Question

[Jarrod17901]

My girlfriend just got out of the hospital today after being in DKA, while waiting to be discharged, the doctors asked her if she would like to participate in a trial that would give her a new type of insulin which would help regulate her sugar especially in the morning. Does anyone know what new insulin trials are going on right now, and what the name of it was?? Thank you for your help

[JDRF Volunteer RL]

Hi, Jarrod.  I'm not a medical professional, just the parent of a kid with diabetes.  There are several new insulins either in trial or on the market, so it's hard to say which one they were talking about.  The benefits of these new insulins is the time that elapses before the insulin takes effect.  Most fact acting insulins don't take effect for at least 15 minutes, which has the potential to cause the blood sugars to temporarily go higher than they need to.  The new insulins are supposed to act sooner, so getting on one of those trials could be a very good thing.  

I hope your girlfriend is doing better, and does well with dealing with this diagnosis.  Diabetes sucks, but she is limited by nothing.  Good luck to both of you, and let us know if there's anything else we can help with.

[Jarrod17901]

She was really afraid to take everything into consideration when the doctor was explaining everything. Which I cannot blame her at all. I think this was the first time that she was hit with the severity of the situation concerning her insulin and all. I was trying to help her think of questions to ask the doctors before she made any kind of decision. What do you think should be asked?

[JDRF Volunteer SG]

I think she should ask what the risks are as well as asking the doctor to explain what the possible benefits are in laymen's terms. If she is given both the pros and cons, she can make an educated decision. She may want to ask if any people participating in these tests have shown any symptoms of allergies to the insulin(s), what the peak times are for any insulins that she is put on (so she can watch carefully for hypoglycemia at that time), and how many hours it takes before that insulin wears off.

She needs to realize that even with new insulin, she absolutely must start testing her sugar levels often and adjusting to what the numbers are. If she does this, she can avoid further episodes of DKA. Many teens and young adults go through a careless phase and don't test often enough, and nothing will help her unless she changes her testing habits so she knows what her levels are. During these years, people are so busy that it is hard to take the time to stop and test glucose levels. But it really is the key to success and to good health. She will feel much better, too.