[karen]

Saw a news clip on inhaled insulin.

They stated the biggest plus is to help diabetics with adversion to needles.

They so don't get that the shots are not the issue.

Karen

[Mark C]

The news report here did state that "we" must still bleed while testing our glucose levels.

[vrocco1]

I don't see where the needles, or the finger pricks are the problem. I just do it mostly without thinking about it.

Now, carrying that stupid inhaler around. That's a problem. I think they found an excellent solution to a non-problem. I wish them luck!

[jenet]

I'm not fond of the finger sticks, but that inhaler looks like much more trouble than it's worth. I hope it helps others, because I'm always in favor of more choices.

I'm headed towards a pump for more control, something I doubt I could get with the inhaled insulin and Lantus (which I actively dislike). YMMV

cheers,
j

[am1977]

Personally, I still hate needles ...so the inhalable insulin is a step in the right direction, but I still don't think I'll be trying it myself...at least not right away. I don't see how inhaling insulin into your lungs could be good. I mean, who knows what the long term effects of doing that will be? I'll wait until they are a little more certain it's safe.

[Belinda]

The NBC news report I heard was about adversion to the shot, and some didn't like the pill.....ok....if there was a pill to control my T! then that would be what I did but there isn't. I think it is geared towards T2's that are aprehensive about taking insulin shots when they have the choice of a pill.....to me it made it sound like diabetes is cured with an inhaler....NOT...also they said the long term effects on the lungs are not known yet and there would be some type of paper to sign........yep I am sticking with my pump

[DeusXM]

Of course 'they' won't get it. Think back to when you were first diagnosed. What was the really big thing that worried you the most?

I'm willing to bet that it was the prospect of having to inject regularly.

Of course, once you're in the big D club, you realise the actual treating-your-condition part is the easy part. It's ensuring that treatment's effective which is the tricky bit.

In any case, like most people I'll stick with injections for now - with a jab, you know precisely how much insulin you're getting. I'm not entirely sure that an open delivery system such as inhaling will be totally suitable for precise dosing.

[David]

Originally Posted by DeusXM

Of course, once you're in the big D club, you realise the actual treating-your-condition part is the easy part. It's ensuring that treatment's effective which is the tricky bit.

A big agreement from me. Most of us know how tricky accurate insulin dosing for carbs and having it work consistently is. Is inhaling insulin going to improve that at all? How precise is dosing with an inhaler? I suspect not very, because of
1. individual lung issues 2. incorrect inhaling technique and 3. coughing or sneezing after inhaling and having no way of knowing how much you've just expelled.

David

[BriOnH]

Karen, you couldn't be more right imo. They think its the pain of an injection that is one of our biggest hurdles?? Please. I, and I think many here would agree, that that's hardly an issue. It's about control. Making it easier to control glucose levels, and it sounds like this inhaler could actually make that more difficult.

[duck]

Originally Posted by BriOnH

Karen, you couldn't be more right imo. They think its the pain of an injection that is one of our biggest hurdles?? Please. I, and I think many here would agree, that that's hardly an issue. It's about control. Making it easier to control glucose levels, and it sounds like this inhaler could actually make that more difficult.

But it's going to make someone lotsa MONEY!!!!!!!!

[karen]

All I meant that this inhaler is another form of insulin delivery and not a cure. They also stated in this news segment that they have been working on inhaled insulin since the discovery of insulin and I just wish time and money was spent on other means to maybe not cure diabetes but to help with highs and lows and to have some sort of smart insulin or measuring device that would measure my bgs and dose insulin to fix my highs more normally.

The news segment was on the Today show yesterday and they focused on the help this could be for Type 2's who did not want to start taking insulin because of shots and they made it sound like this would be so helpful to them, which perhaps it would be, but it never mentioned how this insulin delivery could still cause a low, how it could perhaps cause lung problems, etc.

I need researchers to focus on something other than just the delivery of insulin, that is the easy part. No one outside of this disease gets the reality of this disease, of the anxiety of going low, of the emotional wear and tear of having highs and knowing your body is being damaged, of the dizziness and not feeling quite right as you fluctuate between these highs and lows, that was my point. We need something other than a new way of getting the insulin in our system, we need a better form of measuring bgs and insulin dosages and keeping our body and bgs steady and functioning as close to normal as possible to avoid complications.

I know there are worse things in life to have, but this is a diabetic board and I was just speaking from my 38 years of having a 24/7 disease.

[JediSkipdogg]

A segment I saw put the piece in a different turn and the report actually DID NOT recommend the inhaler for diabetics under control methods now. The reporter stated that 15% of diabetics that REQUIRE insulin are not treating themselves because of needle fears. Not sure where they got that percent at, but it could be believable. The reporter then went on that he only recommended the inhalable insulin for those 15% and he even interviewed a doctor that said for the time being her will only prescribe it as a last resort.

[duck]

Originally Posted by karen

All I meant that this inhaler is another form of insulin delivery and not a cure. They also stated in this news segment that they have been working on inhaled insulin since the discovery of insulin and I just wish time and money was spent on other means to maybe not cure diabetes but to help with highs and lows and to have some sort of smart insulin or measuring device that would measure my bgs and dose insulin to fix my highs more normally.

The news segment was on the Today show yesterday and they focused on the help this could be for Type 2's who did not want to start taking insulin because of shots and they made it sound like this would be so helpful to them, which perhaps it would be, but it never mentioned how this insulin delivery could still cause a low, how it could perhaps cause lung problems, etc.

I need researchers to focus on something other than just the delivery of insulin, that is the easy part. No one outside of this disease gets the reality of this disease, of the anxiety of going low, of the emotional wear and tear of having highs and knowing your body is being damaged, of the dizziness and not feeling quite right as you fluctuate between these highs and lows, that was my point. We need something other than a new way of getting the insulin in our system, we need a better form of measuring bgs and insulin dosages and keeping our body and bgs steady and functioning as close to normal as possible to avoid complications.

I know there are worse things in life to have, but this is a diabetic board and I was just speaking from my 38 years of having a 24/7 disease.

I think we all agree with you, my sarcasm about the forthcoming cure/what "they" are researching gets the best of me, though...

[Mdude]

It sounds like they didn't ask any diabetics what they need to develop. We don't need pink testers for girls or huge inhalers that provide an inconsistent dosage. These would be acceptable, though:


1. An all-out cure using stem cells.
2. A pill for type 1 that can be taken discreetly.
3. An internal pump that doesn't protrude or need to be refilled, and determines the bg on its own.


Bill Gates was talking about incentivizing various health initiatives in the countries in which he's doing his immunization work. He made an important point that at some points, Capitalism breaks down.

Maybe what we need to do is focus on providing the incentives necessary to get companies working on actual cures. I'm not a bilionaire, so I'm not actually sure how to go about this, but it's clear that if money is the only thing these companies respect, they'll need money to actually work on real cures and not just play around with this inhaler junk.

[someone]

Originally Posted by DeusXM

I'm willing to bet that it was the prospect of having to inject regularly.

Of course, once you're in the big D club, you realise the actual treating-your-condition part is the easy part. It's ensuring that treatment's effective which is the tricky bit.

Those who are currently in the "big D club" might not want to use it, but what about those who are new to the "big D club"? I know when I was first diagnosed, I would have gone for this faster than you could snap your fingers. Now, it is a different story, and I would completely agree with you that injections are not the biggest problem. This would just add another variable to tight control.

Exubera probably realizes this, and is probably going to target those newbies.