I am interested to know if anyone is on this drug. My specialist put me on it because I have poor glucose control even using insulin and metformin. I took it for a month and it felt like a toxin in my body. I then read about the warnings on line where a number of people have been admitted to hospital, there are numerous law suits, a proven link to pancreatitis and at least six deaths. They say the benefits outway the risks with this drug but as a dose of pancreatitis in my 20's may have been responsible for much of my present problems, I decided not to take my chances with this drug. I would be interested in any positive or negative experiences from others.
I was on Byetta for about a year. I considered the risks low. As you note, a small number of patients had pancreatitis and it was associated with previous bouts of pancreatitis. But the number of adverse reports was actually quite small given the millions of people taking the drug and thus the relationship has not been found to be strong and confident. I did not worry about the risk given the small rates, but it may be a consideration for you.
I think a better question is whether it is indicated. Byetta (and the other GLP-1 analogs) do two major things, increase your insulin release in response to eating and they curb your hunger. I always ate a low carb diet, so Byetta never really helped me, I didn't have poor glucose control because of after meal highs and I didn't have weight or overeating problems. In the end, insulin really helped. But I have to ask you, have you tried a low carb diet? Did it help?