Bydureon

Bydureon is a prescription medication that is used along with diet and exercise to treat type 2 diabetes. Bydureon belongs to a group of medications called incretin mimetics which work by helping the pancreas to secrete insulin when blood sugar levels are high. They also decrease the amount of sugar the liver produces and slow the emptying of the stomach.

Common side effects of Bydureon include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and low blood sugar.

Bydureon is a prescription medication used to improve blood sugar (glucose) control in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with a diet and exercise program. 

It is also approved be given as an add-on therapy to basal insulin in adults with type 2 diabetes who have not reached their blood sugar goals. 

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Use Bydureon exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The Bydureon dose your doctor recommends will be based on the following:

• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication

The recommended dose of Bydureon is 2 mg injected once every seven days (weekly). The dose can be administered at any time of day, with or without meals.

WARNING: RISK OF THYROID C-CELL TUMORS

• Bydureon causes an increased incidence in thyroid C-cell tumors at clinically relevant exposures in rats compared to controls. It is unknown whether Bydureon causes thyroid C-cell tumors, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), in humans, as human relevance could not be determined by clinical or nonclinical studies.
• Bydureon is contraindicated in patients with a personal or family history of MTC and in patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2). Routine serum calcitonin or thyroid ultrasound monitoring is of uncertain value in patients treated with Bydureon. Patients should be counseled regarding the risk and symptoms of thyroid tumors.

Serious side effects may occur including:

Heart attack or stroke. It is not known whether Bydureon or other anti-diabetes medications, increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Your risk for getting low blood sugar is higher if you take Bydureon with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar, such as a sulfonylurea. The dose of your sulfonylurea medicine may need to be lowered while you use Bydureon. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include:

• headache
• drowsiness
• weakness
• dizziness
• confusion
• irritability
• hunger
• fast heart beat
• sweating
• feeling jittery

Talk with your healthcare provider about how to treat low blood sugar.

Kidney problems. Bydureon may cause new or worse problems with kidney function, including kidney failure. Dialysis or kidney transplant may be needed. While taking Bydureon: Call your healthcare provider right away if you have:

• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhea that will not go away
• or if you cannot take liquids by mouth. You may be at increased risk for kidney problems. 

Severe allergic reactions can happen with Bydureon. Stop taking Bydureon, and get medical help right away if you have any symptom of a severe allergic reaction. Do not use Bydureon if you have had an allergic reaction to Bydureon or any of the other ingredients in it. 

Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction with Bydureon may include:

• swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat
• problems breathing or swallowing
• severe rash or itching
• fainting or feeling dizzy
• very rapid heartbeat

Pancreatitis. Bydureon may cause inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), a potentially life-threatening condition. Tell your doctor right away if you have severe stomach pain and vomiting.

Do not use Bydureon if:

• you or any of your family members have a history of medullary thyroid cancer
• you have Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2). This is a disease where people have tumors in more than one gland in their body.
• you have type I diabetes (insulin-dependent). Bydureon is not a form of insulin.
• if you have severe kidney disease or severe digestive tract conditions

Serious side effects have been reported with Bydureon. See "Drug Precautions" section.

The most common side effects with Bydureon include:

• nausea. Nausea most commonly happens when first starting Bydureon, but may become less over time.
• vomiting
• diarrhea or constipation
• dizziness
• headache
• feeling jittery
• acid stomach or indigestion
• itching at injection-site

This is not a complete list of Bydureon side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Bydureon slows stomach emptying and can affect medicines that need to pass through the stomach quickly. Bydureon may affect the way some medicines work and some other medicines may affect the way Bydureon works.

Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• insulin, or any other anti-diabetes medicines
• birth control pills that are taken by mouth (oral contraceptives). Bydureon may lower the amount of the medicine in your blood from your birth control pills and they may not work as well to prevent pregnancy. Take your birth control pills at least one hour before your injection of Bydureon. If you must take your birth control pills with food, take it with a meal or snack where you do not also take Bydureon.
• an antibiotic. Take antibiotic medicines at least one hour before taking Bydureon. If you must take your antibiotic with food, take it with a meal or snack where you do not also take Bydureon.
• warfarin sodium (Coumadin, Jantoven)
• a blood pressure medicine
• a water pill (diuretic)
• a pain medicine
• lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor, Advicor)

This is not a complete list of Bydureon drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Bydureon falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans, though. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

Pregnancy Registry: Talk to your doctor about enrolling in the pregnancy registry for women who take this medication during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby.

It is not known if Bydureon crosses into human milk.

Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using Bydureon.

Nausea most commonly happens when first starting Bydureon, but may become less over time.

Your risk for getting low blood sugar is higher if you take Bydureon with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar. You should know the signs and symptoms of low blood sugar.

Inject your dose of Bydureon under the skin (subcutaneous injection) of your upper leg (thigh), stomach area (abdomen), or upper arm.

Follow your healthcare provider's instructions for diet, exercise, and how often to test your blood sugar.