PATIENT STORIES
Making a Difference in Patient Lives
Amylin has an ambitious and challenging goal: to change the lives of millions of people living with diabetes. To make that happen, they’ve delivered two first-in-class medicines that are totally different from other diabetes therapies, but work in conjunction with them.
SYMLIN® (pramlintide acetate) injection and BYETTA® (exenatide) injection are not suitable for everyone and individual results may vary because individuals respond differently. But when these compounds are used properly by appropriate patients and added to existing treatment regimens, they can facilitate improved blood glucose control, associated with potential weight loss.
In a 6-month, open-label clinical trial, insulin-using patients with type 2 (n = 166) or type 1 (n = 265) diabetes lost, on average, 6 Ib. SYMLIN is not indicated for the management of obesity.
BYETTA is not indicated for the management of obesity, and weight change was a secondary endpoint in clinical trials.
For important safety information, click here:
SYMLIN Important Safety Information, SYMLIN Prescribing Information, SYMLIN Medication Guide
BYETTA Important Safety Information, BYETTA Prescribing Information, BYETTA Medication Guide
WARNING
SYMLIN is used with insulin and has been associated with an increased risk of insulin-induced severe hypoglycemia, particularly in patients with type 1 diabetes. When severe hypoglycemia associated with SYMLIN use occurs, it is seen within 3 hours following a SYMLIN injection. If severe hypoglycemia occurs while operating a motor vehicle, heavy machinery, or while engaging in other high-risk activities, serious injuries may occur. Appropriate patient selection, careful patient instruction, and insulin dose adjustments are critical elements for reducing this risk.
SYMLIN is used with insulin and has been associated with an increased risk of insulin-induced severe hypoglycemia, particularly in patients with type 1 diabetes. When severe hypoglycemia associated with SYMLIN use occurs, it is seen within 3 hours following a SYMLIN injection. If severe hypoglycemia occurs while operating a motor vehicle, heavy machinery, or while engaging in other high-risk activities, serious injuries may occur. Appropriate patient selection, careful patient instruction, and insulin dose adjustments are critical elements for reducing this risk.
Indications
SYMLIN is an injectable medicine used to control blood sugar after meals in adults with type 2 or type 1 diabetes who take mealtime insulin.
BYETTA is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar (glucose) control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus, when used with a diet and exercise program.
BYETTA is not insulin and should not be taken instead of insulin. BYETTA is not recommended to be taken with insulin. BYETTA is not for people with type 1 diabetes or people with diabetic ketoacidosis.
Select Safety Information
- Serious side effects can happen in people who take BYETTA, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) which may be severe and lead to death.
- BYETTA should not be used in people who have severe kidney problems and should be used with caution in people who have had a kidney transplant.
- Your risk for getting low blood sugar is higher if you take BYETTA with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar, such as a sulfonylurea.
To read our patients' stories, click on a photo:
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Thank you for taking the time to tell us your story.
Karen
A school nurse for the past four years, Karen divides her time between an elementary school and a nearby high school. “If there’s ever a day when I’m feeling down,” she says, “I just visit the kindergarten!” For the past ten years, Karen’s very special interest has been scrapbooking, and she’s made about 20 scrapbooks so far, including albums for her mom and dad’s 50th wedding anniversary; for her husband, Joe; and for their sons, Matthew and John. “It’s an excellent hobby because you’re preserving memories and documenting the past important events and good times shared.” Karen has been taking oral medication for type 2 diabetes for the past ten years. Her endocrinologist kept adding and increasing medications to control her blood sugar. She said, “But in February 2006, it was the highest it had ever been. I was frustrated because nothing that I’d tried was keeping my sugar levels within a normal range." On the advice of her endocrinologist, she saw a diabetes educator and started BYETTA. "I began to see results almost at once. It was like a sudden burst of energy to see that my blood sugars were finally lower! Now, whenever I check my blood sugar after meals, it’s always within a normal range. I go to water aerobics every single morning, and I’ve lost a fair amount of weight. But from day one, my main focus has been to control my blood sugars, and that’s what’s happening.” Individual results may vary. BYETTA is not a weight-loss drug.
For important safety information, click here:
BYETTA Important Safety Information, BYETTA Prescribing Information, BYETTA Medication Guide Back to Top
Sylvia
Sylvia and her ten-year-old granddaughter get together often. But Ashley knows she has to share her grandmother with a lot of other people. “She says, ‘nana, you go and do what people need you to do, but when you come back, it’s my time.’” Sylvia was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1990. She started on oral medicine right away, but getting control was a constant struggle. “I got tired of fighting the battle, and just didn’t care anymore. But then I met a wonderful doctor, who set up a new treatment plan and sent me to a diabetic coordinator. She’s my angel. She taught me everything that I needed to know about diet and exercise, and introduced me to BYETTA a couple of years ago. I had nausea for three or four months, but I was bound and determined not to give up. I’d started to see a difference in my blood sugar levels the very first week. They were becoming normal, and that was giving me the ‘umph’ that I needed. And besides, I was losing weight. Now I have a new outlook and a new way of life. I’m eating healthy and doing a lot of brisk walking, and I’ve lost weight. I’m taking a low dosage of oral medicines and BYETTA injections, and my blood sugar is where it should be. God gave me a beautiful life and I’m enjoying every minute of it.” Individual results may vary. BYETTA is not a weight-loss drug.
For important safety information, click here:
BYETTA Important Safety Information, BYETTA Prescribing Information, BYETTA Medication Guide Back to Top
Yvonne
Yvonne and her husband, Bob, are adding a lot of color to their California home, repainting the entire place, one room at a time. The couple has two daughters, five grandchildren, and a little dog named Kipper. “I’m a jigsaw-puzzle person,” Yvonne says. “I can get the most complicated jigsaw puzzle you can imagine and be finished with it in a week. My husband says I do them way too fast, and it’s costing him a fortune!” Yvonne was 35 years old when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and her only therapy was diet control until she started on oral medicine about nine years ago. “We kept increasing the dosage year after year, but my blood sugar was still always high. Then my doctor told me about BYETTA injection. I started that in July 2005, and right away my blood sugar began coming down. Now, between the pills and the BYETTA, I’m within range most of the time.” Injections weren’t a problem for Yvonne, once she got the hang of it, but she did have some unwanted side effects: intermittent bouts of nausea or vomiting that lasted for a couple of months and still recur occasionally. “I stuck it out because BYETTA was bringing my blood sugar down,” she says, “and that was really more important.” Individual results may vary. BYETTA is not a weight-loss drug.
For important safety information, click here:
BYETTA Important Safety Information, BYETTA Prescribing Information, BYETTA Medication Guide Back to Top
Margo
Margo and her husband, Mario, are the parents of a five-year-old son and four daughters the same age—two-year-old quadruplets! “I’m an attorney in a general litigation practice, with a wonderful husband and five healthy children under six! That’s my life—my family, my work, and my dog!” Margo’s diagnosis with type 1 diabetes came as a complete surprise. “I thought I was expecting, because I felt very, very sick, but it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant at all. I was in very advanced DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), an acute, life-threatening complication of uncontrolled diabetes, and I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.” To get my blood sugar under control, I started injecting insulin right away, and started using a pump some years later. Even then, I still had some very serious problems with low blood sugar. “After I had the quads, I had a lot of trouble figuring out how much insulin I should be taking with my meals. I was usually taking more than I needed and couldn’t avoid the sharp drops in my blood sugar that were often occurring after meals.” In November 2005, she started taking SYMLIN. “I immediately noticed a reduction in my insulin needs, and just a general flattening out of my blood sugar level. After about six months, I started to lose some weight—when I finally realized that I wasn’t so hungry anymore and didn’t have to eat so much!” Individual results may vary. SYMLIN is not a weight-loss drug.
For important safety information, click here:
SYMLIN Important Safety Information, SYMLIN Prescribing Information, SYMLIN Medication Guide Back to Top
Tom
Tom and his wife, Dina, enjoy relaxing with their two-year-old “puggles.” The puggle is a cross between a pug and a beagle, and is recognized by the American Canine Hybrid Club. Hybrids are also known as "designer dogs," but Tom’s puggles, Bruno and Nate, don’t seem to care. Tom is the general manager of a family-owned dry-cleaning business in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He and his dad share full responsibility for the company’s 13 stores, operating plant, and the pickup and delivery service. Tom was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 16 years old. He started insulin therapy right away, and now uses an insulin pump. “When I first came down with diabetes, I lost weight, probably about 20 pounds. Then, once my blood sugar was stabilized, I started to gain.” Although his blood glucose levels were in a good range on average, his after-meal levels needed better control, and his diabetes educator recommended SYMLIN. Tom began SYMLIN injections in the summer of 2006. “I didn’t mind the injections,” he says. He started to see results very quickly. “Since I’ve been taking SYMLIN, I’ve had better blood sugar levels after meals, and I’ve been able to lower the insulin I take at meals. I also lost a little weight, but, for me, lowering my insulin intake was more important. SYMLIN was really helpful in cutting back on the amount I was taking every day, and I feel very good about that.” Individual results may vary. SYMLIN is not a weight-loss drug.
For important safety information, click here:
SYMLIN Important Safety Information, SYMLIN Prescribing Information, SYMLIN Medication Guide Back to Top