Byetta and Type 1 Diabetes?

I’m just not sure what to think.

When that happens (being not sure what to think) I often turn to you (the blogosphere).

I had my quarterly endo appointment recently. After arriving ten minutes early, I got into the exam room quickly, had a nice twenty minute nap, then saw the doc for a little less than five minutes.

My A1C is exactly the same as last time, which I take as a good sign because I was expecting it to be higher than last time.

I expressed an interest in starting Symlin, which he pretty quickly dismissed. He said we can talk more about it next appointment (in three months). “What’s wrong with this appointment?” I thought to myself…

I was taken back by his quick dismissal, and am not too sure what to think about it.

Since I am not interested in starting it until it is available in pen form, I didn’t press this too much. I’ll make another call and appointment (and co-pay) once the pen is launched.

He then started talking up Byetta. I thought Byetta was more commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, and was not used with type 1 diabetes.

Is that true?

Are there any of you out there that are type 1 and are using Byetta? What have your experiences been?

When I left the office I wondered if the Byetta rep is better looking than the Symlin rep. But then I realized that both drugs are from the same company and would then probably have the same sales rep. Where the heck are this doc’s motivations coming from then?

Looking back on Amy Tenderich’s post on Byetta back in June of 2006, two of the three actions caused appear to be pretty dang close to those of Amylin (slow gastric emptying and reducing appetite), and the third would not affect me (stimulating beta cells to make more insulin).

If that is the case, what’s up with all of the stuff I see on the web about Byetta not being used for those using insulin? Is it dangerous to use with insulin? What’s the difference between the two (Byetta and Symlin)? And why the heck does the doc feel so strongly about Byetta?

Color me confused. Again.

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Scott K. Johnson

Patient voice, speaker, writer, advocate, and Senior Community Manager at Blue Circle Health. Living life with diabetes and telling my story. All opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent my employer’s position. Read more…

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