Ok so I got my trials boxes of Afrezza from my new and awesome Dr. yesterday. I was very excited to try it but have been left disappointed so far. I was hoping for magic like Sam19 but seems it not working well for me so far.
Afreeza Log
9/1
Testing the correction action of it.
4:45pm 200 BS
4:45 took two 4 unit cartridges
5:10 176
5:26 160
5:55 107
Sip of wine
6:35 125
6:43 Took 5 units novolog cause I didnt have time to check BS that often after eating dinner.
9:06 175 (not enough novolog I guess)
9/2
8:20am 133 BS
Started eating donuts cause I couldnt wait.
8:35am 158 BS, took two 4 unit cartridges
Ate 1 donut and coffee with 15g sugar
9:54 283 NOT what Iād hoped for!
8u Novolog correction
Very disappointed. Will retest and try to take it before eating and wo coffee. I have stomach distress when drinking coffee due to the acid so Iām wondering if that plays into. I am going to cut out coffee for a week (if i can) and try it again.
In perspective, this doesnāt really sound surprising. I know of no diabetes therapyānone!āthat is universally efficacious for everyone. Individual physiologies just vary too widely. Example: humalog does a great job for millions of people. It does nothing for me. I mean that literally: nothing. May as well be a placebo.
Youāre approaching this exactly the right way, trying to isolate as many variables as you can and not giving up after one experience. Give it a thorough trial. The problems may resolve . . . or they may not. Be ready to deal accordingly either way.
What happened at 6:43? Whyād you take 5u of novolog? Is that before you ate dinner? I donāt understand what you mean with that one or what happened there.
Donāt eat donuts.
You will always end up taking more afrezza āunitsā than youād have taken for the same food.
If youāre using all 4u cartridges-- youāll use a lot of them, but will have added flexibility with timing being able to take a second dose later. If Iām eating nasty food Iāll often take an 8u 20 minutes after I start eating, and if my bg is elevated at all at the 1 hour mark, Iāll puff a 4 at that time.
I time everything with the dive timer on my watch. Set it to zero when I start eating.
Donāt get frustrated itās a brand new thing to you and takes some figuring out.
For me, this would have effectively equaled no bolus at all with afrezza for the last donut and coffeeā¦ I absolutely have to bolus 20-30 minutes after I eat and sometimes follow up even later than that. Itās not like injected bolus with 30-45 minutes of slop in itā¦ Timing is everythingā¦
Alsoā if youāre eating things like donuts and coffee with sugar in it, based on your previous comment to me that our numbers are very similarā youāre going to need larger doses of afrezza
haha i like your comment, ādont eat donutsā. Thats the whole point of using this miracle drug! I could have controlled this with novolog as long as I pre-bolused so surprised an 8 wouldnt handle one donut and coffee.
So youāre saying an 8 wouldnāt handle a cup of coffee and donut for you? Iāve seen your log it looks like it handles most everything so i had high expectation. I guess Iām not seeing the benefits for me if it wont handle my spikes.
The 6:43 was just my bolus for dinner.
4ās are all he gave me to try, good enough to test with. I think Iāll try 12 for next meal.
Allen, as Sam has said in his post above, give it more time.
From my perspective, your first try of Afrezza was very sucessful, you brought your BG level from 200 to 107 in about one hour. Thatās pretty impressive already.
Afreeza Log
9/1
Testing the correction action of it. 4:45pm 200 BS 4:45 took two 4 unit cartridges
5:10 176
5:26 160 5:55 107
It often takes some time to dial in. See Janās tweets below, seems like her husband had some problems dialing in initially, but then he was able to have very good results.
Donāt be too quick to judge. You may well match his success with practice and experience. One of the reasons some people flock to Afrezza is because they arenāt happy with their existing control. Give it a good fair shot.
Thanks Charles thatās very encouraging. I will add follow her and see what I can learn. My idea was I could eat what I want basically but it seems that was a false assumption.
It appears quite a few people have found the videos helpful to them in their understanding of the dosage and timing of Afrezza. See the post below (you will also note that the post indicated that the learning curve was quite tough as it requires a different mindset ):
Also, on your BG level running high, just for your consideration, could any of these contributed to the high to 283 (note, this is purely for discussion as I have no idea what actually caused the BG rise):
For donuts and coffee (as compared with fatty foods), perhaps you can dose a little bit earlier (than 15 minutes after you started the meal)? Matt B. mentioned in his videos that he typically doses 10 minutes after he starts the meal, but for something like sugary breakfast cereal, he will dose when he starts eating.
Your starting level (the time when you took Afrezza) was relatively high (158)? This seems to indicate that your BG is already trending high when you take your dose. Per Matt. B, for him, this will require more dosage (than if his BG level is lower).
Maybe Iām misunderstanding what you wrote in your log? I thought you meant that you āstarted eating donutsā and then 15 minutes later took 8u (so far so good)
But then after you took the afrezza ate another donut and had a girly coffee;). (Thatās not gonna work if thatās what happened)
8u would probably cover sweetened coffee and donut in the afternoon or evening for meā I donāt even try to eat stuff like that early in the day.
Iām really not sure how much inhalation technique comes into play or notā¦ To be sure though, Iād recommend you use it standing up-- facing strait ahead
Rarelyā¦ But not severe and they donāt last very long with afrezza at allā¦ I can get a quick dip then a long climb following slow digesting higher fat foods if I donāt get the timing right.
Youāve only tried two dosesā¦ Give it a chance. It took years to learn the skill level with injected bolus that youāre comparing it toā¦ Just remember once you get an idea how large of doses youāll be needing, the timing is criticalā¦
I couldnāt eat anything after I dosed it with the expectation that it would be covered at allā¦ In sure we all digest foods differently, but figuring out how the timing works for you (which may be very different than me) will be the most important thing
Yeah i kinda used it as a correction dose (for the 158) and to cover the coffee and donut and on top of that took it 10 minutes after I ate.
Just thinking out loud here, and Iām certainly not done giving it a try nor am I saying Afrezza isnt great for some people but I guess Iām struggling with seeing the benefit of it right now. So even if it covers my food the same as novolog, whats the point? Its more of a pain that taking a shot which lasts four hours especially if I have to go take another 2nd or 3rd dose. Idk, I need to think about what i really want to get out of this medication over using novolog.
Itās not a magic pill, but itās made my life a hell of a lot easierā¦ I still have problems with it, itās not perfect. Diabetes is going to be frustrating no matter whatā¦
The first few attempts I made with it I got lucky, which really amped up my enthusiasm, but I can sure imagine feeling bummed too if it had gone the other way.
If youāre not a low carb guy and arenāt super insulin sensitive, youāre probably going to need 8s at leastā¦
Even moderate carb meals (like 30g early in the day) seem to require the 8s for meā¦ I become quite a bit more insulin sensitive at night.
Itās not a magic pill but after you learn to use it I canāt even explain how liberating it is to just eat and then worry about the afrezza a little later instead of dicking around with prebolusing, planning out exactly how many carbs youāre gonna have way in advance etcā thatās a pain in the a$$-- and it was affecting my quality of life way too much. Afrezza is worth the effort to learn and get dialed in, it reopens the door to actually just living almost normal again.
Other advice id offer is when you want to learn afrezza, put the novolog away so that youāre not juggling the twoā¦ Even if thatās just one day or even one meal at a time. Although I eventually started combining the two sometimes, I think it would have made things really complicated and confusing at first . I understand in real life itās easy to want to revert to what youāre familiar with when you have things to do and a life to liveā¦ Maybe try it on days youāre not at work a couple times when thereās less time- pressure or somethingā¦
Sounds like a lot of bs I realizeā¦ But Iām not kidding when I say it can be a really good thing when/ if it works the way you want it to
Very disappointed. Will retest and try to take it before eating and wo coffee. I have stomach distress when drinking coffee due to the acid so Iām wondering if that plays into. I am going to cut out coffee for a week (if i can) and try it again.
I could have controlled this with novolog as long as I pre-bolused so surprised an 8 wouldnt handle one donut and coffee.
):