Afrezza is a form of inhaled insulin. It was approved by the FDA in 2014 & has yet to become very popular with the medical community for reasons that I will outline below.
Before I discuss more about this drug it's important to realize that everyone's body is different and some patients do very well on Afrezza while some are unable to achieve target glucose control on this medication. This goes for ANY medication out there!
The only way you'll know if Afrezza is right for you, is if you try it!
The only way you'll know if Afrezza is right for you, is if you try it!
Many people are wondering about the pros and cons of this drug....so here's my list that I discuss with my patients:
Pros of Afrezza:
-Its inhaled and does not require an injection
-Its inhaled and does not require an injection
-It peaks in the bloodstream 15 mins after inhalation
-It provides short acting insulin before the meals
-Its gets rid of the need for more than 3 injections daily
-Its lightweight and portable
-Its gets rid of the need for more than 3 injections daily
-Its lightweight and portable
-Better quality of life
-You can achieve your goal HgbA1C with Afrezza!
Cons of Afrezza:
-Many insurances do not cover for it (thus doctors can't easily prescribe this)
-It does not provide long acting insulin for 24 hour coverage (some patients need to take a long acting insulin (NPH, Levemir, Lantus, etc.) with Afrezza
-It cannot be used in patients with chronic lung disease like COPD or asthma (since it's been linked to a decrease in lung function)
-Pulmonary function tests need to be checked every 6 months or sooner
-If it's not inhaled properly, the dose of insulin varies each time
-You can't use Afrezza if you need <4 Units of insulin before meals bc the cartridges come in 4, 8 and 12 Units
-Studies have shown that Afrezza has significantly reduced HgbA1C in type 2 diabetics, but has not shown the same reduction in HgbA1C in type 1 diabetics...the cause for this is unknown but is a reason why Afrezza is less often prescribed to type 1 diabetics
-Many insurances do not cover for it (thus doctors can't easily prescribe this)
-It does not provide long acting insulin for 24 hour coverage (some patients need to take a long acting insulin (NPH, Levemir, Lantus, etc.) with Afrezza
-It cannot be used in patients with chronic lung disease like COPD or asthma (since it's been linked to a decrease in lung function)
-Pulmonary function tests need to be checked every 6 months or sooner
-If it's not inhaled properly, the dose of insulin varies each time
-You can't use Afrezza if you need <4 Units of insulin before meals bc the cartridges come in 4, 8 and 12 Units
-Studies have shown that Afrezza has significantly reduced HgbA1C in type 2 diabetics, but has not shown the same reduction in HgbA1C in type 1 diabetics...the cause for this is unknown but is a reason why Afrezza is less often prescribed to type 1 diabetics
Hope that helps in thinking about whether or not Afrezza is right for you!
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I don't think this is correct: -Studies have shown that Afrezza has significantly reduced HgbA1C in type 2 diabetics, but has not shown the same reduction in HgbA1C in type 1 diabetics...the cause for this is unknown but is a reason why Afrezza is less often prescribed to type 1 diabetics
ReplyDelete-----
We have seen so many TD1 patients achieving their HgbA1C goals with Afrezza
check out@affrezzauser on twitter for a T1 with great results on Afrezza
ReplyDeleteAfter being on the market for a yeay and a half, the facts amount to afrezza being a drug that:
ReplyDelete-- is INFERIOR to lispro in type 1 diabetes
-- is NON-inferior to lispro in type 2 where insulin is the absolute LAST drug used ONLY when EVERYTHING else has failed
-- has the SAME time of effect onset as lispro
-- has the SAME effect on blood glucose as lispro for the first hour after dosing
-- has a risk of DKA -- a LIFE THREATENING condition -- that is 3X that of lispro
-- impairs lung function for no known reason
-- requires regular spirometry
-- has a black box warning
-- has warnings of lung damage, COPD, cancer with long term safety studies STILL pending
-- has basically NO insurance coverage
-- users report needing to use 3-4 TIMES as much as their old lispro dose
-- non-CGM users need up to THREE TIMES as many -- or MORE -- painful fingersticks a day because afizzle is so rapidly metabolized, HYPERglycemia from late digested carbs is a serious problem
-- had the WORST launch in the history of pharmaceuticals!
-- that couldn't even outsell exubera with its monster "bong"
-- practically NO endo nor ANY diabetic on the planet is interested in!