Diabetes/Byetta/Insurance companies

I've had a terrible problem with weight gain in the last 6 months. I was at my low of 135 at Christmas, feeling very smug with myself that "I would NEVER" gain more than a few pounds back. Well fast forward to now -- I'm up 35-40 pounds. My weight bounces 2 to 3 pounds in a day and then before you know it, it has jumped another 10. My weight this morning - 174, but yesterday was 172 and God only know what it will be tomorrow!! I was on Paxil for depression for several months, but have been totally off since April and I know I gained some weight with it. I'm also back on Actos ~~ which I begged my PCP not to put me on since I knew I would gain 10 lbs with it. I was maxed out on it prior to my WLS in 4/2004 and had gained 15 pounds in the course of a summer. I was off all diabetes meds as soon as I had my RNY. At my 2 year checkup in April the dr. decided my sugar was creeping too far up again and put me back on Actos. Well apparently there's a new miracle drug for diabetes (Byetta) which is an injection. The other good side of this med is it will actually help you to lose weight instead of gain like the other diabetes meds. Well I finally feel hope again and low & behold.... my insurance company says "nope, no way, we ain't paying for it and you can't appeal it -- answer is no." I'm devastated. Does anyone have any advice on this or has anyone taken Byetta? I'll be checking with the diabetes coordinator at our local hospital tomorrow and I'm hoping the drug company rep can help out somehow... I could cry great big crocodile tears for them -- for real!!! Sorry this is so long, but I'm grasping right now. Right now I actually feel like I've never lost a lick of weight.... it's very discouraging. And yes, I'm back to working out every morning and I've made an appointment with the nutritionist to go over my eating. They're also going to offer BMR testing where I work out and I'm definitely going to have that done. Thanks for listening. Janie 4/14/2004 272/135/174 UUGGHHHH

Janie, I'm sorry you are struggling.. hopefully you can get some insight fromthe nutrionist and be able to feel better about your situation. I don't know what else to say .. I can feel your frustration and disappointment and hope it works out. Angelina

Janie , I too am diabetic .. not had any signs of it for 2 years . I am now struggling with low sugar levels .. sometimes , I think it is worse , as I tend to get faint a lot .. I have never heard of the meds you speak of . I would definatly check with your diabetic nurse about other options . There has to be something else out there that does not have the side effects . Many blessings to you sweety ..! Natalie

I've never had a problem with low blood sugar and it never goes extremely high either -- it's just higher than it should be. I'd had to be feeling faint all the time!! I've been making lots of calls today -- hopefully we'll get something worked out with my meds. Janie

How expensive would it be to pay for the prescription yourself? If you are in a situation where you can't afford to pay many drug companies will sell the drugs at a greatly reduced price based on income. Talk to your doctor to see if you are eligible for any kind of discount drug plan. Doctors offices have the forms in their office to apply for the discounted drugs. You are smart to make the decision now to stop gaining weight before it becomes a massive problem again. It's so easy to let it creep back on. Best of luck!

My mother just started Byetta on July 5 and has lost about 10 pounds already. Her insurance did agree to pay for it because they had tried all of the other diabetic meds. She wasn't able to get any samples from the doctor though (even with insurance her med co-pays and insurance are close to $1000 a month and they are on a very limited income) as the doctor said that the company won't have anymore available until sometime in late August or September. Many people are having a great success with it. Good luck in getting it approved with insurance. I'm sure it would be very costly out of pocket since it's so new on the market.