning and 6.3 yesterday morning x


----------



## Lizzie53

Glad to hear you got that BG down - well done. Lovely sunny day here so hope to go for a stroll this afternoon. I have my appointment with the consultant on Thursday so fingers x I'll be allowed to stay on the spit.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Glad to hear you got that BG down - well done. Lovely sunny day here so hope to go for a stroll this afternoon. I have my appointment with the consultant on Thursday so fingers x I'll be allowed to stay on the spit.



thanks liz

is they a chance you could be taken off then?


----------



## Lizzie53

Well when I started 4 months ago they told me I was on a 3 month trial. lol. Anyway when I asked the DSN if it was possible that they wouldn't let me continue she said that when I had the follow up appointment with the consultant as long as I had either lost weight or had a lower Hba1c I would probably be able to continue. Well both apply to me so fingers x it'll be OK. 
I do remember at the first hossie appointment the consultant did mention there was always a possibility this drug could be withdrawn by the NHS as it is so expensive.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Well when I started 4 months ago they told me I was on a 3 month trial. lol. Anyway when I asked the DSN if it was possible that they wouldn't let me continue she said that when I had the follow up appointment with the consultant as long as I had either lost weight or had a lower Hba1c I would probably be able to continue. Well both apply to me so fingers x it'll be OK.
> I do remember at the first hossie appointment the consultant did mention there was always a possibility this drug could be withdrawn by the NHS as it is so expensive.



Very true theres always that , well fingers crossed and toes for Thursday, they cant exactly say it has not worked for you when you have lost both weight and have now a lower hbA.


----------



## thedame

Eek, please NHS do not withdraw this...maybe we will have to stay fat to get it- pass the custard creams!

Good luck with the appointment Lizzie - there will be nothing left of you soon if they take you of the the glicazide

We are off for our last trip in our van on Tuesday - come rain or shine as we need to strip it out ready for winter so hope this sun continues. If I don't get to post again before then, look after the place and I will do my turn with the duster when I come back


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Eek, please NHS do not withdraw this...maybe we will have to stay fat to get it- pass the custard creams!
> 
> Good luck with the appointment Lizzie - there will be nothing left of you soon if they take you of the the glicazide
> 
> We are off for our last trip in our van on Tuesday - come rain or shine as we need to strip it out ready for winter so hope this sun continues. If I don't get to post again before then, look after the place and I will do my turn with the duster when I come back



lol yes marigolds and all lesley, catch you when your back if not beofre x  take care


----------



## squidge63

Dumb question time... lol. I am on the first pen which is the 5 dose, do I use this for 30 days or do I use it until I finish the pen before getting the pen with the 10 dose of Byetta..??

Also bought some bathroom scales today so will weigh myself tomorrow morning..  lol

My sugars are a lot better, was 5.5 when I got up today and I think I was 5.8 when I went to bed. I do have some 8's in the morning occasionally but haven't been in double figures for ages..


----------



## caroleann

if i remember correctly if u have any left after 30 days you bin it and start on next pen.
carole


----------



## Steff

Hey squidge no dumb questions in here lol, yeah you do as carole said bin it.So pleased your BS is better makes you feel so much more better day to day


----------



## Lizzie53

Well done Squidge you are a great Byetta Babe lol. Those numbers sound fab and I hope you are feeling good.
I'm off to the hossie tomorrow so fingers x for me please. They ought to be pleased with me.
Now what are all you Byetta Babes doing about exercise these days? I have had a couple of lazy weeks really. I've had a bit of sinusitis and it made me a bit slothful. So today I wasn't working and I gave myself a good talking to and went for a swim so now I'm feeling very - um, clean!


----------



## caroleann

My fingers are crossed for you lizzie,now i know im not realy a byetta babe any more but just wanted to say even with a poorly toe im still managing to hobble about for a bit of exercise,and im slowly getting to grips with the insulini have done a couple of experiments and have actualy got my levels down in the 6s.


----------



## Lizzie53

caroleann said:


> My fingers are crossed for you lizzie,now i know im not realy a byetta babe any more but just wanted to say even with a poorly toe im still managing to hobble about for a bit of exercise,and im slowly getting to grips with the insulini have done a couple of experiments and have actualy got my levels down in the 6s.



Now how many times do we have to tell you Caroleann - once a Byetta Babe always a Byetta Babe. Hope your poor sore toe gets better soon and then you can be running around lol. Glad you are coping with the old insulin and those 6's sound fab.


----------



## Steff

good lk tomorrow lizzie xx swimming and my gym ball exercise wise for me x


----------



## Lizzie53

OK I have been to the hossie and they were very pleased with my weight loss and Hba1c. I need to lose another 15 kg or more really though so had a chat with the dietician who seemed pretty much pleased with my lower carb diet. She likes the oatcakes I have for snacks but not so keen on the cheese so that will need replacing with some ham or something. Weight loss has stalled a bit for the last 3 weeks and she says that is normal for anyone who is trying to lose weight. So I need to up the activity and tweak my diet.
Doc doesn't want me to stop the gliclazide yet. She loves the hba1c of 6 and feels it would rise too much if I stopped it. She will think again if I lose more weight or have hypos. 
I didn't skip out of there as happy as I should have though as something she said brought me down with a bang. She said Byetta is not for life and I will definately need insulin instead at some point. Byetta only works if the beta cells still produce insulin and they will die one day. It seems I may be able to delay that event by losing a lot more weight and I must make the most of having a reduced appetite and lose as much as I can. No pressure then!


----------



## Steff

Hi Lizzie glad there happy with weight and hbA, do you think you will be able to manage the 15kg loss?
Oops i best stop having that cheese snack as well then hehe you naughty rebel leading me astray, although i have been mixing it with smoked ham...Good luck with all of it hun you have the weight loss group to refer to if you need a ny motivation etc etc x


----------



## Lizzie53

Gonna have to Steffie, they aknowledged that my weight loss so far was good but it is not enough. I have lost one lot of 15 kg so I must be able to do it again. I have to go back and see the doc for a reveiw in a year. Off for a swim in a bit. I must pop my head round the door of the gym too.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Gonna have to Steffie, they aknowledged that my weight loss so far was good but it is not enough. I have lost one lot of 15 kg so I must be able to do it again. I have to go back and see the doc for a reveiw in a year. Off for a swim in a bit. I must pop my head round the door of the gym too.



Yeah suppose theres not alot of choice huh, swimming is brillaint i find it's enough but dont push me to the limit thats why i like it, i found the biggest hurdle was actually getting into the water in my costume, to say jaw dropping would be an understatement but i tend to go when the school kids are at school lol....Are you already the member of a gym?


----------



## Lizzie53

yes I swim at a hotel pool where they also have a gym and a personal trainer if I want him!! I used to use the gym there but got a bit bored with it. I also have a very flash exercise bike at home that is collecting dust and hubbie has a rowing machine which I could use. So no excuse eigh? I wonder how I'll look in lycra ROFL


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> yes I swim at a hotel pool where they also have a gym and a personal trainer if I want him!! I used to use the gym there but got a bit bored with it. I also have a very flash exercise bike at home that is collecting dust and hubbie has a rowing machine which I could use. So no excuse eigh? I wonder how I'll look in lycra ROFL



LOL rowing machines are great AndyHB from here uses one alot, i try and get swimming as often as i can lately ive been feeling low so have been abit reluctant but my mate always manages to get me to go along, maybe the promise of a smoothie helps LOL x


----------



## squidge63

Well done on your appt Lizzie.. 

I bought a set of digital scales yesterday and they look very nice in my bathroom lol.. weighed myself this morning and I have lost 5lb  I was 13st 10 when I was weighed by the DSN before I started the Byetta and I am now 13st 5.. also went to Dr's today and put in prescription for the Byetta 10.. just hope it doesn't make me feel as sick as the 5 did when I started that, as I have a wedding to go to next weekend and can't cope with feeling sick and not eating at all.


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> Well done on your appt Lizzie..
> 
> I bought a set of digital scales yesterday and they look very nice in my bathroom lol.. weighed myself this morning and I have lost 5lb  I was 13st 10 when I was weighed by the DSN before I started the Byetta and I am now 13st 5.. also went to Dr's today and put in prescription for the Byetta 10.. just hope it doesn't make me feel as sick as the 5 did when I started that, as I have a wedding to go to next weekend and can't cope with feeling sick and not eating at all.



thats brill squidge well done, it really does make you feel better as well when the weight comes off,hope it does go smoothly when you change over to 10 i can remember when i did and i was terrified it would hit me with SE but it did not..


----------



## Lizzie53

That's great Squidge and 13 stone'ish doesn't sound much, I can't imagine you have loads to lose, lucky you. Hope you are ok with the 10 pen. I'm wondering if I should tell you the first 2 weeks on the higher dose were vile for me but of course we are all different and I believe Steffie had no trouble at all.
I'm off to the beauty therapist now to get my feet pampered then I will get to the pool. If I'm not working tomorrow (I never know from one day to the next) I have decided to slip into a T shirt and some leggins and venture into the gym. I might take a peek at the personal trainer too and see what I think of him.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> That's great Squidge and 13 stone'ish doesn't sound much, I can't imagine you have loads to lose, lucky you. Hope you are ok with the 10 pen. I'm wondering if I should tell you the first 2 weeks on the higher dose were vile for me but of course we are all different and I believe Steffie had no trouble at all.
> I'm off to the beauty therapist now to get my feet pampered then I will get to the pool. If I'm not working tomorrow (I never know from one day to the next) I have decided to slip into a T shirt and some leggins and venture into the gym. I might take a peek at the personal trainer too and see what I think of him.



hay lucky so and so sounds lovely, doubt they would go near my feet, even the dog turns his nose up at them haha,if the trainer is any good get a piccy of his good side (backside)


----------



## squidge63

Lizzie53 said:


> That's great Squidge and 13 stone'ish doesn't sound much, I can't imagine you have loads to lose, lucky you. Hope you are ok with the 10 pen. I'm wondering if I should tell you the first 2 weeks on the higher dose were vile for me but of course we are all different and I believe Steffie had no trouble at all.
> I'm off to the beauty therapist now to get my feet pampered then I will get to the pool. If I'm not working tomorrow (I never know from one day to the next) I have decided to slip into a T shirt and some leggins and venture into the gym. I might take a peek at the personal trainer too and see what I think of him.



Thanks Lizzie, I am only a short person 5' 4.5" so 13 stone is a bit much for me.. at the moment my dietician wants me to get to 12st 10 by the next time I see her which is december, so i may well reach that target. I would be happy at about 10 st 7. I have a feeling the higher dose is going to affect me but hey ho will just stop it for a couple of days again if it gets too much and then restart it. Enjoy your pampering...


----------



## Lizzie53

Don't worry if it does make you feel a bit nauseus just stick with it and drink ginger tea which helped me a lot. For me the worst of it lasted 2 weeks and now I am fine. Those 2 weeks were when I lost the most weight
I'm trying very hard to kick start the weight loss again. Today I have been gardening and you will all be very impressed to hear I was out there at 9 am!! I had to wait until I was sure my agency wouldn't call me to work otherwise I would have begun before. I stopped at 11.15 to buy trellis and as soon as I've had lunch I shall be out there again planting bulbs. I'm not really much of a gardener but perhaps this is the start of a new healthy hobby. I'd rather do that than sit on an exercise bike.


----------



## thedame

Hi Guys

Back from our trip - seems we grabbed the best of the weather as today it is tipping it down here in Essex!

Pleased to hear your news Lizzie and Squidge- you are putting me to shame as my weight has stuck for several months. I could give lots of excuses, holiday etc but it is really down to lack of willpower On the plus side though I have not put any weight on which for me is a miracle so I have found a balance between healthy eating but with the odd larger portion or indulgence. 

You guys inspire me though and last week I was much tougher with myself: part of the problem, apart from the sweet tooth is boredom. I am sick of Ryvitas every lunch time! With the chilly weather, salads are not so appealing - I don't mind a salad with lots of meat and a nice crusty roll though- ha ha! Yesterday I made myself a ranch salad- shredded red cabbage, carrots and lettuce with a dollop of ranch dressing and half a chicken breast chopped into it- really nice- I quite like the cabbage and the red is even nicer so I can vary that idea a bit to ring the changes  

I have had a sore leg for a week or two - being short and fat sitting for 6 hours on a hard plastic chair in A&E with F-I-L made the muscles very sore and it is taking it's time to heal so had to cut down a bit on what little exercise I do...doesn't take much to knock you off the wagon does it! I have a treadmill in my little conservatory as I am too embarassed to go to the gym- DSN reckons it is a fine way to keep me moving as I can't risk my joints with flinging them about with anything to violent - swimming would be ideal but no way will I strip in public. I need a private pool in Florida I reckon! Dream on.

Still, no excuses, even good old Caroleann is managing a bit of movement with her sore toe (nice to see you posting in here ) so I must get off my butt and shed some pounds before Xmas. 

Before I go Hi Steffie - hope you are doing OK and Squidge, hope the sickness is not too bad-enjoy the wedding.


----------



## Lizzie53

Lesley if you fancy swimming go for it. Sod what anyone else thinks and anyway they are all too busy worrying about their own flab! It's a lovely way to get some exercise and you come home clean. Even with my weight loss I'm still a big girl but there are plenty of others the same at the pool. I'm still in the morbidly obese bracket and my goal is to be just fat ROFL. When I see someone in there who is bigger than me I just think 'good for her'.  Get yourself a nice supportive cossie and either a wrap or a light dressing gown to get from the changing room to the pool. I swim in a hotel pool where they keep the water temps quite warm and I have found certain times of the day when there are very few in there.


----------



## Steff

Hi Lesley welcome back nice to see you hun, i agree with lizzie i was just talking the other day about swimming and how the hardest bit for me was actually getting the confidence to get in the water x


----------



## Steff

Hi all hows it going ?
Lizzie did you go swimming x


----------



## Lizzie53

Yep, I have forced myself out of the house and into the pool several times this week. I'm working up to popping my head round the gym door before the swim. I haven't managed to get a glimpse of the personal trainer though. I'm going again today. I have found the best time is just after lunch and then the pool is very quiet. I'll just have  an early, very light lunch and head off about 1pm. I'm not the prettiest of sights in a cossie but I just don't care as once in the water I love it.


----------



## Steff

lol good for going hun i aint been this week due to being poorly but bk into it next week x


----------



## Steff

Morning,

Hope everyones well, squidge how are things going for you ??


----------



## Lizzie53

Are you feeling better Steffie? Hope so.
Just out of the blue I've had a morning of feeling nauseus today but it is passing now and as there was no work for me today I shall have a light lunch and force myself along to the pool. It's funny how it takes such effort to get myself there but I always enjoy it. Maybe this gloomy weather doesn't help. On a good note my morning fasting BG has been 5.1 for the last 3 mornings. Up until this week it has usually been 6 something. Doc has said she doesn't want me to stop the gliclazide until my readings are regularly below 6 for fasting and pre meal tests. So fingers x this will continue.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Are you feeling better Steffie? Hope so.
> Just out of the blue I've had a morning of feeling nauseus today but it is passing now and as there was no work for me today I shall have a light lunch and force myself along to the pool. It's funny how it takes such effort to get myself there but I always enjoy it. Maybe this gloomy weather doesn't help. On a good note my morning fasting BG has been 5.1 for the last 3 mornings. Up until this week it has usually been 6 something. Doc has said she doesn't want me to stop the gliclazide until my readings are regularly below 6 for fasting and pre meal tests. So fingers x this will continue.



Hi Liz yes thanks all over my tummy bug thank goodness, the snack im having at night seems to be doing the trick really well sticking to having 2 crackers with smoked ham at around 10pm and waking BGS have been under 7 for a good while now so im really pleased with that.Hope it does continue for you hun good luck with itx 

p.s enjoy the pool im away after 5 for an hour in my local swimming pool  x


----------



## squidge63

Steffie said:


> Morning,
> 
> Hope everyones well, squidge how are things going for you ??



not bad thanks Steffie, felt horrendously sick after the first few doses of the 10 but hopefully that has died down now, touch wood..


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> not bad thanks Steffie, felt horrendously sick after the first few doses of the 10 but hopefully that has died down now, touch wood..



Fingers crossed hun, how long you been on the 10 now? x


----------



## squidge63

Steffie said:


> Fingers crossed hun, how long you been on the 10 now? x



It will be a week tomorrow.. so far so good lol


----------



## Lizzie53

What's your blood doing now then Squidge? Any improvement?

You'll all be most impressed with me today I'm just heading out the door for yet another swim. Thats the third one in 4 days - not bad eigh? I did actually speak to the personal trainer yesterday girls but sad to say he's not my type ROFL and far too young. Might give him a whirl soon though.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> What's your blood doing now then Squidge? Any improvement?
> 
> You'll all be most impressed with me today I'm just heading out the door for yet another swim. Thats the third one in 4 days - not bad eigh? I did actually speak to the personal trainer yesterday girls but sad to say he's not my type ROFL and far too young. Might give him a whirl soon though.



oh well  throw him over this way im only 27 hahaha....
good going on the swimming hun your putting me to shame


----------



## squidge63

Lizzie53 said:


> What's your blood doing now then Squidge? Any improvement?
> 
> You'll all be most impressed with me today I'm just heading out the door for yet another swim. Thats the third one in 4 days - not bad eigh? I did actually speak to the personal trainer yesterday girls but sad to say he's not my type ROFL and far too young. Might give him a whirl soon though.



Doing much better Lizzie, generally now between 4.8 - 7ish in the mornings, which is good as it used to be anything above 9 upwards.. and night times I can go to bed quite happy between 5 and 8  Hope I see some improvement in my HbA1c when it is next done..


----------



## Lizzie53

Hey pretty good then squidge well more than good, fantastic I think and well done.
Steffie you are welcome to the personal trainer - he's all yours and I think he would even be a toy boy for you. Early 20's I reckon lol. 
I don't know what has happened to me as I'm really enjoying the exercise. I feel as if I have so much more energy just in the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure why it has taken until now though. I upped the swimming a bit today I usually do 20 mins without stopping but today managed 35 mins so felt very pleased with that, I even dusted off the exercise bike and did 15 mins on that too. I do find that a bit dreary though but I'm not confident enough to go out on a real bike especially now it is a bit darker in the afternoons. Anyway I have promised myself that I will swim every day that I don't work and get on that bike a few times a week. I'm trying to get him indoors to come to tango lessons with me too but he doesn't seem keen ROFL.


----------



## Steff

Lizzie53 said:


> Hey pretty good then squidge well more than good, fantastic I think and well done.
> Steffie you are welcome to the personal trainer - he's all yours and I think he would even be a toy boy for you. Early 20's I reckon lol.
> I don't know what has happened to me as I'm really enjoying the exercise. I feel as if I have so much more energy just in the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure why it has taken until now though. I upped the swimming a bit today I usually do 20 mins without stopping but today managed 35 mins so felt very pleased with that, I even dusted off the exercise bike and did 15 mins on that too. I do find that a bit dreary though but I'm not confident enough to go out on a real bike especially now it is a bit darker in the afternoons. Anyway I have promised myself that I will swim every day that I don't work and get on that bike a few times a week. I'm trying to get him indoors to come to tango lessons with me too but he doesn't seem keen ROFL.



ROFL not his thing then, im sure if you told him they was a bar there he might be more keen even though they proberly aint 

Lesley hope your ok  been a little while since seen you about?? xx


----------



## squidge63

Just to remind me that I am on Byetta and have been on 10mcg for a week, I really felt nauseous today, that's because I said that it hadn't been too bad lol.. beware of the revenge of Byetta .. it can hear you ..lol


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> Just to remind me that I am on Byetta and have been on 10mcg for a week, I really felt nauseous today, that's because I said that it hadn't been too bad lol.. beware of the revenge of Byetta .. it can hear you ..lol



lol sorry to hear that squidge, are you injectin in your tummy btw ?


----------



## squidge63

Steffie said:


> lol sorry to hear that squidge, are you injectin in your tummy btw ?



Yes I am injecting in my tummy, it's where I inject my insulin as well, apart from at the weekend when I was at a wedding I injected my insulin in my leg.. I prefer using my tummy though for all injections. Where do you inject Steffie?


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> Yes I am injecting in my tummy, it's where I inject my insulin as well, apart from at the weekend when I was at a wedding I injected my insulin in my leg.. I prefer using my tummy though for all injections. Where do you inject Steffie?



In my tummy i stopped about 3 months ago to give it a break as i was getting lumps and went for my thigh but it was severly bruising so i stopped...


----------



## thedame

Hi Guys

Nice to hear all your news- Squidge, you should know better than to challenge the Byetta Well done though your levels are fantastic

Sorry I haven't been about- came down with a sort of cold at the weekend. Very weird - Bill & I have both been poorly- he started with fever and a hacking cough - I followed with aches and pains, feeling generally rough and ear ache from blocked tubes. But it never really came out as a cold. I feel a lot better today but poor Bill has come over all feverish this evening and his cough is no better. What are the chances of me getting him to the docs do you think? Very slim - he says he feels too ill! 

I had my check up with mmy DSN last week and discussed their ban on me having the flu jab but the doc there wouldn't budge. I blame them for my decline! The only thing I can hope for is that next year the swine flu will not be included in the seasonal mix as they change it as threats change. The doc sent me a message to say they can treat flu so not to worry- huh, let's hope it doesn't come to that. 

Anyway, glad to hear that Lizzie is getting ready to swim the channel and I bags the PT after Steffie- I am old enough to be beyond such lustful thoughts. Actually, thoughts is all I have the energy for these days


----------



## Lizzie53

Sorry to say squidge that Byetta quite often turns round and bites me on the b**, so to speak. I can be absolutely fine for ages and then all of a sudden feel so sick. It doesn't happen as often now though and most of the time I'm ok. The worst time of all was the first 2 weeks of the 10 pen, I just had to lie in a quiet place for 2 hours every morning. Try ginger tea as it helps me a lot. I also find that carb heavy meals sometimes leave me feeling nauseus.
I'm a tum jabber too unless I'm out and want to do it under the table and then I hitch up my skirt and ram it in my thigh.
Just spotted your message Lesley and yes the PT is all yours. I'll be doing a spot more channel swimming training tomorrow. I took the day off today and did housework. Hope you feel less sniffy soon.


----------



## Steff

*Oops*

I've been so bad lately i forgot altogether to take my jab Sunday.. realised while lying in bed about midnight! Then last night took my shot and jumped through the roof, i might post this in the general messageboard and see what others think, but i must of put the injection in wrong because it really really hurt had a look down there and the little nick was abit larger then usual and the blood was abit heavier,left me feeling confused maybe im just doing it wrong hmmm.


----------



## thedame

Steffie said:


> I've been so bad lately i forgot altogether to take my jab Sunday.. realised while lying in bed about midnight! Then last night took my shot and jumped through the roof, i might post this in the general messageboard and see what others think, but i must of put the injection in wrong because it really really hurt had a look down there and the little nick was abit larger then usual and the blood was abit heavier,left me feeling confused maybe im just doing it wrong hmmm.



Hi Guys

Feeling more like my old self now- funny though as I lost all will power fora bit then- comfort ate a whole bat of choccie and some biccies - well at least the choc was dark high cocoa content! Must have been the virus wot did it 

Steffie, you still using the thigh? I gave up on my thigh cos I ran out of places - although big, my tum gives an even bigger target. Even so, I sometimes find spots where it hurts and now and again, I get a big drop of liquid out when I reset the pen- this indicates to me that I am not getting the dose properly and believe this to be over usage of certain areas? I may be wrong - some T1's or others on insulin might be able to clarify but sometimes I feel a  little resistance although I know there is plenty of fat. I now inspect my chosen target site for signs of yellowing from a previous attack before taking the plunge!

If in doubt Steffie I would speak to you nurse next visit - maybe you need to change the needles or something? Good luck with it- it is hard enough having diabetes without equipment failure xxx


----------



## Steff

thedame said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Feeling more like my old self now- funny though as I lost all will power fora bit then- comfort ate a whole bat of choccie and some biccies - well at least the choc was dark high cocoa content! Must have been the virus wot did it
> 
> Steffie, you still using the thigh? I gave up on my thigh cos I ran out of places - although big, my tum gives an even bigger target. Even so, I sometimes find spots where it hurts and now and again, I get a big drop of liquid out when I reset the pen- this indicates to me that I am not getting the dose properly and believe this to be over usage of certain areas? I may be wrong - some T1's or others on insulin might be able to clarify but sometimes I feel a  little resistance although I know there is plenty of fat. I now inspect my chosen target site for signs of yellowing from a previous attack before taking the plunge!
> 
> If in doubt Steffie I would speak to you nurse next visit - maybe you need to change the needles or something? Good luck with it- it is hard enough having diabetes without equipment failure xxx



glad your feeling bk on track hun x
no hun tummy, i left the thigh alone when the bruises were just to unsightly, emma suggested if it carries onto be a struggle i can ask for a refresher course on injecting x


----------



## squidge63

Lizzie53 said:


> Sorry to say squidge that Byetta quite often turns round and bites me on the b**, so to speak. I can be absolutely fine for ages and then all of a sudden feel so sick. It doesn't happen as often now though and most of the time I'm ok. The worst time of all was the first 2 weeks of the 10 pen, I just had to lie in a quiet place for 2 hours every morning. Try ginger tea as it helps me a lot. I also find that carb heavy meals sometimes leave me feeling nauseus.
> I'm a tum jabber too unless I'm out and want to do it under the table and then I hitch up my skirt and ram it in my thigh.
> Just spotted your message Lesley and yes the PT is all yours. I'll be doing a spot more channel swimming training tomorrow. I took the day off today and did housework. Hope you feel less sniffy soon.



Yup this is my 2nd week and it is worse than the 1st week, I just don't want to eat.. so far the past 3 days I haven't taken my evening jab as I am not eating.. I have something in the morning after my jab and still feel yuk for the rest of the day.. often need to lie down and just let it pass.. worse thing is that I am on regular anti-emetics and they don't even help.. I didn't have an appetite before being put on Byetta, my dietician was trying to get me to eat more.. should be fun when I go to see her next time.. at least I am losing weight though lol..


----------



## Lizzie53

Try and keep going Squidge and try to have your twice daily jab and try to eat just a little after. It did pass for me after a couple of weeks and just pops back now and again but not as bad. I actually took 2 weeks off work so that I could crash out for a bit and not feel stressed. Ginger is really helpful. Nibble a few ginger bikkies and drink ginger tea it does help a bit. Some folk who cant bear the 10 dose have gone back to the 5 so that is something you could consider when you speak to your nursie.
When my nausea was at it's worst I only waited about 10 minutes before eating as that is supposed to help. I also had teeny little meals and cold food seemed best perhaps half a slice of wholemeal with a little bit of ham and a spoon of coleslaw. Or a plain yogurt with a few berries.
There were a few days when I wondered if it was worth it but now I can truly say it was as I mostly feel fine and love being slimmer and having more energy. I have only missed 2 jabs ever, so I think it is very important for you to keep it going.
Went to the dentist for a check up today and he said he thought my gums were looking great and better than they have been for a couple of years. I no longer have a dry mouth so perhaps this is another benefit from the Byetta.


----------



## Steff

Good morning gang just checking in to see how everyone is getting on? no more pain for me since the other day thank goodness.Off out for a little treat this morning getting my hair done.


----------



## squidge63

Well I think it's giving me a break, haven't felt as sick now for 2 days..  I noticed yesterday that when I prime the pen some of the fluid comes out, I am sure it never did that before, now I shake that off and then inject, just hope that it isn't the amount I should be injecting that I am shaking off? I also noticed apart from a bubble, I have something alien floating around in there..!! I see my DSN on Monday and wondered whether I should say something to her about it.. Hope everyone is well.


----------



## sofaraway

Dave, are you priming the pen before each use? You only need to do that the first time you use the pen


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Squidge some pens seem to leak a little before injecting. The one I have at the moment hasn't done it at all. There shouldn't be anything floating in it. I have had 2 problems where blood got into the chamber and I had to discard them both and start new ones. If it is blood in your pen it tends to turn to a kind of white thread after a few hours. Then I had another one when after 3 weeks there were tiny bits in it. I had to discard that too. I have since read that the bits may be pieces of plastic coming off and entering the fluid and so it is a faulty pen. I think you should take it back to the pharmacist tomorrow and show him/her. If the pen is faulty it should be replaced by the manufacturer. You shouldn't use any pen where anything has got into the fluid.


----------



## Steff

Hi all hope all the babes are doing well xx?


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Steffie
I think after a while with Byetta there isn't much to report. We kind of get used to it and just jog along. I'm still very happy with it and BG's are pretty good, almost always within the nice guidelines. Doc said I must remain on Gliclazide until I have lost more weight. I was a bit naughty and tried a week without them and BG did go up a bit, not as much as she thought but enough to make me go back on them. My weight seems to stay the same now but that 16kg off is still a great feeling. I seem to be able to eat more now though but at least I haven't gained. I must make an effort to shift another 16kg though soon. I'm off to the Black Forest next weekend for a day at a spa and then a birthday party so I do hope I can behave myself with all that gateaux and stuff around. We will also go to a Christmas market and of course the mulled wine will be flowing. I have upped the exercise and walk and swim a lot so fingers x if I can avoid all the temptations the weight loss will kick in again soon.


----------



## Steff

Hi Lizzie i guess your right lol, been looking around the shops and the place is just ful of sugar ladened xmas treats lol, think this year i will treat myself to a mini xmas pud and be done with it lol x


----------



## caroleann

Where are  the byetta babe's how are you all doing.


----------



## Steff

caroleann said:


> Where are  the byetta babe's how are you all doing.



Yeah im fine hun i think like lizzie said once your on the beytta theres not alot to report lol, but im doing well still hope you are to


----------



## Lizzie53

yoo hoo! OK here too although my weight loss has come to a standstill. At least I have not gained any. I've been getting hypos much more often, they don't go much below 4 but it does mean it messes up what I eat as I get very hungry and it's so hard not to shove everything around in. The worst time seems to be after swimming and around 4pm when of course I don't really want to be eating anything as I usually have my jab at 5pm and eat dinner just before 6pm. I think I'll have to make sure I have a sensible snack around 3pm to try to avoid this happening. I just don't seem to have got my act together with that. On the plus side my BG is very good most of the time. It is almost always within NICE guidelines but with these few irritating lows but as I said they are not far under 4, usually around 3.7 ish. I'm hoping this is a sign that perhaps I don't need the gliclazide any more. Doc said she wants my pre meal readings to always be under 6 but although they often are it's not always yet.


----------



## Steff

Hi all been a while hope the babes are doing well, have not seen Lesley on for a long while hope things are ok on that front, same with lizziee hope if you see this your doing well.Squidge how are things going now you have been on the byetta over a month now is it?
Nothing much to report here im afraid i am seeing my DSN and doctor next week and im really teetering with the idea of asking about victoza i know the byetta has done wonders but at the moment im afraid its just not doing it for me, hope the change over is possible im not sure but i have many questions i need to ask.


----------



## Lizzie53

Hi Steffie I'm here. Sorry to hear that Byetta is no longer doing it for you. My BG levels are still OK although I was a bit of an idiot over xmas and just stuffed myself lol. I kept in single figures most of the time but was up a bit on usual readings. I also gained 3lb which I am really cross about. So now I have hopped upon the waggon again and will sort myself out. The snow kept me away from the swimming pool as it is up a hill that was very icy. Now I have got out of the habit but I am planning to go tomorrow and get back to the 3 or 4 times a week.
I hope you find something to help you.


----------



## Steff

Hi Lizzie thank goodness i get emails when i get a reply to this thread or id of missed your reply great to hear from you hun, i think alot uf us kinda just blitzed out at xmas i gained 2lb but im not more determined then ever to get back on the exercise wagon, ive got to say the swimming has took a back burner for to long so i am going to get back into it hail or high water lol x Hope your levels go back down to there usual readings hun, catch you soon x


p.s All i can do is ask if they say no then fair enough I wont throw my toys out the pram because i know i have asked.x


----------



## squidge63

Had my check up with my DSN today which went well, my night levemir is up to 78 while I have cold symptoms and general feeling of unwellness (think I made that word up lol).. have lost weight since I last saw her in Nov but think I have put on a couple of pounds since Christmas.. but the good news is that since starting Byetta my hbA1c has gone from 9.8% to 8.7%  the Byetta is on its lets make me nauseous stage at the moment..


----------



## Northerner

That's a great reduction in HbA1c squidge! Hope the nausea passes soon and that the weight loss continues


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> Had my check up with my DSN today which went well, my night levemir is up to 78 while I have cold symptoms and general feeling of unwellness (think I made that word up lol).. have lost weight since I last saw her in Nov but think I have put on a couple of pounds since Christmas.. but the good news is that since starting Byetta my hbA1c has gone from 9.8% to 8.7%  the Byetta is on its lets make me nauseous stage at the moment..



great news micheal on the hbA any reduction is good, hope you start to feel well soon x


----------



## AlisonM

Hello all, I'm now an official Byetta Babe. 

Went round to the surgery today after stopping off at the chemist who couldn't find my prescription! It turned up after an anxious five minutes and I went in to see the Practice Nurse to do my first jab while she watched. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. After about 20 minutes she said "I think you'll live, off you go". The reason for this is that tbhey were worried I might have an allergic reaction but it was just the same as the practice jab, a little red spot and an itch, nothing to strees about. So now I'm on my own until the DSN at Raigmore calls with an appointment for me later in the week. In the meantime I have to keep copious notes on symptoms, diet, BGs etc., etc. I'll still be going on insulin in the near future (once they get the results of all the tests back) but they're hoping this will bring my bloods down a bit in the meantime. I'm waiting with baited breath...

Do anyone else get a bit of an itch at the injection site?


----------



## Steff

Welcome to the babes thread hun lol....

Lucky you I never got any of the we will watch you take your first jab, i was just given a quick lesson with a pen the nurse had in her room lol....

I hope it can help bring down your levels Alison..


----------



## Steff

Sorry just spotted your itch question hun, i did and still do sometimes a little red mark appear and it can be itchy as well but it usually has gone next time i inject....


----------



## AlisonM

Steffie said:


> Welcome to the babes thread hun lol....
> 
> Lucky you I never got any of the we will watch you take your first jab, i was just given a quick lesson with a pen the nurse had in her room lol....
> 
> I hope it can help bring down your levels Alison..



It wasn't cos they didn't think I would do it right but because of the danger of an allergic reaction. If I was going to go into anaphylactic shock they wanted me were they could deal with it fast. But it's fine and I don't seem to be having kind of reaction yet. How long before the side-effects kick in?


----------



## Steff

AlisonM said:


> It wasn't cos they didn't think I would do it right but because of the danger of an allergic reaction. If I was going to go into anaphylactic shock they wanted me were they could deal with it fast. But it's fine and I don't seem to be having kind of reaction yet. How long before the side-effects kick in?



Cant answer that one im afraid hun the rest of the gang lizzie dame had more experience with that i was really lucky to avoid more of the severe side effects i.e terrible nausea, only in the first 3 weeks did i have nausea but nothing ever since.


----------



## AlisonM

Two and a half hours after the first jab and my bloods have gone down from 20.0 to 15.3.


----------



## Steff

AlisonM said:


> Two and a half hours after the first jab and my bloods have gone down from 20.0 to 15.3.



Well thats a good start Alison hun onwards and downwards so to speak lol x


----------



## AlisonM

Steffie said:


> Well thats a good start Alison hun onwards and downwards so to speak lol x



Just tested again:

9.7!

Yay!

Feeling a little queasy though. Still, it's a good 6 weeks since I was in single figures so this is a great start.


----------



## Steff

AlisonM said:


> Just tested again:
> 
> 9.7!
> 
> Yay!
> 
> Feeling a little queasy though. Still, it's a good 6 weeks since I was in single figures so this is a great start.



Brilliant Alison it must make you feel so much better as well, good ol byetta making me think twice now about changing lol x


----------



## Lizzie53

Great news and I hope it continues to work well for you. I seem to have stopped losing weight now so will actually have to make more of an effort but apart from a blip over xmas when I was a pig my BG has stayed within NICE guidelines so Byetta has been a huge success for me. I do sometimes get little itchy places but I generally ignore them and they go before long.


----------



## AlisonM

I don't think I need to worry about hypos for a while, I woke this morning at 14.7 but that's still two points lower than I have been lately. I'm a bit afraid to get too heopful even at this early stage because I've been here before. This happened with both Metformin and Glucophage, my numbers fell for a while but then started climbing again. I'm due to see the DSN on 1st Feb after my test results are in so until then I'll keep on testing.


----------



## AlisonM

So, here I am at the end of week one on Byetta and things are a bit better. Instead of ranging from the mid teens to the low twenties, my numbers are now running from the low to mid teens with the occassional venture into single numbers. Not nearly good enough but still an improvement. One big difference (asdie form the horrid sdie effects) is the way my numbers go during the day. I'm starting out high in the morning and getting lower through the day, it doesn't seem to matter what/when I eat or exercise. The numbers start to climb again in the late evening.


----------



## lucy123

Hi all you Byetta Babes - i hope you don't mind me posting on here. There is a very good chance (although not totally confirmed yet until 11th) that I will be going on Byetta. As some of you will know I have been in hospital for a week getting tests done to find out why I keep hypoing - they found out my bs was going quite high and then crashing and very strange things were happening with my insulin - quite rare apparently. The consultant mentioned byetta as a good medication to try and control the insulin more (together with another med I can't remember) and also hinted it may aid weight loss too, although he wouldn't ever prescribe jsut for weight loss. I don't find out until 11th but wondered what your experiences were on it. eg why are you on it (ie what is your insulin doing) and have you found it helpful. Do you have to eat any differently? 

You can probably guess I am a tad nervous, and as I say it could all change on 11th and find myself on something completely different. The consultant was excellent though and very well respected - apparently one of the best in the UK.

Thanks for any support and if it does turn out I am wasting your time, I apologise in advance.


----------



## squidge63

Well sadly I will have to leave the Byetta Babes.. I was taken off of it last week as it wasn't really working for me. I spent more time with chronic nausea and hardly ate. Also the trial period is 6 months and if you haven't had a drastic drop in HbA1c then it is not worth carrying on as it is so expensive. Mine went from 9.8% to 8.7% and then up to 8.8%..

Lucy123 what's the name of your consultant, if he is that well respected I think we should all move to wherever he is..lol


----------



## lucy123

Hi Squidge and thanks for posting.
Can I ask was you on Byetta for long and if so did you lose much weight/need to lose weight? Did you inject twice a day?


----------



## Lizzie53

Oh Squidge so sorry you are no longer a babe. Hope you find something that works for you.
Lucy I have been using it since June 2010 and it works well for me. My Hba1c is down from 10.5 to 6. I have also lost 2 and a half stone although weight loss has evened out now and I must make more of an effort. I need to shift another 2 and a half stone really.
I was given it because Actos caused a massive weight gain yet without it my Hba1c was far too high. This stuff has reduced my appetite big time. I don't use insulin although it was on the cards and consultant said it was either the insulin or Byetta and suggested trying the latter. I see the consultant again in October so for now I will remain a Byetta Babe.
Also Lucy, I inject it twice a day before breakfast and dinner. It's no big deal. The first couple of months were difficult with nausea but I persevered and now have no problems. You do have to help it work though by reducing portions and reducing carbs. I eat a few as they are needed to make the drug work but nothing like as many as I used to. I do eat very differently now the biggest difference is in the size of the meals and much less snacking.


----------



## squidge63

Was on it for 6 months for the first 4 months I took it twice a day, apart from a few days when it made me so sick I stopped it. Then the last 2 months it was once a day then twice a day as and when I could tolerate it as it made me so sick. I have lost 11lb in that time but have also increased my exercise.


----------



## AlisonM

What a shame Squidge. Do you think they might consider that new stuff Steff's on, Victoza is it?

I'm still in the 'early' stages and having real trouble with nausea which I hope will ease off soon because other than that it seems to be working pretty well. The DSN took me off the Gliclazide again yesterday because of all the hypos so we'll have to see what happens now.

There seems to be some debate about how long to wait after the injection before you eat. I was told to eat within 20 minutes, but I noted the other day that someone was told to wait at least an hour (if I did that I couldn't eat at all I'd be so sick). What were the rest of you told?


----------



## Lizzie53

I was told to eat anytime during the first hour of taking it and that I must not wait any longer than an hour as then it would not work. The nurse suggested that during the first month to eat after 30 mins and thereafter to leave it 40-55 mins. I must say it varies with me as if I'm working I need to get up, eat and get off to work so usually it's about 15 mins, In the evening it depends on how hungry I am but really it's more often 30 mins. I no longer get the nausea, I think it wore off after about 3 months.


----------



## squidge63

I don't know AlisonM, the Dr didn't mention it, plus I don't fancy it either I have heard that Victoza induces worse nausea than Byetta, and I couldn't cope with that..!!! I am quite happy with my insulin and metformin, just have to work on getting that right.


----------



## Steff

squidge63 said:


> I don't know AlisonM, the Dr didn't mention it, plus I don't fancy it either I have heard that Victoza induces worse nausea than Byetta, and I couldn't cope with that..!!! I am quite happy with my insulin and metformin, just have to work on getting that right.



Yeah it does David i can vouch for that now lol, what side effects i missed with byetta well there certainly getting me with the victoza lol.


----------



## AlisonM

I'm having enough trouble dealing with the nauses caused by the Byetta, I'd hate to have anything worse than this. Especially as I'm sitting here now trying desperately not to be sick.


----------



## AlisonM

A serious question. This business of the faulty Byetta pen is a huge concern to me, not least because it may be happening to others. 

When I set up the first 10 microgram pen, I did as instructed and dialled the first dose, expelling it through the needle then dialled the dose to be injected. It shot out the end into the air. So I asked for a new one and the same thing happened. I started dialling the dose and then putting the needle on, which seems to work. But... I'm not certain I'm getting the full dose each time. I've had two more pens since then, both with this problem. As an aside, I didn't have this trouble with the 5 microgram pen. It has to be either a faulty batch (unlikely as the serial numbers aren't sequential), a problem with either the way the pens are stored or the way they're shipped, or a design fault in the 10 microgram pens. The one thing it isn't is user error because I went over what I've been doing with the pharmacist and I'm doing it right according to him.

My questions for you Babes are. Am I the only one among us with this problem? Are any of you on the same dose and have any of you noticed or heard of anyone else with a similar problem?

If there are more of us then we have a potentially serious issue with the manufacturers of the 10mcg pens.


----------



## Blythespirit

Hi Alison. This is a worry! I'm just over 2 weeks in on the 5mg so will be going on the 10mg in another couple of weeks if they let me stay on it. My BG's have come down a fair bit although still too high. I'm getting very few side effects ( acid reflux in the morning and indigestion in the evening) oddly I've actually put 3lb on!? I'm doing and eating nothing differently to before so don't get that.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had problems with the pen and will mention it ot my DSN if sheever calls me this week. She was supposed to call yesterday but nothing so far. Of course if I have any problems when I do get the 10mg pen I'll let you know. Take care. XXXXX


----------

