TIP OF THE WEEK

 

                                                                    June 27, 2008

 

Did you know...?        

 

Diabetes Medication Alert - FMCSA's Position on Use of Byetta by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers

 

What is Byetta?

 

Byetta is a new injectable medicine used to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.  Byetta is a unique medicine that was developed to help treat people with type 2 diabetes in a different way than pills or insulin.  Byetta helps your body produce the right amount of insulin at the right time.  This helps reduce some of the highs and lows associated with managing blood sugar.

 

Byetta is used with metformin or another type of antidiabetic medicine called sulfonylureas.  It may also be used with a combination of metformin and a sulfonylurea.  There are many antidiabetic medicines that contain a sulfonylurea.  Byetta can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) when used with a medicine that contains a sulfonylurea.  Ask your healthcare professional or pharmacist if you are not sure if your antidiabetic medicine contains a sulfonylurea.  The dose of your sulfonylurea medicine may need to be reduced while you use Byetta. The signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include headache, drowsiness, weakness, dizziness, confusion, irritability, hunger, fast heartbeat, sweating, and feeling jittery.  Your healthcare professional should tell you how to treat low blood sugar.

 

Byetta is not a substitute for insulin in patients whose diabetes requires insulin treatment.

 

Byetta is not insulin and is permitted under FMCSA rules and should not affect a driver's qualification to drive a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. 

 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recommends that drivers taking Byetta provide a written statement from their treating physician to the Medical Examiner (when being examined for qualification to drive a commercial motor vehicle) and that they be monitored frequently.

 

To learn more about Byetta, visit http://www.byetta.com/.

 

To read more about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's position on Byetta or other medications, visit their web site at:  http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/medical/medical.htm.

 

*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*

 

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OHS-COMPCARE has eight (8) area clinical facilities:

Blue Springs Clinical Facility

Independence Clinical Facility

Johnson County Clinical Facility

St. Joseph Clinical Facility

801 NW St. Mary’s Drive

19000 E. Eastland Center Crt, St. 200

10415 Lackman Road

904 Edmond Street

Blue Springs, MO 64104

Independence, MO 64055

Lenexa, KS 66219

St. Joseph, MO 64501

816-224-9121

816-478-9299

913-495-9905

816-233-7702

 

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KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility

KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility

Wyandotte County Clinical Facility

Grandview Clinical Facility

1650 Broadway

6501 East Commerce, Suite 110

1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200

13830 S Us Highway 71

Kansas City, MO 64108

Kansas City, MO 64120

Kansas City, KS  66102

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