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Insulin Inhaler

L

livqrm

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
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She/Her
I'm very new here, in fact the only reason I created this account was for this very post (but I'm finding a lot more cool perks about this) so forgive me but...
Yep, it exists. I don't know if this is a new thing for you, but I've certainly never heard of it before, so imagine my shock when I'm doom scrolling on instagram and see someone pull out an inhaler for their insulin! I'm like... am I seeing this right?! So I do some research, and I found that it is indeed a real thing - a type of insulin brand called Afrezza. An actual insulin inhaler. No needles, no cartridges, no pumps or catheters, no need to inject! This is pretty cool!
Knowing my luck, its obviously not on the NHS, nor is it even approved by NICE due to I think marketing issues. It was however FDA approved back in 2014 and currently still used in the USA.
Please, feel free to do your own research. I have looked on the official Afrezza website, the NICE website, and diabetes uk even have an article about it dated back 26/06/2024.
But I need help. I want this inhaler, and I want it bad! I'm 23, I've been T1 diabetic for 10 years, and I am sick of having bruises, lumps and painful injection marks all over my stomach and legs. I work in a GP surgery, and our head diabetic nurse was quite interested once I told her about it - she also had not heard about it before. One of our partners here is also a big overseer for the local area, and I didn't know but even has links to the secretary of health (!) This inhaler has good results, and I want to see what we can do to bring it here to the UK. I'm going to try and get my surgery on board, and see what we can do. I also want to message people, maybe NICE, maybe anyone else to get some more information or research about this. If anyone has any ideas about who I should speak to regarding this, or any other ideas, please let me know! Also, let me know if you're actually interested in this, and I can keep you all updated!
 
livqrm said:
I'm very new here, in fact the only reason I created this account was for this very post (but I'm finding a lot more cool perks about this) so forgive me but...
Yep, it exists. I don't know if this is a new thing for you, but I've certainly never heard of it before, so imagine my shock when I'm doom scrolling on instagram and see someone pull out an inhaler for their insulin! I'm like... am I seeing this right?! So I do some research, and I found that it is indeed a real thing - a type of insulin brand called Afrezza. An actual insulin inhaler. No needles, no cartridges, no pumps or catheters, no need to inject! This is pretty cool!
Knowing my luck, its obviously not on the NHS, nor is it even approved by NICE due to I think marketing issues. It was however FDA approved back in 2014 and currently still used in the USA.
Please, feel free to do your own research. I have looked on the official Afrezza website, the NICE website, and diabetes uk even have an article about it dated back 26/06/2024.
But I need help. I want this inhaler, and I want it bad! I'm 23, I've been T1 diabetic for 10 years, and I am sick of having bruises, lumps and painful injection marks all over my stomach and legs. I work in a GP surgery, and our head diabetic nurse was quite interested once I told her about it - she also had not heard about it before. One of our partners here is also a big overseer for the local area, and I didn't know but even has links to the secretary of health (!) This inhaler has good results, and I want to see what we can do to bring it here to the UK. I'm going to try and get my surgery on board, and see what we can do. I also want to message people, maybe NICE, maybe anyone else to get some more information or research about this. If anyone has any ideas about who I should speak to regarding this, or any other ideas, please let me know! Also, let me know if you're actually interested in this, and I can keep you all updated!
Click to expand...
If you type Afrezza into the search box, top tight of the screen (click the magnifying glass symbol and a drop down box appears) you’ll see there are lots of threads about it, a couple of useful ones from 2022 discussing pros and cons, and availability (or why it isn’t available).
One note of caution on the 'no more needles', it is only a very fast acting insulin, so you still need to inject a basal.
 
livqrm said:
But I need help. I want this inhaler, and I want it bad! I'm 23, I've been T1 diabetic for 10 years, and I am sick of having bruises, lumps and painful injection marks all over my stomach and legs.
Click to expand...
I suggest your best bet may be to be persistent about a pump. Some people seem to get more bruising from injections than others and you may just be one of those people and a pump may well work better for you. (Obviously try other needles too, maybe other insulins.) Regardless, keep complaining about the bruising and things because that matters (and not all of us have that).

I don't think Afrezza has MHRA approval so I think your chances of getting it any time soon are pretty low. (As @Robin notes, you'd still need need a basal.)
 
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