I started on Afrezza last night

Afrezza to other injectables is not always 1:1 due to bio availability …
Learnt a lot from Matt http://afrezzadownunder.com/afrezza-insulin/

Ah, yes, Afrezza and exercise are a powerful combo. As I triathlete I do exercise a lot, and have done some crazy experiments. The short tail of Afrezza has simplified my exercise life a lot. But its still insulin. I have noticed that the power of Afrezza will increase exponentially if you take it during exercise. I also tried the hiking scenario, which is a tricky one. My strategy there is to have the Afrezza way after eating (We hike, have a lunch break, I eat, and then keep going and only have an Afrezza dose when my BG is >160). Or, I have a long lunch break and take Afrezza at the beginning of it as the tail will be mostly gone in 60 minutes. And of course I eat more carbs than usual, which I like.
Even when I go low with Afrezza, its always a piece of mind to know if will eventually go away pretty fast. With injected I truly feared for my life if I had a low episode while exercising.
And I have just started using glucose tablets, which I found useful to correct for Afrezza, as I need very quick carbs but a little dose, as because of the short tail I can easily over correct with Afrezza.

For me Afrezza is orders of magnitude easier to manage than injected was. And I certainly do not miss the pump. For me ditching the pump helped eliminate some of the lows, as injected basal is very slow (obviously), and custom basals with the pump still could give me some stacking effect with exercise, or go the other way and get me in a “dry state” with no insulin (when I stopped the pump while exercising) that would cause my BG to go up.

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I recall this thread was started by Mike when Afrezza was first introduced to the marked in early 2015. However, since many of the early posts were lost due to site migration of Tudiabetes.org, I can not go back to re-read those posts again. Because so many members have shared their experience and thoughts on this thread, IMHO, this thread remains one of the most (if not THE most) informative discussions of Afrezza in this and other online forums.

Since many members have used Afrezza over a year now (some well over a year and half now), I wonder any of you veterans (of Afrezza) have any revelations to share with other members?

Any misconceptions you found out only after using Afrezza for some time?

How about your own thoughts/opinions towards Afrezza? How did they evolve over time?

What’s your most frustrated experience in using Afrezza? Finding the willing doctor to prescribe? Dealing with prior authorization and insurance reimbursement? Dialling in (figure out the right dosage size and timing)?

Any thoughts on areas of improvement for Afrezza (e.g., someone wanted 2 units cartridges (even though I think Mannkind and some members have expressed the view that 4 units should cover most, if not all the needs of most people))?

It appears the awareness of Afrezza is still relatively limited. Any thoughts on how Mannkind can more effectively improve the awareness?

The body system wants insulin delivered straight into the blood stream. But we struggle using subcu injection with speed and tail. Dispersing growth hormone directly into the lungs is not the solution.

Boy oh boy how far we’ve come :slight_smile:

Couple things I’ve learned from my experience with Afrezza:

-Afrezza remains the best post-prandial insulin available
-Afrezza stops a high in it’s tracks and corrects a high way quicker and safer than any SubQ insulin on the market.
-For higher fat meals, a combo of Afrezza and Humalog (square wave bolus) has worked best for me.
-Most important for me : When I take Afrezza to cover a meal or a high, the mental comfort of knowing my blood sugar is going to be in range quickly is second to none. It just takes the stress out of it.

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It’s phenomenal. Major improvement in overall quality of life for someone on intensive insulin therapy. It’s not the 100% solution I had hoped it would be, because I haven’t been able to completely replace novolog with it (although I think if I was using a cgm with it doing so would be quite easy) but in the role it’s settled into for me it is tremendously valuable.

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Glad that you had these results @mikep and @sam19.
For me, after several weeks’ trial of Afrezza, I found it not much different from Apidra (as bolus with MDI). Based on comments here I had rather higher hopes.
As always YDMV.

Surprised to hear that it’s action is not much different than Apidra for you (I assume that’s what you meant), however as you mentioned, YDMV.

This is an old thread I know but the below statement made me laugh. I just ordered more Afrezza and am pretty much ready to ditch the 4’s altogether. They do very little for me. On the other hand I love the new 12’s! Perfect for corrections or large carb meals. I noticed it’s just not the same taking two separate cartridges than one of the same equal dose. It’s weird but taking one 8 then an immediate 4 does not do the same as one 12.

Since they now have the 60 count each of 4,8,12 I just got that since one NDC costs less.

One thing for me I noticed is if I take it before my blood sugar starts rising I can take much less. If I wait, it takes much more to counteract so 12 works better. I spike very easily though with food so I need more than most people I think. Afrezza is a godsend for me. You just have to experiment with how it works for YOU. I would have quit long ago if I only did 4’s like most do. But having a 300 bs, which is rare now thankfully, and being able to inhale a 12 and have it come down in 20-30 min is unbelievable. UNBELIEVABLE

This made me laugh>>>
(even though I think Mannkind and some members have expressed the view that 4 units should cover most, if not all the needs of most people))?

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Hi @Allen3

I’ve had very similar experiences although I haven’t used a 12u yet. I’m going to get some on my next order. The way Afrezza stops a spike in it’s tracks or brings me down so rapidly from a high is what I love about it the most.

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Anyone have any info on the Afrezza back order from Mannkind? They can’t fill my script and have no ETA.

I emailed @Castagna2011 but figured I’d ask here also.

let us know what you find out about this

This is the first I’ve read or heard of any disruption to the Afrezza supply. I’m now due to place another 90-day order. I consider Afrezza an essential tool to treat my diabetes. Please report back if you learn anything new; I will do likewise!

Allen not sure where you reached out, but there are no back orders. Sometimes the pharmacy may need to call the wholesaler to order the box if they don’t stock it locally. If you want to email us details we can follow-up. My email is mcastagna@mannkindcorp.com. Glad you are doing well and it’s working out!

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Thank-you for this info. I will place my order today.

Thank you! Keep us posted and share your success with others! We are growing now and getting things back on track! Keep well.

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Thank you Mike, very helpful as usual, really appreciate it!

Allen

I guess I just panicked, sorry guys. :slight_smile: I can’t live without Afrezza!

Like Mike said, this had to do with the distributor and not Mannkind, they have no issues with production from all indications. How great is it that if you have issues like this they respond so quickly and go out of their way to make sure things go smoothly? I can’t say enough about Mike and these guys and their product. What a life saver so for many people.

Be well.

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@Gus1 thank you for insight … I’ve been on Afrezza for 3 months and while I’m not a tri-athlete – I work out like I’m going to be!

You are right on when you say it works really quick when you’ve been exercising … I’ve experienced that (2 arrows on cgm going down!)

So now if I have break between cardio heavy exercise – i ca n push myself without taking any Afrezza and work out hard and stay right in range

It’s been a game changer- life changer for me

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Everyone - I just started Afrezza this evening!!! I got home from work, and on the way home ate a little to get my bs to a 166 (safety net), took 4 units of Afrezza and waited, actually talked my wife’s ear off about Afrezza. Within 45 minutes my bs was a 125, so I started eating at that point, we had some pizza. Two hours later (because of pizza), I was a 175 so I took another 4 units of Afrezza and an hour later I sit at a 200. Dexcom is steady at this number along with my blood testing. All in all it was a good test, I really wanted to see how I would react to the 4 units. I will take a bolus this evening to take care of the 200 but will switch back to Novolog, just because the Afrezza is new to me.

So again wanted to share the experience, I know now I need the 8 units for a pizza night!! I do have a few comments/questions however, and would like peoples insight:

  1. Everyone is different, but I feel now after taking Afrezza twice, it is nothing like taking 4 units of Novolog. Seems I will really need to turn up my dosage when covering a meal.
  2. I have heard multiple reviews in regards to the peak, peak at 12-15 minutes, wears off approx 1 hr. Is that what others are experiencing? I noticed my first drop at 30 minutes and that continued to a 125 in 45 minutes.
  3. Has anyone experienced any issues with their lungs that has been on Afrezza for more than a year? Just curious if you have experienced any side affects.

I will keep everyone posted!!