|
Post by peppy on Sept 28, 2016 8:06:46 GMT -5
Dad had doctor appointment today. He went into the doctors office with the intent of being switched back to Afrezza. The doctor hadn't read the paperwork or messages from Mike C and apparently had no intention of doing so. He told my dad that Afrezza was too expensive. My dad has had pneumonia, so he also told my dad that his lungs wouldn't absorb it anyway, AND he told him that the insurance wouldn't cover it . Dad knows about Afrezza from hanging around with me.... so he shot back.. and there was a lot of yelling in the office.. he basically told the doctor to "go to h#ll" and walked out.... Now he is without a doc again
I don't have time to find it right now, but there was a study that absorption is not impaired by concurrent respiratory infection. As to insurance, that would be determined by the patient's Part D coverage - so different plans cover to differing degrees. I have no doubt that some part D's cover, so you would have to check your dad's plan. I'm glad your dad is advocating for what he needs; I hope he can find a competent physician soon. But very frustrating what he has been put through. additionally from sweedee. Dad has been having problems regulating his blood sugar this summer on Novolog..A1C of 8.2.Last summer on Afrezza .. A1C of 6.6 plus he lost 24lbs on Afrezza and gained it all back on Novolog. Doc wanted to raise his Novolog dose.. dad said BS .. he doesn't want it.
My words; Thank you sweedee. I have said before Dad is my barometer. This physician knows your father had a better a1c and wt loss on afrezza. increased a1c and weight gain on Novo. He told you/us, he isn't changing his prescription protocol regime. That is the battle, pep
On the far side, bacteria love sugar. a higher blood sugar more bacterial infection. Just sayin. pep
|
|
|
Post by LosingMyBullishness on Sept 28, 2016 8:09:33 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing and reminding us that there are some stubborn, ill-informed, corrupt, ignorant endos out there that will try to make up all kinds of stupid arguments not to have to change their way of thinking and established routine of prescription. Sadly they make a lot of money anyway. This guy sounds like a lost case and it was very honorable of Mike to give it a try. I really hope that you find a doctors that listens and acts according to the interest of your dad.
|
|
|
Post by novafett on Sept 28, 2016 8:59:40 GMT -5
On the far side, bacteria love sugar. a higher blood sugar more bacterial infection. Just sayin. pep
Never knew this.. probably crack pot self-medicating but next time i'm sick I'm gonna go whole hog on not consuming any sugar.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 9:03:55 GMT -5
On the far side, bacteria love sugar. a higher blood sugar more bacterial infection. Just sayin. pep
Never knew this.. probably crack pot self-medicating but next time i'm sick I'm gonna go whole hog on not consuming any sugar. thats one of the reasons the orals that push sugar out through kidneys and urine result in yeast infections
|
|
|
Post by peppy on Sept 28, 2016 10:11:53 GMT -5
sweedee, Subjectively zeroing in? On the far side; How is dad's breathing? off afrezza on novo? compared to dad's breathing on afrezza? Is dad back in congestive heart failure off afrezza? how's his feet look? Pink well perfused,? Puffy? the pneumonia? the weight gain?
Wondering at this moment. Pep Al Mann was a brain.
|
|
|
Post by sweedee79 on Sept 28, 2016 11:56:18 GMT -5
sweedee, Subjectively zeroing in? On the far side; How is dad's breathing? off afrezza on novo? compared to dad's breathing on afrezza? Is dad back in congestive heart failure off afrezza? how's his feet look? Pink well perfused,? Puffy? the pneumonia? the weight gain?
Wondering at this moment. Pep Al Mann was a brain.
I haven't asked him about his feet.. but I will talk to him more.. what I do know is that dad was a different man last summer... happier, way more energy.. lost a lot of weight..even his blood pressure was better .. busier.. more productive he did have problems one time on Afrezza where his blood sugar got away from him and he couldn't get it back with just Afrezza .. I think he had some kind of illness.. he should have went to the doc but is a stubborn old fashioned farmer and wouldn't go.. his A1C was 6.6 and I believe it could have been even better than that because his dose could have been higher... Our medical system pigeon holes people of certain age.. and part D withholds the best medicines..
Same time frame this summer on Novolog... he is a busy as usual but very tired and much more negative emotionally.. higher blood glucose..gained all of the weight back and now pneumonia .. not the same person ..
I don't really know about the breathing, but reflecting on the differences I would say his breathing was much better last summer on Afrezza.....
Afrezza is far superior.... I'm sorry stubborn docs... but you are just wrong.. as a daughter and as an investor in this stock it makes me furious... and I would say that this doc represents the vast majority in this area.. it says a lot about our health care system ..
And YES .. Al Mann was a brain.. he knew what others cant or wont grasp ..
|
|
|
Post by sweedee79 on Sept 28, 2016 12:16:43 GMT -5
thank you so much for your help...
|
|
|
Post by agedhippie on Sept 28, 2016 15:00:37 GMT -5
On the far side, bacteria love sugar. a higher blood sugar more bacterial infection. Just sayin. pep
Never knew this.. probably crack pot self-medicating but next time i'm sick I'm gonna go whole hog on not consuming any sugar. Sadly it doesn't work. The higher level comes from the liver rather than from food. Your body puts out more sugar so you have energy to fight the infection - the bacteria get a free ride...
|
|
|
Post by tingtongtung on Sept 28, 2016 15:21:50 GMT -5
@sweedee, I hope you get this thing resolved ASAP. Good luck!
|
|
|
Post by sweedee79 on Sept 28, 2016 15:23:46 GMT -5
Dad and I found a doctor that may possibly help us..... He is about 2 1/2 hours away but its a place to start .. I'm hoping he can get dad started again and be a go to if we find another doc closer in the area.. This doc is an endo who specializes in diabetes and is listed on the Afrezza website as a doc who prescribes Afrezza.
First I have to nail down insurance coverage. One thing we have going for us is records of his numbers and weight loss. To me this proves that he needs Afrezza. He hardly eats anything.. not enough to keep a bird alive IMO .. I left messages with Mike C on Twitter also.
The savings card is not available to those on Medicare.
As Mike C stated in the past, Medicare patients are the hardest to get coverage for. Is this one of our largest target markets?? My dad is a type 1.. but I believe most people in this age group are type 2 and we are targeting type 1s. So perhaps medicare patients don't represent a majority of our target market. Just a thought.
|
|
|
Post by dreamboatcruise on Sept 28, 2016 17:14:38 GMT -5
To follow up on my previous post, I didn't have it quite right. This is a link to mnholdem's post about a study in patients with an upper respiratory infection. mnkd.proboards.com/thread/6241/abstract-respiratory-technosphere-inhaled-insulinPatients with a lower respiratory infection (pneumonia) were excluded from the study. So basically, there are no studies for your dad's condition to date. Personally, I would think if you can oxygen in, you are going to get TI in. The best way to approach it would be to tell a patient with pneumonia to try it, check their blood sugars frequently, and if the Afrezza is not lowering blood glucose, go on sub Q insulin for the duration of the illness. Keep in mind, that an infection like pneumonia can elevate blood sugars as a part of the body's defense system. So no matter what insulin is used, blood sugars need to be watched diligently. Common sense isn't a clinical trial, but I would think if a person with pneumonia has the lung capacity to do a few seconds of inhale to empty the cartridge in one breath, the absorbed dose would probably be similar. If the pneumonia is so bad as to cause shallow breathing, that would make me question whether the full amount of Afrezza would be getting to the aveoli. The one time I had pneumonia it was very localized... about a third of one lung. I would suspect that if I inhaled Afrezza then, it along with the air would disproportionately go to the portions of the lung not full of fluid and be absorbed. I went to the doctor with chest pains, not shortness of breath.
|
|
|
Post by wgreystone on Sept 28, 2016 19:36:07 GMT -5
Do medicare also require prior authorization?
|
|
|
Post by mnholdem on Sept 28, 2016 19:51:16 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by sweedee79 on Sept 28, 2016 21:47:26 GMT -5
So far Ive found one plan in Minnesota that may cover Afrezza for part D patients. It is United American Enhanced and Afrezza is listed as a tier 4. Which means the plan will only pay for 40%, there is also a gap in coverage and a deductible .. I estimate that dad's dose of Afrezza would be around 800$ a month .. which means he would have to pay around 480 of that 800$ .. plus when he reaches the "gap" they will cover even less for a few months... I don't think he will go for that.
Something else we could try is to challenge his current insurance and ask them to make an exception if we can prove he needs it. It looks like he will have to stay on Novolog for the time being until we can get this settled.
I haven't found those formulary trackers to be that reliable.
|
|
|
Post by mannmade on Sept 28, 2016 22:20:04 GMT -5
What about MannKind Cares?
|
|