Islets of Hope: BYETTA: Day 1

Yesterday, I was given my prescription for BYETTA. (Pronounced bye-A-ta). 5 mcg, got my pen, read the instructions. Twice last night. Once this morning. I don't need the information. I have read everything there is to read about BYETTA for months now until I have memorized the product packet insert, which, I can recite, in english and in tongues.

This morning, I am excited. What do I do first? Oh, yes. Test blood sugars. Must not be too low for my first dose. 86 mg/dL. Great, almost like I am not even a diabetic with PCOS and severe insulin resistance. One would never know what medical dysfunctions lurk within my encodrine depths.

Maybe I should wait until tonight. What if it makes me sick? I have to drive children to school. I have company coming for the weekend. I am allergic to a lot things. What if I have an allergic reaction? What if gas prices soar? What if Grey's Anatomy did not record on TIVO last night? What if ... I put the BYETTA back into the fridge and walk away disappointed in myself.

"Betty" haunts me. I have hoped and prayed for this drug therapy as a supplement to diet and exercise and Glucophage, none of which are working well for me any longer, for months now. Why I am hesitant this morning about starting? Prescribee's remorse? I realize my fear is very simple: what if it does not work? Geeze, I am stronger than this.

I open the box. Do my "first time pen users" prep and am ready to go.

For my maiden injection I decide upon a large, obscene roll of stomach fat. Since my hysterectomy last year I have gained almost 30 pounds -- 30 lbs of the 150 lbs I had taken off almost 10 years ago. I want it gone again. I diet. I exercise. Heck, I even gave up my 2 liters of Diet Coke a day (I drank diet soda instead of eating). Maybe this drug will help get my overzealous pancreas, Pete, to calm down, stop putting out the insulin like there is an endless supply and letting me have some peace of mind, normal blood sugars, and a svelte body once again.

The needle is shorter than I expected. Having injected insulin into my tiny daughter who was diagnosed at age 4, this was still my first pen experience. I am impressed. Tiny needle, tiny dose. Big, fat injection site: I can do this.

I am surprised at the ease in which the needle glides into my fat. I did not feel anything. Is it in? Looks in, just lost under the sea of excess body "tissue." I inject the dose. I count. 1...2...3...4...5. The many months of pleading for, and waiting for, the BYETTA prescription were certainly a lot more painful.

There. I did it. I am no longer a BYETTA virgin and I am proud. I am a GILLY GIRL! I want to shout, but there is no one to hear. The dog seems entirely disinterested in this monumental event in my life. My new life. My life on the lizard.

Only minutes after the injection I feel a tingly sort of numbness through my hands and up my arms. I am dizzy. Or I am giddy? Or now, should I say am I "gilly" with excitement? I decide that this is anticipation, hope surging through my body; excitement and not really a side effect of the great lizard drug.

What time is it? I am to eat within the hour. My doctor said waiting 20 minutes is best. Okay, that would be 6:50 a.m. Rats. What am I supposed to eat? My normal diet of a cup of coffee and 1-carb, no-fat, 80 calorie protein drink probably isn't the right thing. I hate breakfast. What do people eat for breakfast that is not sugary-delicious, carb-laden but cleverly packaged to appear as healthy?

I hate carbs. Wait. I don't. They hate me. I eat them and they party in my blood stream and then I get tired and moody. And fatter. Maybe I do hate them. Yes, so much that I want to kill them all with my gnashing teeth and digest them, savoring the sweet forbidden thrill of devouring a donut covered in chocolate. It's been years since I had a donut. But my quest for BYETTA is not about adding donuts into my lifestyle, it is about being able to eat fruit, whole grains, "maybe" an occassional bite or two of something naughty. BYETTA is about my health and an improved quality of life. I want some restored to me. I deserve it and frankly, as pathetic a die-hard partier Pete the Pancreas is, I prefer his company to multiple daily injections, of insulin, that is, BYETTA is different.

I decide on one half a low-carb bagel with a little whipped, low-fat cream cheese. This comes to 70 calories total, 1 gram of fat, and only 10 carbs. Half a protein shake for good luck, too. Add another 40 calories.

I don't eat on time, according to my doctor anyhow. I can't. I have four children busy with their own lives in the morning, which means chaos and shuffle. But I do manage to eat just under an hour after my injection so I don't worry.

The only proof, so far, that I have taken BYETTA is the metallic taste in my mouth, a dull headache (which is a norm for me anyhow), one lone pen needle in my sharps container, and hope.

Comments

Hi everyone, I found an article that I hope is relevant and helpful. It says that by preventing optimal absorption of vitamins B12 and folic acid, metformin could induce or contribute to megaloblastic anemia. Megaloblastic anemia occurs when your bone marrow doesn't have enough B vitamins to manufacture red blood cells. Your bone marrow then releases immature and dysfunctional red blood cells into circulation. Metformin impairs the optimal absorption of some B vitamins. This anemia is not real common, but a potential risk to be aware of, according to Dr. Nancy Dunne's Glucopage and PCOS article.

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