Bydureon Diabetes Drug, Side Effects

 

Bydureon is a once weekly form of Byetta, an increasingly popular diabetes medication.  It has a variety of effects that make it a useful treatment for diabetes.  Most importantly, it helps lower blood sugar and has tended to help people lose weight.

Effects

Bydureon lowers fasting glucose levels, has tended to result in weight loss, and helps lower HbA1c levels.  Chemically, it is very similar to glucagon like peptide 1 (glp-1), which is something your body naturally secrets after eating.

Glp-1 helps you digest food as well as serve as a signal that you’ve eaten.

Efficacy

Studies have shown that Bydureon has significant effects that are positive.  On a purely chemical level, 77% of those on Bydureon achieved target HbA1c levels.  It also probably helps you lose weight.  In one study, participants lost around 4kg on average.

How does this impact your life?

One large study gave participants a Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire, which consists of 6 items scored 0-6 and general satisfaction questions.  The total score is 36.  Those who took Bydureon had about an impressive 5 point change in their score, with an average improvement of 1.3 in rating of satisfaction with treatment for diabetes.

That means that treatment with Bydureon has tended to improve people’s satisfaction with their overall treatment for diabetes.

Long release versus instant release

Byetta has already been available as a twice daily injection.  How does it compare to the once weekly form?

First, the most important note is that once weekly dosing is a lot easier than twice daily.  Especially since Byetta is injected.

Some studies have shown superior results achieving target levels for the long release form than the instant release.  In one, for instance, 77% of those on long release achieved target HbA1c levels, while only 61% of those on instant release did.

One study showed that people thought instant release and long release were about as effective.  That study,  however, showed that people rated long release as significantly more convenient than instant release.

Side effects of Bydureon

26.4% report nausea

17.6% report itching or discomfort at injection site

13.5% report diarrhea

10.8% report vomiting

~10% report constipation

4.7% report injection site bruising

Around 5% of those on Bydureon report a “serious” side effect.

Some people on Bydureon develop antibodies to the medication.  This was mostly not an issue but could lead to allergic reactions.

Concerns

Because of how Bydureon works, it may influence your body’s digestion of other medications.  This may be significantly important for contraceptives and antibiotics.  Additionally, one study showed that levels of Tylenol were significantly effected by Byetta.

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