a year ago when 58yearold retiree b s wig saw the scales tip at 149 kg he was dismayed he was diabetic and also increasingly obese his blood sugar hit a dismal 350 mgdl after meals the normal should be under 140 mgdl i had become weak and refused to socialise my life had gone haywire says wig till he was put on to a new drug which not only reduced his weight to a healthy 118 kg but his sugar levels to normal i can now be dated he says happily wig is lucky most diabetics have difficult lives with an unending cycle of ill health weakness and obesity as the pancreas produce little or no insulin the hormone that converts glucose to energy plus diabetic drugs usually make the patient obese which adds to the risk of high bp heart problems and strokes so its essential to have drugs which control sugar levels and reduce weight and thats what a new injectable drug byetta does say experts its made from the saliva of the gila monster a venomous lizard found in southwest america its the first in a new range of antidiabetic medicines and is fdaapproved however it can be used only on type 2 diabeticsit came to india exactly a year back and now experts can quantify its success by 2009 an upgraded version may be available unlike type 1 diabetes where theres no insulin secretion in type 2 insulin production from the beta cells of the pancreas isnt sufficient and for byetta to work viable beta cells are needed says dr ambrish mithal senior endocrinologist apollo hospital delhi it works in three ways it signals the pancreas to make the right amount of insulin after a meal stops the liver from making too much glucose when the body does not need it reduces appetite and the amount of food eaten and slows the rate at which glucose leaves the stomach type 2 diabetics form 90 of the estimated 40 million diabetic cases in india almost 80 of them are obese says mithal adds dr pradeep talwalkar professor diabetology raheja hospital mumbai it suppresses rise in sugar levels by suppressing glucogon a hormone which has the opposite effect of insulin byetta says mithal can produce nausea and vomiting in some patients it is a niche drug not for all diabetics but is a good choice for those who need to lose weight with high postmeal blood sugar rises that remain uncontrolled even on oral medicines byetta also carries a lower risk than insulin of causing hypoglycemia a dangerous condition where the patient can lose consciousness and slip into coma as insulin drops to very low levels says talwalkar wigs case is an ideal example i was not judicious about my medicines and kept oscillating between oral medicines and insulin meanwhile my weight and sugar levels went for a toss till i started taking byetta he says its important for obese diabetics to lose weight says chennaibased dr