Product Details

What you need to know before you use Byetta

Do not use Byetta – If you are allergic to exenatide or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6). Warnings and precautions Talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or diabetes nurse before using Byetta about the following: – Using this medicine in combination with a sulphonylurea, as low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) can occur. Ask your doctor, pharmacist, or diabetes nurse if you are not sure if any of your other medicines contain a sulphonylurea. – If you have type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis (a dangerous condition that can occur in diabetes), as you should not use this medicine. – How to inject this medicine. It should be injected under the skin and not into a vein or into the muscle. – If you have severe problems with slow stomach emptying or food digestion, as the use of this medicine is not recommended. The active substance in this medicine slows stomach emptying so food passes more slowly through your stomach. – If you have ever had inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) (see section 4). – If you lose weight too quickly (more than 1.5 kg per week) talk to your doctor about it since this may cause problems such as gallstones. – If you have severe kidney disease or you are on dialysis, as the use of this medicine is not recommended. There is little experience with this medicine in patients with kidney problems. Byetta is not an insulin and should therefore not be used as a substitute for insulin. Children and adolescents Do not give this medicine to children and adolescents less than 18 years as there is no experience with this medicine in this age group. Other medicines and Byetta Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take any other medicines, particularly: – medicines that are used to treat type 2 diabetes that work like Byetta (e.g. liraglutide and prolonged-release exenatide), as taking these medicines with Byetta is not recommended. – medicines used to thin the blood (anticoagulants), e.g. warfarin, as you will require additional monitoring of changes in INR (measurement of blood thinning) during initiation of therapy with this medicine. Ask your doctor if the time at which you take any tablets should be changed because this medicine slows stomach emptying and can affect medicines that need to pass through the stomach quickly, e.g. – Stomach resistant tablets or capsules (e.g. medicines that reduce stomach acid (proton pump inhibitors)) that should not stay too long in your stomach, may need to be taken an hour before, or four hours after this medicine. – Some antibiotics may need to be taken an hour before your Byetta injection. – For tablets that you need to take with food, it may be best if they are taken at a meal at a time when this medicine is not being administered. Byetta with food Use this medicine at any time within the 60 minutes (1 hour) before your meal. (See section 3 “How to use Byetta”). Do not use this medicine after your meal. Pregnancy and breast-feeding It is not known if this medicine may harm your unborn child. If you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant, or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine, as it should not be used during pregnancy. It is not known if exenatide passes into your milk. This medicine should not be used if breast-feeding. Driving and using machines If you use this medicine in combination with a sulphonylurea or insulin, low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) can occur. Hypoglycaemia may reduce your ability to concentrate. Please keep this possible problem in mind in all situations where you might put yourself and others at risk (e.g. driving a car or using machines). Byetta contains metacresol Metacresol may cause allergic reactions. Byetta contains sodium This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per dose, i.e. essentially “sodium-free”.