Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Manager of Marketing at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
I would like to give it a try but my endo is dead set against it! States that he doesn’t recommend it for Type 1s and doesn’t give you the control that you think.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr………………….
It definitely gives you more control over injections.
Your endo is wrong. Read Ginger Vieira’s articles on this website.
https://t1dexchange.org/doctors-inhaled-insulin-t1d/
Sounds like he doesn’t know who it’s for. “Doesn’t recommend it for Type 1’s”, who does he think it’s for?
I used it for a while and the quick action was a game changer, but since I’m in Australia there is no cheap way to access it.
I get a pretty similar effect now by injecting Fiasp intramuscularly (I do it in my biceps).
I love inhaled insulin and not having to take injections to bolus.
I wanted it to use when I fly since I have to remove my pump but my insurance will not cover it.
Why do you remove your pump? I always wear mine when flying. You have to do a pat down from the TSA, but that’s about it.
I keep some on hand to deal with unexplained high BGs.
I loved how fast it worked for highs, but I had some pretty sudden and nasty lows on it which caused me to discontinue it.
No, the initial study showed cancel in 95% of participants who had ever smoked. I smoked over 20 years ago, but it isn’t worth the chance of getting cancer.
I asked about its use, the Endo discouraged it. With ‘time in range’ now being the hot ticket, I would think Afreza would at least be a talking point!
I briefly used it and hated it. I’d rather pump.
I’ve used it for years off – and on. Insurance doesn’t cover it – but Mannkind offers various programs that work. As long as I can get it affordably I will use it. I’m 68, have had diabetes most all my life and this provides the BEST control – much better than pump ever did.
One other thing – it’s my health, my diabetes, and my choice. I would definitely switch endo’s if mine was dead set against it. Yes, I take their recommendations – but if I find something I totally disagree with them on I keep hammering away until they finally cave.
My Doctor of 23 years [not an Endo] said ” I’m not going to tell you wht to do, the sick people are still out in the waiting room “
I have not, I have tried to get a Dr to prescribe it. I even showed them the article that was written through y’all & pinned studies showing it doesn’t cause lung cancer & they still won’t prescribe it due to that fear. It’s frustrating that they won’t even let me try it. I have so much insulin resistance that an alternative would be wonderful to try.
*pubmed not pinned studies.
So find a doctor who will.
Would like to think that inhaled insulin would be an option for me. After 60 years of injectable insulin I have absorption issues that concern me for the future.
My insurance won’t cover inhaled insulin. I had wanted to try it for those sticky highs that can take hours to get down—but it’s not covered by Tricare.
I was interested in trying it, but was cot a good candidate with existing Asthma.
I was told that the smallest does for inhaled insulin is 2 U. that wouldn’t work for me, unless I could have the inhaled version as well as my injected fiasp and choose according to the situation.
Afrezza has been a game changer for me. I love it. No more stubborn highs!!! I have only had one severe low, but I have learned from that event and have had no other lows. If your doctor has been a naysayer about it, then he/she does not have good information about it. And, the manufacturers special deal of $35 per month is affordable!!! For more information, read Ginger Vieira’s articles about it on this website.
https://t1dexchange.org/doctors-inhaled-insulin-t1d/
I wanted to try it for stubborn highs but my Endo wouldn’t go through the process of prescribing it. It was new at the time.
Like many have said, my endo refuses to prescribe it because of his (outdated) opinion that it’s dangerous. He’s been my endo for 30 years so I’m not going to switch endos over it as I only wanted it for the occasional high due to a bad pump site, but once I have a new endo, I will broach it again.
I had the same problem with my other endo..but an insurance change forced me to get a new Endo and he’s alllll over new stuff. Shame some endos get stuck ..it really affects how we manage our blood sugar. Good luck
My insurance won’t cover it without a fight because I’m on a pump, but I paid $99 to try it.
I tried using it to bring down highs but didn’t think it worked for me. Perhaps I wan’t aggressive enough. But if my pump calculated that I needed two units, I would use 4 units of Afrezza and it would hardly make a dent in my BG. Perhaps I should have been using 8 or 12, but it just seemed too extreme.
Also, I didn’t like the physical sensation of breathing powder into my lungs, especially the second cartridge. And it often caused bloody snot. so I didn’t like it.
They shouldn’t have used “units” as the dose measure. It doesn’t translate at all to insulin dosing.
I would love to use it, King function isn’t good enough.
I am looking into it at this time!!!! But Medicare of course doesn’t cover it.
Have you looked online for coupons? I tried it for free.
YES I believe if enough T1D’s advocate for its use we can get insurance to change?
I am astounded that it has been approved for 10 years by the FDA and I just found out about it last year. It’s a complete game changer for handling spikes. It only lasts for an hour so you need to stay in your blood monitoring or pair it with some long lasting insulin.
Nope not with asthma no way
I have asthma too. It is also a no from me!
When you explore Plan options on Medicare, it will still show a $4,000/mo cost for Afrezza, but that’s because the site is not updated throughout the year. From the Afrezza site: Beginning January 1st, 2023, Medicare recipients can obtain Afrezza for a copay of no more than $35 a month if covered by their health plan. There will be no deductible for covered insulin products. Coverage will require Afrezza approval with a prior authorization or appeal. Visit medicare.gov for more information about the Inflation Reduction Act.
I would love to try it, but don’t understand how to. My endo gave me a sample of fiasp before I switched over to it and I wish there was an easier way to try afrezza before committing / fighting insurance for it.
I was part of a test team 20 years ago using Mankind Inhaled insulin. It did not work well then. Only limited Inhaled. size tubes were used. And we had to stay on our pumps to supply Basel Insulin.
My pulmonologist is against snorting or inhaling anything (except air) and that includes medical marijuana. ☹️ It takes more than anecdotal evidence. Show skeptical me the double-blind studies replicated many times over as to safety, effectiveness, and risks, especially for those who’ve been referred to a pulmonologist.
No
Used Afrezza for 3 years. Works super fast and I am too sensitive to insulin. Plus, there are only set doses and the lowest dose was still too much for me. Works well on blood sugars, just too well for my body to handle.
I was told that I shouldn’t because I have Asthma caused by allergies. Although, recently I was told that I might be able to use it. If so, I’d love to try it, but I need to research it more.