FDA Panel Approves Inhalable Insulin

[MrsSpringsteen]

I hope this will become a reality, it will make things a bit easier and more tolerable for people who have diabetes

It will also help if the cost is kept down

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/09/08/inhaled.insulin.ap/index.html

"Some advisers also were concerned that patients might not use the device properly. Drug company representatives suggested that the inhaler was not any more complicated than the injections many diabetics now must rely on."

 

[nbcrusader]

Smokers are out of luck on this one.

Otherwise, it looks like a great alternative to injections

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

My uncle who recently passed away was taking medication for his diabetes until he started needing injections in the last six months or so

That would have saved him that pain in addition to everything else he was dealing with

And I know diabetics who have had to inject for years, some since they were kids

Someone recently said to me that a cure for diabetes will never be found because the drug companies are making far too much money off it, I hope to God that isn't true

 

[elfyx]

While that may be true, this truly looks like a great new vector for diabetes treatment. I just hope that lessons have been learned with some of the recent approval failures of some drugs, and that it is thoroughly tested and understood before released to market.

 

[Angela Harlem]

There's already alternatives for those with problems using needles, like pressure pumps. I wish these companies would work on doing something useful rather than ways of boosting shares.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

There's already alternatives for those with problems using needles, like pressure pumps. I wish these companies would work on doing something useful rather than ways of boosting shares.

Do you know if these are available in the US? My Dad's got diabetes, and I'd like him to have any available alternative for the injections, whether it's pressure pumps or an inhaler. I cringe everytime I look at the bruises he's got all over thanks to almost fifteen years of daily injections.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Sorry to hear it, mate. I'm sure they would be available. They'd have to be? I say this because I can't imagine us having something like that and it not being made available to absolutely anyone who'd possibly want it? I know there are a few varieties of the pumps. The one I am thinking of which sounds most user friendly is one which forces the insulin into the skin through a disc which expels insulin at a certain pressure and has apparently similar, if not the same, effects as a syringe. There's also another one which is placed under the skin and it monitors the insulin released straight into the bloodstream. This one I'm not too familiar with, as I've only heard it spoken in reference to type 2.
I'm trying to google it now and am having no luck. I'd suggest looking at Novo, Becton Dickinson (or B-D as they can be known as) or perhaps even Lilly. Brands are possibly different here than there, and I imagine you'd have a huger range to choose from. I know these companies produce both injection products and/or insulin itself.
I've found one site which might help you with phone numbers?
http://www.novolog.com/consumer/pathway/pump_pg03.asp
If you have no luck, it would be a great help to contact the American Diabetes Association as they will give you a list of who you can speak to and where you can get it, and possibly price as well. A lot of products over here are given freely initially to help boost the money making longterm sales of things like syringe tips or test strips. I hope you can find something, especially if he's type 2 as the options are more varied for those sufferers. Good luck! Let us know how you go, eh?

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Thanks, Anna. I spoke with my dad last night and I asked him if he had looked into any of these things, and told him about the pumps. he told me he'd ask his doctor.

I'll let you know what he decides to do.