The study I was in for exhubera had me on Ultra lente as a basal( which I wason anyway) and exhubera only in 3 or 10 unit caps. I was not permitted to take anything else, So I let my sugars go higher. My a1c went from the high 6's to the mid 7's. After this study I went on my first pump and my a1c's came down to 6.7 or so and stayed that way until i started using cgm which brought me into the 5 range.
I mean that is what you would expect from such inaccurate dosing, so it's amazing to me it was ever approved. I know a friend of mine was on it very briefly (a type 2) but I never heard what was the reason they took it off the market?
I also question the statement that only 30% of us are on pumps; I don't have any official stats but it seems like a lot more than that!
Good for you for your success in lowering your A1C.
Comparing Exubera to Afrezza is like comparing a Yugo to a Ferrari. THe only things the 2 have in common is that they have wheels. The only thing Exubera and Afrezza have in common is that they are both inhaled. There is nothing else in common with the 2 but if you are interested in learning more information it is out there. This is an open label study and I have read all 30 pages of what i signed 10 times over reading every word.
Thanks for your concern though. It is time to take a break that for sure.
Exubera offered no clinical benefit. It was the size of tennis ball can. You probably did not know that many Exubera patients received compassion use permit by the FDA and have been on Afrezza for 5 years after Exubera went off the market. Exubera offered no benefit other than the fact that it was inhaled.
It has been a life changer for me. I wish it was not inhaled because all it does is distract attention from the true benefit. I really would not care if its injected/inhaled or whatever. I just needed something that worked real time like out damaged pancreas. I was on Novolog and the highs and lows and crashes are just too damaging. No more such problem.
I only brought up the exhubera study because of the issues with dosing. The afrezza has the same issues. If my sugar is 160mg/dl I need about 1.5 units to bring me into range 90-120. if I took 5 units, it would crash me, so I'm left at 160. often I will take just 1 unit to correct. Most meals are 4 units for me. How could I manage such large doses? You never address that issue. also the issue of coughing.
I am glad it works for you, But I can not figure how this could work for me.
You keep saying that you don't crash, but if I took its' lowest dose, I would crash for sure in almost every possibility. Only If I am eating and already high could it work.
i could never get past this with exhubera and I can not see this being different. and of course you didnt address the fact that you are not permitted to talk about a drug when the study is still active.
All these reasons make me doubt what you are saying.
And it was never as big as a tennis ball can, about half that, and that has nothing to do with its efficacy.
I think many are missing the point, this forum is for the most part people that are over achievers, people that are OCD about their BG, Afrezza is not for most of us we are looking for best, not easy.
My brother would be a good candidate for Afrezza, he only has a interest in getting his BG lower if there is some kind of drama involved, he only checks his BG when he is shaking like a Chiwawa or sweating like a pig. He would like it even better if it was mixed with his Rogaine (Minoxidil)...his vanity is far more important than his BG.
This stuff is great..Directions...just inhale this before each meal...and chow down ...it's a dream come true....it sounds like a recreational drug.
It took a family intervention to get my brother to start insulin. 11 years of A1c's between 8.0 and 11.0 never phased him and he said his doctors are stupid...[I feel fine I'm just not ready yet] My brother is a T2 and I'm a T1 we have little in common my trip started at the ER and was like getting beat with a baseball bat..."I got the message the first time"..no one had to sale me on the idea of using insulin.
It sounds too good to be true, maybe if it can dose for tiny amounts of insulin. At the moment I’m rarely taking over 2-3 units. This could all change next week. I’d much prefer to take my shots so I know what I’m getting exactly. Hopefully it will work for some people. Don’t snack or eat late either. Don’t eat an awful lot at all, come to think of it I may just go mad altogether and smoke the insulin, try anything once.
My last A1C was 5.5. So right where its supposed to be. I actually haven't had any lows in months and nothing that has went over 100. I stay between 80 and 100 on a daily basis. My needs for insulin have dropped drastically from when I was on MDIs. A reading at 70 isn't severe for me. I've survived a low of 24 before after I had my son.
Thanks for sharing! Just wondering-what will you do when the clinical trial is over? Will you go back to novolog/humolog? Are you allowed to share how this impacted your physical health? If so, have you noticed any changes in breathing since beginning afrezza? Unfortunately I was an idiot in college who smoked cigarettes recreationally (disgusting, I know), would my past history-over 10 years ago-of smoking preclude me from afrezza? I am a pumper and do have many swings (mostly do to absorption issues) but I am also a low carber (never more than 12 a meal). Do you think afrezza, if approved, would try and develop a smaller cartridge? I will definitely check the link to the website. For me, any kind of diabetes innovation is warmly received!
Sorry for the late response. The FDA has asked trials for as young as 4 year old children. This was the FDA when in fact the company wanted 10+ year olds...Fda came back and said no start at 4.....Yes its an open label study I can share whatever I want to..For the trials you could not be a smoker..In previous trials you could be a smoker. No change whatsoever....My health was already great and now much better. As a diabetic my biggest concerns is the swings...I have no such issues anymore. I am very active person and now I do not have to worry about lows while swimming, running, biking and so on. It has really changed my life. I wanted to share this with others who have had similar issues and it seems half the people attack you ...lol...You kind of wonder why..Not every treatment is for everyone. For example I dont have a pump. I dont want one. Do I attack people that use pumps? Its ridiculous. As far as what will I do have the trial is over? Well I can tell you no way I am going back on Novolog or Humolog. FDA has opened the door for people like myself. I will update you on this soon. Just keep this in mind...The big deal is not that it is inhaled...Everyone misses the point. The big deal is it works just like your pancrese...THe onset is almost the same as if your pancrese is releasing the insulin and is out of your system 25-40 minutes...It is so easy to manage this as i can correct my blood sugar from any level in a matter of 25 minutes or so. Also no more fear of the night.. Will I wake up. Once you had the paramadics bring you back ...you know how that is..Hard to forget. I congratulate all those people who have A1C levels in the 5s and 6s...Well most diabetics in the USA do not have such control. If someone has A1Cs in the 5s as a type 1 without ever going low it is hard to believe but still if one does stay with your program. If you are a diabetic that have had many lows and issues with swings Afrezza will def....be a potential life saver....
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Sorry for the blunt response but Exhubera has nothing to do with Afrezza. I have the best A1Cs in 10 years at this moment. The only think Exhubera have in common with Afrezza is that it is inhaled. As far as your worry about violations.. My study is an open label study...I know exactly what I signed...I appreciate your concern.
Tx. Going to suck for you to go back to needles in the time between the end of your trial and when is available for sale!
Surely you still get lows due to your Lantus? I sure do.
No all type 1s and type 2s on the study are taking Afrezza only and lantus as the basal. Once again everyone here is trying to compare apples and oranges as far as the units of insulin. The best example I can think of is asking your friend how much he paid to fill up his gas tank...He tells you $100 and you say how could that be I only paid $30....Well your friend has a Hummer and you have Nissan Sentra. What I am saying 1 unit of Afrezza is not 1 unit of Humolog. Just because its called a certain unit is not relevant as over 5000 patients have started Afrezza with the smallest dose available. If the smallest unit cart would be too much why did the FDA ask for trials as young as 4 years olds. You make some great points about fast correctins. I can for example bring my sugar from 250 to 100 in 25 minutes. This is huge for bedtime...I can tell you that you will never catch me taking humolog or novolog no matter how high my sugar is after 9 or 10pm. No such issues now for me.
No I actually have not had one severe low since on Afrezza. Lows were daily for me in the past. Needles dont scare me...I dont care about needles. Its the onset and lingering of Novolog and Humolog that scare me as I am super active person. As far as going back. I refuse to go back..The FDA has opened the way for people like me...Stay tune about that. To me its almos life or death as I have had too many close calls...I am probably one of every 20 diabetics that eventually will die of a low episode if I have to go back on Afrezza or Humolog. I really cant get a low from the Lantus dose I take..Afrezza does most of the work for me.
Sign me up!
I don't like this going 200 and dosing insulin and see if it comes down enough. It's all up and down BGs, you can have a great HA1c and still complications due to glucose variability.
And a time of action of 40 minutes is too short to cover carbs, and what about proteins that take 4 hours or more ...
And no precision at all, 10 or 20 units .... I dose half units ....
I'm not for it.
As JohnG stated this forum isn’t of “typical” diabetics, the majority of us are obsessed and over achievers with maintaining our BG levels. While Im glad this inhaled insulin has worked well for you, for me I love the precise dosage and variablity of dosing my insulin pump gives me. Overall my control is excellent, and no severe lows.
it has taken the swings our of the picture for me. I do not have lows or highs. On Humolog and Novolog I have always had big swings. I have not had these swings on Afrezza. As far as 10 or 20 units. You are comparing apples and oranges. 1 unit of Humolog does not equal 1 unit of Afrezza...I must say I have never in my life taken a half unit of insulin. Only 30% of type 1s use an insulin pump. If you never have lows and you are happy with it maybe its not for you. There are 30 million diabetics in the USA and 3 million of them type 1s. Out of that 1 million might use the pump so there are 29 million diabetics in the USA who could benefit. It does seem what Christy is saying is true that many here are over achievers etc etc etc.
Yes, you are correct. See my reply to Garidan as perhaps 1 million diabetics might be using an insulin pump in the USA many others might be searching for another solution as they take diabetes control not seriously enough.