I mentioned the other day that there were some issues with my health during my blogging hiatus, and I thought I should share a bit about what was going on during that time.

I've written previously about the trials and tribulations that I've had with oral medications; they've either worked great as far as blood glucose control is concerned but had horrible side effects that I couldn't handle, or they just didn't work well at all.  It's been an on again/off again struggle for the last couple of years and, unfortunately, I dealt with more of that during my time away.

In February, I wrote that I had switched to the oral medication Janumet, and that I was noticing big improvements in my blood glucose numbers.  I also mentioned that I had some reservation about taking something that contained metformin because it had caused problems for me previously.  Unfortunately, my fears were realized when the side effect of the medication once again began to out weight the benefit of the medication.

My doctor decided that since I had some success with glipizide early on, she wanted to see if I could use that again.  It was great as far as the lack of side effects was concerned, but it no longer worked for glucose control.  

At that point, I was feeling rather desperate and willing to try anything.  And after a good deal of consideration, I decided that it was time to talk with my doctor about trying injectable medications.  Admittedly, the doctor really didn't like the idea, as she didn't want me to have to deal with injections, etc...  , but she relented and agreed to let me try Byetta.

I've been taking two-5 mcg injections of Byetta each day for about two months now, and I've found that my blood glucose levels have improved, and that I've been able to tolerate the few side effects that I've experienced.  I was warned about possible nausea, but I have yet to experience that.  I have had an increase in acid reflux, which is a possible side effect, but I take medications for that anyway and have been able to get that under control.

Not only has the switch to Byetta helped with blood glucose control, it has also helped to curb my appetite, which has led to my losing some weight.  I've lost about ten pounds since starting the medication and I'm ecstatic about that.

I'll be sharing more about my experience with Byetta and what it's been like switching from oral medications to injectable medications in my next post.

Stay tuned...