New data from two previously completed clinical studies show that Symlin (pramlintide acetate) helped reduce A1c levels, insulin use and body weight in patients with type 1 diabetes who used insulin pumps. The data was presented by Amylin Pharmaceuticals during a poster presentation at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in San Diego. Symlin is a synthetic analog of human amylin, a naturally occurring hormone that is produced and released by beta cells in the pancreas, the same cells that...

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals have entered into a research collaboration agreement to provide financial support for a series of clinical studies to investigate the feasibility of mixing pramlintide, an analog of the Symalin with insulin to treat type 1 diabetes. Pramlintide injection, an analog of the human hormone amylin marketed by Amylin as SYMLIN, is approved for use as an adjunct treatment in patients with diabetes who use mealtime insulin therapy and who have failed to achieve...

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced results from an analysis of an integrated database of clinical studies that showed no increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events associated with SYMLIN(R) (pramlintide acetate) injection use compared to a pooled comparator group treated with either placebo or rapid-acting insulin. These findings were presented at the 70th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Orlando, Fla. The meta-analysis included five completed, randomized, controlled clinical trials...

Do you ever feel like diabetes gear is addictive? Or, rather, that it doesn’t take long to become dependent on something that, just weeks earlier, wasn’t a part of your life at all? I remember feeling that way when I first got the pump — within two weeks I’d forgotten my Lantus doses and was terrified at the idea of having to go back and figure out how to use long-acting insulin. Ditto my continuous glucometer. I hate wearing the thing (here’s a photo of my latest sensor, on my stomach — check out...

First off, thanks to everyone who weighed in with their own problems with delayed insulin. As I mentioned, I’ve had numerous conversations with endocrinologists and still have never gotten a good answer as to why it happens — but as you all apparently know as well, it does. And it’s really annoying. Perhaps one of the Sweet Life experts can weigh in on this, but I wonder if the problem is the same if you’re just on shots. By which I mean, is the problem stemming from an issue with my pump infusion set? Am I...

It’s been a while since I’ve written about Symlin, the drug that helps smooth out blood sugars after meals. (To find out more about Symlin, check out my primer here.) It’s been nearly two months since I started taking it, and my experience, for the most part, has been positive. The nausea has been subsiding, I have lost about 5 pounds, and best of all, it really does help to smooth out blood sugar after meals. I continue to find it challenging to figure out exactly how to time my doses — I use the dual wave...

There are things I tend to find out about early, like the latest top 40 hip-hop hits. And then there are things that I’m slower to pick up on, like children’s fantasy novels. Case in point, my experience with Harry Potter: I *just* read the 6th and 7th books last week on vacation — and now I’ve got all the curses and charms floating through my head. Last night I was asking my husband where he put the neosporin, and wishing I could cast an “Accio!” charm to make it leap into my hand. Alas, I am not...

I was getting ready to write this really pro-Symlin post, explaining how it’s really done a great job of smoothing out my blood sugars and is helping me lose weight to boot. I was even going to drop a little line in there saying that despite a week or so of nausea when I first started, I was totally acclimated to my synthetic amylin and no longer felt like I was suffering from the diabetic equivalent of morning sickness. But then I ate my breakfast and now I take that all back. Here’s what happened: I ate breakfast, which...

I’m coming up on week two of my Symlin experiment, and I’ve got to say: I love it. Symlin, as you probably know, is a synthetic version of the human hormone amylin which — to quote the FDA — is “a naturally occurring neuroendocrine hormone synthesized by pancreatic beta cells that contributes to glucose control during the postprandial period.” Translation? It’s another hormone made by your pancreas (in addition to insulin) that helps control your blood sugar after you eat. You don’t...