Does anyone know what they are calling it? I'd like to start keeping tabs on it. I did try to get into the clinical trial in my area, but they were only accepting people with an A1C of 8+. I think of all things I wish for regarding diabetes treatment, a faster (actually much faster) insulin is what I wish for most.
Google this, artwoman. Aspart-PH20
I am with you, Artwoman, I want a faster acting insulin! Now, I started on R (regular), and moved to Humalog as soon as it came out in August 1996. But even faster would be better!
The inhalable insulin Afrezza peaks in 12-15 minutes. This may not be what you're interested in but it's ultra-fast action has my attention, at least for high BG corrections.
Terry, I gather that there isn't way to really dial in specific doses with the Afrezza. I am grateful that the "logs" are faster than R, but I want faster - I want the insulin in inject/pump to be closer to the speed of insulin produced in a non-D body. I realize that it takes some time to get form the injection/pump site to the system, but they can put a man on the moon (didn't they?!?!) I want everything - you should know by now!
"I don't want a whole lot of anything, I just want a little bit of everything"
-Keith Urban
There are some fundamental physiological reasons why exogenous insulin can't be as fast as your own. The principal one is that more than half of the insulin you make for yourself travels straight to the liver (a distance of a couple of inches) where it is used immediately for glucose uptake.
When you inject insulin, either subcutaneously or intramuscularly, most of it remains in the peripheral circulatory system, which means that you are relying on the skeletal muscles (and fat layers) to do nearly the entire job by themselves, something they were never designed for. There's no way it can be quite as fast.
That said, there is no reason to think that insulins can't be made faster than they are today, and like everyone else I would love to have something faster than what's presently available. I'm watching the research attentively too.
As for Afrezza, the plan is to offer it in several sizes so that there will be at least some ability to match the dose to the meal. They will be fixed sizes, so of course it won't have the fine granularity of control that a syringe or pen or pump gives, but it may be adequate for emergencies, or ad hoc situations. We'll just have to wait and see.
Did you ever try Symlin? It slows the postprandial glucose rise down enough to give the insulin a head start.
Thanks for the more scienctific explanation. I take such teenswy tiny dose a lot of the time 1.oo that I am not really interested in Afrezza, and I don't want more to carry - I'll stya with the pump. I prefer to micro-manage rather than wait until I need a larger dose.
But it is nice to look forward to something that is a bit faster.
thanks again.
I've considered Symlim, but the last time I looked into it I was told I don't eat enough at one time to warrant it. I'll look into it again.
Thanks for the suggestion
Symlin is simply a synthetically produced equivalent of the hormone amylin. Amylin is produced by the beta cells, so if you are deficient in insulin, you're going to be deficient in amylin also.
Amylin does three things:
- slows digestion to lessen the post prandial spike
- suppresses the release of glucagon
- reduces appetite and creates a feeling of fullness
I know what SYmplin is and does. My problem is that I don't need a slowing down of the digestive process. I'd like anb insulin that starts in say 5-10 minutes. If I am eating something I am very familiar with, I know the amount and can easily dose 20minuites before. It is when eating outside my home or city. I don't know how much (or sometimes if) I am going to eat all of it, and I don't want to over dose. It is easy for me to adjust by adding more insulin mid-meal if indeed I am going to finish the plate. That's why I would like an insulin that could be dose when I see what is put before me to eat. I can putz around (kinda like what kids do with their food at the dinner table) for 5 - 10 minutes and then eat per the insulin dose. pose I want the world, but I can dream. Symplin was not recommended for me when I first looked into it. because I have a small appetite and my meal doses were (and are) small.
It would be nice to have an insulin that you could employ as an ultra fast midcourse correction. I could certainly put it to good use, most typically in situations like you describe, as when dining out. Afrezza is supposed to be faster than any injected insulin. We'll see whether that actually turns out to be true.
I could tolerate the unusual way of administering it IF it truly functioned as promised. My chief concern would be the same as yours -- controlling the dose. The makers say they plan to offer it in several sizes; the key is, what sizes? How many choices, and how fine the differences? For instance, if it came in a 2 unit equivalent but I only needed 1½, I could always eat an extra few bites of something to make things come out even.
We'll just have to wait to see whether it (a) is safe, (b) is effective, and (c) offers sufficiently fine control.
Just curious David - since you really have a grasp of insulin absorption...Does this mean that an increase of muscles on someone would cause a faster absorption of insulin? (assuming that the insulin was not injected direction into a muscle either time). I use an omnipod pump, and sometimes my body seems to hold onto insulin for a couple of hours and all of a sudden my dexcom cgm shows a downward hill slope that lasts for hours sometimes. It is hard to predict where it will end up sometimes.
Maybe also the same concept when we 'stack insulin'.
Maybe what I am asking is how someone can help the "peripheral circulatory system" along so we can absorb the insulin faster.
Artwoman, I use Apidra. It is faster acting than all the other insulins. I also bolus about 1/2 before I eat and then the rest if I finish my meal. I have had instances where I took all my insulin and then did not finish my meal for one reason or another. So I am wary of taking it all before I eat.
I've heard that Apidra is faster, but my health plan doesn't cover it (we don't need to get into why health plan people are making medical decisions) I usually count on eating half a restaurant meal - unless I've been there before and know exactly what to dose.
Now's a good time to mention that I am going to get a medical alert tattoo once out house in San Diego escrow closes. I figure with my luck, about a week after I get the tattoo, they'll find a cure. So I am leaving room at the top for "I used to have" with type 1 diabetes at the bottom. I checked my medical bracelet and the info has worn off. Much good it is doing me.
So everyone, wish for a fast sale! You'll all benefit too.