Yes, I'm still on the Byetta. 5mcg's twice a day. I take it anywhere from a half hour to an hour before breakfast and then the same before supper.
It really staggers me how expensive it is too. Thank goodness I have insurance through my job otherwise there is no way I would be using the Byetta now. I can't imagine how much more Victoza must cost because the Byetta for a 2 mos. supply is almost $1100.00!!!!!!! How outrageous is that? Why in the world does it have to cost so much? That is without insurance of course. It costs me 60.00 for a 2 mos. supply and then a box of 100 needles costs 30.00.
I think it's a crime that something that can help us stay healthy and possibly stave off more expensive medical treatments and hospital stays should cost so very much.
I do believe it has helped me to lose weight and that is the main reason my doctor wanted me on it.
Interesting that the Victoza made your readings high like that. As I've been on the Metformin/Byetta course since my journey began I have no idea if my numbers would actually be even lower if I wasn't using Byetta.Then again it could just be that it reacts differently in each individual.
May I ask, and I apologize if you covered this in a different post, but did you know you were diabetic when you went in for the amputation?

I had put it into another post but you are more than welcome to ask. I had been diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic in June of 2000. I was a very typical male and I was not monitoring nor was I watching my diet nor was I going to a doctor to help me with my diabetes. I guess that I was like so many others not wanting to accept that I was a diabetic. In March of 2009, I had bought a new pair of shoes, Doc Marten's and the first day that I wore them, I got a blister on the little toe of my left foot.

Coming towards the end of June, my foot had still not healed but I was feeling really terrible. One Saturday morning I woke up and as I was taking my shower I noticed a small bruise on my little toe. The other thing I noticed was a terrible smell coming from my foot. I went back to bed because I was feeling so terrible and the next morning when I woke up, the smell was even more horrific and the bruise had gotten big enough that it was covering the whole little toe. I went to the Emergency Room at the hospital and as soon as the triage nurse saw my foot she started an IV and had an orderly take me to the chronic care section. The GP came in and took one look at my foot and told me he had to call in a vascular surgeon. That is when I met Dr. Brandys, by the time he looked at my foot, the entire second toe was black as well as as section of the foot.

Dr. Brandys told me that they would have to operate as soon as possible and told me that he would have to remove the two toes as well as a good section of my left foot. Of course, I signed the consent forms. He came back a few minutes later and said that I had to sign another consent form that gave him permission to take the leg below the knee. A few minutes later, he came back with another consent form giving him permission to take the entire leg if need be. That is when I really lost it. He sent the nurse away and told me that he would do his very best to only take what needed to be taken and told me not to worry..

I was taken up to surgery at around 2:30 the next morning and I woke up in the recovery room at about 11:00 am. Since I had had a spinal block I could not feel a thing below my waist and I kept asking the nurse for a mirror to see what had been cut off. Which was kind of ridiculous because they had taken my glasses.

The next day, I started to monitor my BG. Dr Brandys knew that I was bored in the hospital and he also knew that I needed to keep my mind active so he said, "Lary, you are a computer guy, you have the time, so why don't you do something to help diabetics." I came to realize that there was really no internet sites around to help diabetics understand their disease and to help them maintain their logbooks. So, I wrote one. That is part of the reason I am so proud of my site, http://www.pcmdr.ca it allows people to put in their monitoring data and we also have forums there for people to ask questions and such. Dr Brandys really pushed for it and it made sense to do it. We are going to be a free service to diabetics and to the caregivers to look at a patients numbers in a graphical form. Our goal is to help people understand their disease and try to help them get it under control.

I know that I put in a lot of plugs for my site but in the dark days when I was flat on my back, it kept me going, I want to help diabetics and if I can prevent someone from going through what I did then it is all worth it, you know? My amputation was my own fault, I knew I was a diabetic and yet I was so stubborn about it, I decided to ignore it, not really a very bright move is it?

Ok, that is the story, hun. I don't mean to bore you folks but as I said before, it helps sometime if we know where the other person is coming from.

Hugs Liz for asking and hugs for just being you!!!!

lary

mzizgayle, many thanks for the raging moose description and Liz, you are so right that this topic begs for bad jokes and snark. I think it is a bad cosmic joke that healthy beans, tofu and veggies can bring on moose rage. As simplistic as it sounds, I think drinking lots of water helps, for me, it seems worse on those days when I don't drink enough water.

Lary, thanks for sharing your story with me. It certainly wasn't boring and hopefully if anyone here is in denial and reads your story it will help them face the reality that is diabetes. Hugs right back to you. this is what support is all about.
Demutt, I also think a sense of humor is absolutely vital!
Liz