AfrezzaUser

Advocate for Afrezza

Week 8 – 1st “Non-diabetic” A1C on Afrezza after 3 Mos. – 10.1 to 5.7!

At week 8, happy to announce we now have 8 Afrezza users in our “Real Life” User Group, and want to welcome Howard (@Afrezzaguy) to the Group, and will introduce you to his story and his Afrezza journey in an upcoming blog. Moreover, I’m also excited to let you know that every single one of us have achieved A1C Correlation levels this week in the 5’s— further proof of the superior power and effectiveness of Afrezza.

Further confirming that news is Brian Sharp who had a doctors appointment, and he measured an A1C personal best at his doctors office of a 5.7 (yes, a non-diabetic number) using Afrezza for just 3 months! Ta-Dah! You did it Brian–first person on Afrezza we know of to achieve this!

Another big “Shout Out” goes to Jackie–she had her doctors appointment and also achieved a new A1C personal record of 6.7 (her previous best was 8.1 over the last 16 years) in only 72 days using Afrezza.

We are all excited for both of them knowing their numbers will continue to improve over the next 1-2 months. Brian’s A1C before Afrezza was 10.1. and Jackie’s was 9.1 and this achievement is continued proof that Afrezza is a “Life-Changer”!  It has been an honor and privilege for our group to have them give us their feedback and also be encouraged by them on a daily basis. I know we all applaud you Brian and Jackie–the world needs to know how well Afrezza works, and for all diabetics to have Afrezza as an option in their diabetes treatment. Your outstanding and unbelievable results will certainly help gather awareness, hope and excitement in the diabetic community.

I did catch up with Brian Sharp after his doctor’s appointment, and this is what he had to say:

How did you feel when you got the news your A1C was 5.7?

I felt awesome! To have the lowest A1C I ever had plus it was confirmation of the results I was getting from my CGM.

What was your doctor’s reaction?

My Dr.’s reaction was mixed. She was blown away that I had a A1c that low, but was also concerned that I could be going low. I however went to the appointment prepared and showed her my CGM results. They clearly show that I don’t get any significant lows using Afrezza.

How did your appointment go?

Best appointment I’ve had, EVER. Everyone in the office got word about it. I even announced it to the people in the waiting room on my way out. Seems to me they should try Afrezza also!

What would you like everyone to know now that you are the first Type 1 person on Afrezza known to have an A1C over 10 and now have a non-diabetic number of 5.7?

People need to know, I don’t count carbs, I’m not a good diabetic. I don’t fixate much of my day controlling my diabetes. This was clear by having a 10.1 before Afrezza. The only reason I got a A1c of 5.7 was of Afrezza’s effectiveness. It’s ability to control my BG very precisely without much effort. It’s super effective and extraordinarily fast and easy to use. Its easy to break a 4 minute mile when you go from jogging on foot to driving a car!

One thing Brian and Jackie do (and everyone else in our “Real-Life” Results Group do including Howard) is that they take a “follow up dose” approximately 60 minutes to 75 minutes after a meal if their BG is rising (just like a normal pancreas does- a 2nd phase prandial insulin dose) and if their BG levels are over the limit they have set for themselves. Brian and Jackie are the perfect examples of this–got themselves Afrezza and a CGM and they are healthier than ever since being diabetic. Once again, technology is making it possible for diabetics to live a longer, and more worry-free life with the advent of “real-time” monitoring (Dexcom) and “real-time” insulin, Afrezza. The beauty about our Afrezza User “Real-Life” Results Group for diabetics and the medical community is that you get to see it all, and we download our data at our doctors offices, and they can veritably see in 5 minute intervals, 24 hours a day, how our blood sugars are controlled better than ever before. Here are this weeks numbers:

Screenshot_6_15_15__2_28_PM

What surprises you most about the Week 8 data?

Never mind what is surprising this week…the correct question is “Who is surprising this week”? It’s Brian and Jackie all the way!! Way to go guys! Congrats on your new official A1C’s!

What is the Afrezza Users “Real Life” Results Group?

It is a group of Afrezza Users who use a Continuous Glucose Monitors (Type 1’s) seeking tighter diabetes control and measuring the time spent in each blood sugar range. Laureen uses “finger prick” measurements throughout her day to measure her blood glucose levels while the rest of us are using CGM’s (continuous glucose monitors). It is NOT a competition between T1’s and T2’s nor among any of us and was only started so people could understand and see the inherent benefit of why Afrezza provides better control and higher patient satisfaction for t1 and t2 diabetics over any our previous regimens. In essence, this is a “real-world” trial of “do your best”, and have good and bad days, but keep track of it all, and let everyone know the results. Well, the results thus far are clearly unbelievably positive.

Why are you doing this?

There has been so much discussion about the FDA Afrezza Drug trials and why I feel as a participant in the Affinity 1 trial, there were significant “hold backs” as to why we were not able to materially outperform Injectable Insulin because of the protocols on the trials. This is no longer the case!

To Summarize here are just a few of the hold backs why Afrezza didn’t get to show how great it works:

  • Afrezza Dosing only changed approx. every 6 weeks, and not flexible dosing depending on meal
  • No CGM’s allowed
  • Time in Zone not measured
  • Patient quality of life not measured
  • Brand new Afrezza users vs. Very experienced Injectable users (what if it was brand new injectable users vs. experienced Afrezza users—would that be fair? No-they would stop the trial right away because it would be a TKO/referee stops contest victory for Afrezza which we are proving by real world experience.)

 

What would you like to express to everyone out there considering Afrezza or to any doctors considering prescribing Afrezza for their patients?

My opinion is that Afrezza is a “life-changing” drug that is not very well understood by the diabetic community at large—both doctors and patients. This will definitely change! It improved my life and gave me hope in treating my diabetes. I would wish the same for you or any other diabetic you know—enjoy a better and higher quality of life! Please demand to try Afrezza from your doctor, and if he/she won’t or is not able to prescribe it–go find one that will–your life and the quality of it matters!

13 Comments

  • Reply johnhindepost |

    Congratulations to Jackie and Brian. Outstanding reductions in A1c readings in a relatively short time on Afrezza. Welcome to the new Normal on Afrezza

  • Reply C Evans |

    This has got to be a life changing experience for Brian. Unbelievable, but I believe because I saw his actual lab report. WOW, non diabetic A1c for some one who was running a low 10. His CGM graph also looked great! This result with no lows is a godsend for diabetics.
    Jackie also had great results and will be better as time goes on. Congratulations to both of them. I am happy for all diabetics for taking control of this hideous disease.

  • Reply prcgorman2 |

    Sam, you (and Amy T) admonished us non-diabetics not to talk to diabetics we know about Afrezza. Would it be OK with you (and Amy) if I forward a link to your most recent post to a dear sweet young T1 sufferer I know who had never heard of Afrezza before I asked my daughter to tell her?

    • Reply Sam Finta |

      You do not need to ask my permission. The point of the article was to be respectful of people that deal with disease every day and not bombard them daily especially online.

  • Reply MagicMike |

    Great numbers Brian and Jackie!. The one thing I noticed, regardless of what the A1C’s were before the start of Afrezza, every single person in this challenge is in the “5 range” for the current week! Every one! So, regardless of what your BG was previously, it looks like Afrezza puts everyone in the same range once started, that is truly remarkable stuff, this could be the gold standard for treating diabetes in the future.

    • Reply Sam Finta |

      I have others that have the same results, but not everyone is ready to make their diabetes public. We should have 1 or 2 new members joining this group shortly.

  • Reply MagicMike |

    Sorry, I meant to say “puts everyone in the 5’s for A1C correlation for the week” Average BG this week everyone seems to be in the low 100’s…excellent stats, very good stuff Sam!

  • Reply johnhindepost |

    Welcome Howard aka afrezzaguy, you are a most deserving addition to the blog.

  • Reply Debby |

    Thrilled for Brian and Jackie! And glad we have the first “official A1cs.” Frustrating that even with documentation, doctors are still skeptical. Is it because of the “god complex” many doctors seem to have? Let’s keep adding evidence and spreading the word. Hopefully, next week my 21-year-old daughter will join the A revolution!!

    • Reply Sam Finta |

      My average blood sugar over the last 10 days is 96 with 93% of my time spent between 50-150 and 70% between 70-130. The only thing the doctors need to understand for type 1 diabetics is phase 1 and phase 2 doses. This is how a normal pancreas function and we duplicate this process. It is very simple and some would like to make this seem very complicated. It is much easier to operate in real time vs. predicting the future on injectables.

  • Reply DO |

    Abstract #1220 REDUCED HYPOGLYCEMIA IS OBSERVED WITH INHALED INSULIN VERSUS SUBCUTANEOUS INSULIN ASPART IN PATIENTS (PTS) WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS (T1DM) Lawrence Blonde, MD1, Jasvinder Gill2, Elena Nikonova2, John Stewart3, Bruce Bode4 1. Ochsner Medical Center, 2. Sanofi US, Inc., 3. Sanofi Canada, 4. Atlanta Diabetes Associates Objective: Conduct a post hoc analysis of hypoglycemia rates from a 24-week, phase 3 randomized study of prandial Technosphere Insulin Inhalation Powder (TI; N=172) versus insulin aspart (IA; N=167) added to basal insulin in pts with T1DM (NCT01445951). Methods: Annualized hypoglycemia event rates were determined in the overall study population, pts taking ≥1 postmeal supplemental dose (TI n=111; IA n=91), and pts not taking a supplemental dose (TI n=61; IA n=76). Hypoglycemia rates during study weeks 0-12 (dose adjustment) and 12-24 (stable dosing) were assessed. Hypoglycemia was defined as total (all events), confirmed (blood glucose <49 mg/dL), nocturnal (0:00−6:00 AM), and severe (assistance required). Data were adjusted for baseline A1C level. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean number of supplemental doses taken between the TI and IA arms (34.1 vs 26.6, respectively; P=0.1907). Significantly higher hypoglycemia rates (events per pt/year) were seen for IA versus TI in the overall population (total 81.1 vs 55.2; confirmed 15.0 vs 9.0; nocturnal 8.8 vs 5.9; severe 0.9 vs 0.5; all P<0.05) and pts taking ≥1 supplemental dose (total 96.3 vs 60.9; confirmed 18.6 vs 9.8; nocturnal 11.5 vs 6.5; and severe 1.1 vs 0.6; all P<0.05). In pts not taking a supplemental dose, a significantly higher total hypoglycemia rate was seen with IA versus TI (64.9 vs 46.0 events per pt/year; P=0.0160). Within each arm there was a trend for higher total hypoglycemia rates ≥1 hour after supplemental dosing (events per pt/year) in pts with a higher supplemental dose frequency (TI vs IA: 0.4 vs 0.4; 1.7 vs 2.2; 4.9 vs 6.6 for pts receiving 1-5, 6-20, and 21-60 supplemental doses during the study); there was no significant difference between the TI and IA arms. In the overall study population, within both treatments arms there was a trend for a higher rate of all types of hypoglycemia during weeks 0-12 (titration) versus 12-24 (stable dosing). In pts taking a supplemental dose, a similar trend was seen in the IA arm only. In pts not taking a supplemental dose, there was a trend for higher total, confirmed, and nocturnal hypoglycemia rates during weeks 0-12 versus 12-24 for IA; and total, confirmed, and severe hypoglycemia for TI. Discussion: These data show that the more rapid onset and offset of action with TI versus IA was not associated with greater supplemental dosing. There was a consistently lower hypoglycemia rate in pts with T1DM treated with TI versus IA, including those taking supplemental doses, and during dose adjustment and stable dosing. Conclusion: These data show that supplemental TI dosing does not result in an increased hypoglycemia risk.

    Late Breaking Abstracts submitted to the AACE:

    am.aace.com/sites/all/files/Late-Breaking.pdf

    Page 12

    • Reply Sam Finta |

      That is good information as I have seen statements on the web of accusing Afrezza users of inhaling all day. “These data show that the more rapid onset and offset of action with TI versus IA was not associated with greater supplemental dosing. There was a consistently lower hypoglycemia rate in pts with T1DM treated with TI versus IA, including those taking supplemental doses, and during dose adjustment and stable dosing. Conclusion: These data show that supplemental TI dosing does not result in anincreased hypoglycemia risk.”

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