{"id":15158181,"date":"2026-06-14T11:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T15:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/fda-approval-of-inhaled-insulin-has-been-life-changing-for-this-teen-with-diabetes\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T01:45:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T05:45:54","slug":"fda-approval-of-inhaled-insulin-has-been-life-changing-for-this-teen-with-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/fda-approval-of-inhaled-insulin-has-been-life-changing-for-this-teen-with-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"FDA Approval of Inhaled Insulin Has Been Life-Changing for This Teen with Diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1296\" height=\"728\" src=\"https:\/\/media.post.rvohealth.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1.jpg\" alt=\"Jennifer and Taisie Seigrist\" class=\"wp-image-4853611\" \/><figcaption>Jennifer Seigrist (left) and her daughter Taisie Seigrist (right). Photo by Jennifer Seigrist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The FDA has approved\u00a0Afrezza, an inhaled insulin,\u00a0for children and adolescents.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Taisie Seigrist is a 15-year-old who took part in the clinical trial for Afrezza.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Seigrist said the needle-free option has changed her life.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When Taisie Seigrist was 10 years old, she began experiencing persistent thirst and the urge to urinate frequently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe would come home from school and drink five glasses of water instantly,\u201d her mom, Jennifer, told Healthline.<\/p>\n<p>Concerned that Taisie might be ill, Jennifer turned to her sister-in-law, who lives with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/type-2-diabetes\">type 2 diabetes<\/a>, for help. Jennifer asked her if she could borrow her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/diabetes\/best-glucose-monitors\">glucose meter<\/a> to test Taisie\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/diabetes\/blood-sugar-level-chart\">blood sugar<\/a>. The device revealed that Taisie\u2019s blood sugar was 684 mg\/dL, which is dangerously high.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe called our doctor, and he said go straight to the children\u2019s hospital, so we did, and we were there for about a week,\u201d said Jennifer.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors diagnosed Taisie with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/type-1-diabetes-causes-symtoms-treatments\">type 1 diabetes<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was scary for both of us to hear,\u201d said Jennifer.<\/p>\n<h2>Learning to live with type 1 diabetes<\/h2>\n<p>While Taisie left the hospital with a continuous glucose monitor that helped manage her condition, she also relied on mealtime injected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/diabetes\/insulin-injection\">insulin shots<\/a>, as often as seven times per day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA pump wasn\u2019t really a good option for us because of our lifestyles,\u201d said Jennifer.<\/p>\n<p>For the first two years after Taisie\u2019s diagnosis, her mom administered mealtime shots for her. Then Taisie began doing them herself.<\/p>\n<p>Because Taisie didn\u2019t have a lot of body fat, she had to keep returning to the same injection sites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaking shots really hurt, especially doing it in the same place,\u201d Taisie told Healthline.<\/p>\n<p>The shots also affected her quality of life. Injected rapid-acting insulin takes about 15 minutes to start working and stays in the body for 2 to 3 hours, which made it difficult for Taisie to administer during school and at track and cross-country. If her blood sugar needed correcting right before a race, she\u2019d have to sit out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt kept her from being able to participate at certain times,\u201d said Jennifer.<\/p>\n<p>Managing her condition took an emotional toll, too. In elementary school, her classmates accused her of taking insulin shots for attention, which made an already difficult condition feel even more isolating.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluebirdkids.com\/providers\/michael-glazier-md\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Michael Glazier,<\/a> MD, Chief Medical Officer at Bluebird Kids Health, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/type-2-diabetes\/mealtime-insulin-benefits-and-more\">mealtime insulin<\/a> is challenging for anyone living with diabetes, but especially for children and adolescents.<\/p>\n<p>Varying schedules, feelings of denial and rebellion, as well as the inconvenience, embarrassment, and stigma associated with injection administration in front of peers, can add to the difficulty and make adherence more challenging, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unfortunately obviously easier to \u2018skip\u2019 a mealtime dose than to give one, and this inevitably leads to less time their blood sugars are in the desired range and more complications as they age,\u201d Glazier told Healthline.<\/p>\n<h2>Finding a new treatment in a clinical trial<\/h2>\n<p>In 2024, during a routine appointment, Taisie\u2019s endocrinologist asked whether she would be interested in participating in a clinical trial of Afrezza, an inhaled mealtime insulin taken before eating that mimics the body\u2019s natural insulin response at mealtime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe jumped at the chance,\u201d Jennifer said.<\/p>\n<p>While Taisie didn\u2019t fully understand the science of the trial, she was intrigued by a new treatment option.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce I heard that it was inhalable insulin, I got really excited because I didn\u2019t have to take shots,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She responded well to the medication.<\/p>\n<p>Jennifer said it gives her metabolic flexibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith injections, she would take a shot 15 minutes before she would start eating and then it would stay in her system for two to three hours, so we couldn\u2019t do a correction for two to three hours, whereas with the inhaled insulin, as soon as you take it, it\u2019s in your system and out of your system in an hour so we start doing corrections if we need to a lot sooner which keeps her A1C down and her number down and it\u2019s really amazing and it\u2019s so easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Taisie, the difference is something she can feel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s made my blood [sugar] more level than it was when I was taking shots,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She also feels social and emotional benefits. Before, the thought of eating cake at a birthday party meant mentally calculating another shot and deciding whether the food was worth it.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Taisie just eats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t have to be like, \u2018No, I don\u2019t want that because I don\u2019t want to do another shot,\u2019\u201d Jennifer said.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Taisie only takes one shot of long-acting insulin at night.<\/p>\n<h2>Afrezza is FDA approved<\/h2>\n<p>On May 29, 2026, Afrezza became FDA-approved for children ages 6 and older living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, about 12 years after the medication was approved for adults.<\/p>\n<p>Jennifer and Taisie hope the news will help others get access to the medication, as they currently pay out of pocket for it at a discounted rate for participating in the trial. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For families weighing treatment options for children with type 1 diabetes, Jennifer said talk to your child\u2019s doctor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a really good option for people whose kids have diabetes and want something different and don\u2019t want a bunch of bruises from taking multiple shots a day or don\u2019t want another piece of technology like a pump on a kid\u2019s arm or their hip,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really convenient. It\u2019s really easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Glazier agrees. However, he said there is still a place for recombinant technology and insulin pumps, which allow for better blood sugar regulation and management.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInhaled insulin will not replace the need for these products and delivery systems with regard to blood sugar control, but it will add to them and be particularly helpful for patients with strong aversions to needles and who have difficulties with meal-time blood sugar management,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"inmi-source\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health-news\/afrezza-inhaled-insulin-diabetes-changed-life-teen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">News \u2013 World \u2013 Canada \u2013 rss.app #1 \u2192 manual entry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jennifer Seigrist (left) and her daughter Taisie Seigrist (right). Photo by Jennifer Seigrist<\/p>\n<p>The FDA has approved\u00a0Afrezza, an inhaled insulin,\u00a0for children and adolescents.<\/p>\n<p>Taisie Seigrist is a 15-year-old who took part in the clinical trial for Afrezza.<\/p>\n<p>Seigrist said the needle-free option has\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15183926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15158181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1.jpg",1296,728,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-620x348.jpg",620,348,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-768x431.jpg",768,431,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-940x528.jpg",940,528,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1.jpg",1296,728,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1.jpg",1296,728,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-998x665.jpg",998,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-670x446.jpg",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1.jpg",1296,728,false],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-510x510.jpg",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-24x24.jpg",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-48x48.jpg",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-96x96.jpg",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/15158181-inhaled_insulin_for_kids-header-1296x728-1-1-300x300.jpg",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"<a 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