Compare Januvia vs. Byetta
Head-to-head comparisons of medication uses, side effects, ratings, and more.
Lowers your blood sugar.
Januvia (sitagliptin) is a good add-on treatment if your blood sugars are not controlled and you don't want to use an injectable medicine.
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3.2/ 5 average rating with 143 reviewsforJanuvia
Lowers blood sugar.
Byetta (Exenatide) can lower your blood sugars in addition to metformin. It does not increase your appetite unlike some other anti-diabetics, but must be given by injection and usually causes upset stomach.
Upsides
- Oral blood sugar-lowering medicine.
- Januvia (sitagliptin) is not linked to worsening heart failure like other medicines in its class.
- Uses the hormones naturally produced by your body to affect how sugar is processed.
- It is less likely to cause weight gain and low blood sugar compared to other diabetes medicines.
- Can lower your A1c (average blood sugar over time) by 1%.
- Not as likely to cause very low blood sugar as glyburine or insulin.
- Does not increase your appetite like other anti-diabetic medicines.
- Pen is dialed to a single dose for easy injections.
Downsides
- Lowers A1c (average blood sugar over time) by less than 1%.
- Available as brand version only.
- Some people might get frequent cold-like symptoms.
- Rare but serious side effects include pancreatitis and severe joint pain.
- Byetta (Exenatide) must be injected twice a day. Other medicines like it can be injected once daily or even weekly.
- It commonly causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or indigestion.
- Can affect how well your antibiotics and birth control pills work. Take them no sooner than one hour after your injections.
Used for
Dosage forms
- Pill
- Injection
Price
Lowest price
$490.99
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Reviews
143 reviews so far
44%
saidit'sworth it
34%
saiditworked well
17%
saidit'sa big hassle
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Side effects
Risks and risk factors
- Death from inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
- History of pancreatitis
- High blood triglyceride levels
- Gallstones (stones in gallbladder)
- History of alchoholism
- Kidney problems
- Serious allergic reactions
- Kidney damage
- Pre-existing kidney damage
- Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
- Taking medicines for diabetes
- Severe joint pain and swelling
- Loss of medication effectiveness
- Pancreatitis
- Kidney problems
- Severe renal impairment
- End-stage renal disease
- Serious stomach problems
- Severe gastrointestinal disease
- Gastroparesis
- Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)