Exenatide for diabetes

About exenatide

Insulin is a hormone which is made naturally in your body, in the pancreas. It helps to control the levels of sugar (glucose) in your blood. If your body does not make enough insulin, or if it does not use the insulin it makes effectively, this results in the condition called diabète (diabète sucré).

People with diabetes need treatment to control the amount of sugar in their blood. This is because good control of blood sugar levels reduces the risk of complications later on. Some people can control the sugar in their blood by making changes to the food they eat but, for other people, medicines are given alongside the changes in diet. Exenatide is one of the medicines that are prescribed for people with diabète de type 2.

Exenatide works in three ways. It increases the amount of insulin produced by your body which then reduces the level of sugar in your blood. It also reduces the amount of a substance called glucagon being produced by your pancreas. Glucagon causes your liver to produce more sugar, so by reducing the amount of glucagon in your body, this also helps to reduce the levels of sugar in your blood. Exenatide also works on your stomach so that food passes more slowly through it. This means that the sugar from your meals takes longer to get into your blood.

Exenatide is given as an injection just under the surface of the skin. It is administered using a syringe and needle or by using an injection device called a pre-filled pen. It is used in addition to other antidiabetic medicines. There are two types of exenatide injection available. There is a standard-release injection (brand name Byetta®) which is given twice daily, and there is a prolonged-release injection (brand name Bydureon®) which is given once a week.

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine may only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start using exenatide it is important that your doctor knows:

• Si vous êtes enceinte, essayez d'avoir un bébé ou allaitez.

• Si vous avez un problème avec votre estomac ou votre système digestif.

• Si vous avez déjà eu une pancréatite (inflammation du pancréas).

• Si vous avez des problèmes avec le fonctionnement de vos reins.

• Si vous prenez d'autres médicaments. Cela inclut tous les médicaments que vous prenez et qui sont disponibles à l'achat sans ordonnance, ainsi que les médicaments à base de plantes et les médecines complémentaires.

• Si vous avez déjà eu une réaction allergique à un médicament.

• Avant de commencer le traitement, lisez la notice d'information imprimée du fabricant à l'intérieur de l'emballage ainsi que toute information fournie par votre médecin ou votre clinique de diabète. La notice du fabricant vous fournira une liste complète des effets secondaires que vous pourriez ressentir.

• Use exenatide exactly as your doctor tells you to. Your doctor or diabetes nurse will show you how to inject yourself. Exenatide should be injected into the skin on your upper arms, thigh, or tummy (abdomen). Try to choose a slightly different injection site for each of your injections as this will help to prevent skin problems and difficulties in injecting.

• If you are using Byetta®, you will be advised to inject two doses a day. You should have each injection within the 60-minute period before a main meal, and the two doses should be at least six hours apart. The best way to achieve this is to have your first injection during the hour before your first meal of the day, and the second injection during the hour before your evening meal.

• If you forget to use exenatide before a meal, do not inject it after you have eaten, but instead just wait until your next dose is due.

• If you are using Bydureon®, you will be advised to inject one dose a week, on the same day of each week. Each pre-filled pen provides a single dose. The injection can be given at any time of the day, and it can be given either before or after a meal. If you forget to use the injection on your usual day, use it as soon as you remember and keep to your normal weekly schedule. However, if your next scheduled dose is due within three days, miss out the forgotten dose and take your next dose when it is due.

• Il est important que vous respectiez vos rendez-vous réguliers chez le médecin et à la clinique. Cela permet de suivre vos progrès. Vous aurez besoin de contrôles réguliers dans une clinique ophtalmologique et une clinique podologique, ainsi qu'avec votre médecin et la clinique du diabète.

• Votre médecin peut vous recommander de tester régulièrement le sucre (glucose) dans votre sang ou vos urines pour vérifier que votre diabète est bien contrôlé. Votre médecin ou votre infirmière spécialisée en diabète vous montrera comment faire cela.

• Si votre médecin vous a conseillé de modifier votre régime alimentaire, d'arrêter de fumer ou de faire de l'exercice régulièrement, il est important de suivre les conseils qui vous ont été donnés.

• Each time you collect a prescription, check that you have been given the brand and strength of exenatide that you are expecting. If anything looks different from what you have had before, ask your pharmacist to check the prescription for you.

• Make sure you know what it feels like if your blood sugar is low. This is known as hypoglycaemia, or a 'hypo'. Although exenatide is unlikely to cause low blood sugar, other medicines that you are taking for diabetes alongside it may. The first signs of hypoglycaemia are feeling shaky or anxious, sweating, looking pale, feeling hungry, having a feeling that your heart is pounding (palpitations), and feeling dizzy. If this happens, eat something containing sugar, such as dextrose tablets, jelly babies or a sugary drink (non-diet), and then follow this up with a snack such as a sandwich or a banana.

• Si vous êtes conducteur, vous devez faire particulièrement attention, car votre capacité de concentration peut être affectée si votre diabète n'est pas bien contrôlé. Il peut vous être conseillé de vérifier votre glycémie avant de voyager et d'avoir une collation avec vous lors de longs trajets.

• Ne buvez pas d'alcool, car cela peut affecter le contrôle de votre glycémie. Demandez conseil à votre médecin si vous avez besoin de plus d'informations à ce sujet.

• Si vous ressentez une soif inhabituelle, urinez plus fréquemment que d'habitude, ou vous sentez très fatigué, vous devriez en informer votre médecin. Ce sont des signes qu'il y a trop de sucre dans votre sang et que votre traitement pourrait nécessiter un ajustement.

• Consultez votre médecin avant de commencer tout nouvel exercice physique, car cela aura un effet sur votre taux de sucre dans le sang et vous devrez peut-être vérifier vos niveaux de sang ou d'urine plus régulièrement.

• Si vous devez subir une opération ou un traitement dentaire, vous devez informer la personne qui effectue le traitement que vous êtes diabétique et lui fournir une liste des médicaments que vous prenez.

• This medicine should not be used during pregnancy. Women and girls of childbearing potential must use effective contraception during treatment and for two months after stopping.

• If you buy any medicines, always check with a pharmacist that they are suitable for you to take. Exenatide can interfere with the way some other medicines are absorbed. Because of this, some medicines should not be taken during the hour before exenatide is given, or during the four hours after it has been given.

• Treatment for diabetes is usually lifelong. Continue with exenatide unless you are told otherwise by your doctor.

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the most common ones associated with exenatide. You will find a full list in the manufacturer's information leaflet supplied with your medicine. The unwanted effects often improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

If you experience any other symptoms which you think may be due to the injections, speak with your doctor or pharmacist for further advice.

• Gardez tous les médicaments hors de la portée et de la vue des enfants.

• Exenatide can be kept for four weeks at room temperature as long as this is below 25°C and it is kept away from direct heat and sunlight. It is, however, best to store unopened packs in a refrigerator. Do not freeze exenatide.

• Byetta® pens must be discarded 30 days after being first used.

• Bydureon® pens are for single use only and should be discarded after first use.