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Anonymous Question Why did they stop making pork insulin?

I am puzzled as to how Anonymous thinks there is not porcine insulin available. True, some firms did stop making it, but, as FergusCrawford says, Pork Insulin is still here, and is used by many, including myself. Just a note to say the Hypurin Porcine Neutral is available as well, I use it in a pump. Years ago there were fears about retaining pork insulin, but many diabetics, and the organisation IDDT, fought to keep it.
 
Hi Anonymous

There are many reasons as to why animal insulin was discontinued in favour of then human synthetic insulin and later synthetic analogue insulin.

Reasons included at the time but largely unsubstantiated 30 years later:
  • Human insulin was better because it is an exact copy of the insulin molecule produced by the body and therefore it would produce less antibodies.
  • Human insulin would be cheaper, therefore more accessible to people living in poorer countries.
  • Animal insulin supplies were likely to run out.

Animal insulin is available in the UK however the availability in other countries across the world is varied – hence you may be posting from a country where animal insulin is not available and/or there is limited access to it.

Animal Insulin available in UK as at February 2014

Short Acting – available in cartridges and vials

Hypurin Porcine (Pig) Neutral

Hypurin Bovine (Beef) Neutral

Medium Acting - available in cartridges and vials

Hypurin Porcine (Pig) Isophane

Hypurin Bovine (Beef) Isophane

http://iddt.org/news/animal-insulins-continue-to-be-available-statement-from-wockhardt-uk

Long Acting - available in vials only

Hypurin Bovine (Beef) Lente

Hypurin Bovine (Beef) Protamine Zinc Insulin (PZI)

Mixed – available in cartridges and vials

Hypurin Porcine (Pig) 30/70 Mix (30% Short Acting & 70% Medium Acting)

The UK based Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT) have international affiliations in in Canada, Germany, New Zealand Switzerland USA for additional advice, support etc. re animal insulin.

http://iddt.org/

best wishes

Txx

Type 1 since 1970 - currently using Porcine Neutral & Bovine Lente Insulin
 
The original post was asking why porcine (pork) insulin had been discontinued by Eli Lilly however in relation to the query regarding veganism and islam and animal insulin.

From 1921 to 1980’s the only option available to anyone requiring exogenous insulin was animal insulin – porcine and/or bovine. In conversation with colleagues who are vegan the general view was that it was a challenge to be 100% vegan all the time (their words not mine) and that if the option was death or using animal insulin they would choose the later in order to live.

In issues regarding faith and animal products – faith leaders would, can and do exempt the user to enable them to take animal insulin. The same principle is applied currently with the use of porcine cardiac (heart) valves for humans requiring valve replacement surgery. Saving life and health is generally considered a higher priority than worrying about whether a product is prohibitive or not.

In some countries where animal insulin is not seemingly readily available users of animal insulin are required to obtain for example an individual agriculture licence to enable the importation of the insulin. Wockhardt (formerly CP Pharmaceuticals) will ship animal insulin from the UK to users.
 
I was diagnosed diabetic in 1974 and put on pork incilin , when i was 16 i went onto human insulin which was great for several years , until I turn 35 then my health hypos took a severe nose dive My Insulin was killing me . After several near death experiences , and losing 9 friends to hypoglycemic turns in their sleep killing them . I went back to pork insulin 2 years ago , still have turns and no the bad ones have not got but was told due to so many years on human insulin it could take 5 to 7 years to get back a prettty normal life . If you have loss of warning , on human , not knowing what you are doing , or what you have done Please consider changing back to pork or beef insulin ASAP
 
MMm my dad was put on Porcin as he had funny chest pains and sudden high BP surges. I have been on Novomix30 for 14 years and had chest pains and stupid sudden 250/200 blood pressure surges. After about 6 years these problems got closer and closer until I was in the ED every 3 days, one cannot ignore a 250/200 BP.One day a doctor suggested that I try Desloratadine or aerius and after 5 days the problem disappeared. Then the diabetic doctor said she wanted me to have a different insulin, Actarapid. I am told that the resulting serious chest pain this time on the other side of my heart was down to heart problems and they did a serious stress test. Now however as I stopped the insulin concerned (Actarapid), and went back to Novomix30 some 6 months later my heart has suddenly got better, Nothing I am assured due to the insulin no not all purely coincidence Thats like saying that dropping the A bomb on Japan was just a coincidence that it was several years after The Bombing of Hawaii.. Face it ,the doctors do NOT know it all. The doctors have put me on stuff that has phuxxed me up for 6-8 weeks (metformin) KNOWING it had caused me problems before. They did not believe me about the B12, yet they did some tests on others hoping I would not know, and suddenly they have put other diabetics on B12 hoping I did not know the aforesaid others!
These doctors have GOT to start listening to patients, manufacturers have GOT to look at clients not just what makes money. My ordinary doctor reckons I have the best BS control of any he has as clients and that the DB doctors must stop playing games.
 
I was lied to for about 4 years and told there was no pork insulin for me to used any more not even a similar replacement the human insulin i was given has left me near blind very bad neuropathy in all my extremities since finding and returning to a pork insulin my health and even my eye sight has improved i no long keep waking up in hospital. the hospital i attend for eye treatment don't understand how my eyes are so much better and not deteriorating any more i can only put it down to the change of insulin back to pork
 
Found this thread 'really interesting' as I currently use porcine insulin.
It suits me best and my eyes are much healthier too
[my specialist has confirmed this fact too]

The bestest thing for me is I have a clear head and can
focus/function with this insulin far greater than when on an human insulin.
Was on Levemir prior to going onto porcine insulin .
 
At last someone else who will understand where i am coming from. I was diagnosed in 1973 aged 9yrs. I was put on porcine insulin until i was pregnant at 23yrs.I was changed over to human Actrapid both short acting and long acting and was told it was a better insulin. It was fine for approximately 24 months and then i began to have dangerously low sugars without warning and i became very ill losing all control of my diabetes. I insisted to the hospital Diabetes Specialist that he put me back on Porcine insulin. Needless to say i am now 50yrs old and still having the same reliable warnings that i always had on Porcine insulin. My eyesight is still good and well .................... thanks to Hypurin Nuetral and Hypurin Isophane animal insulin.It is certainly best for me. Good luck my fellow insulin user.
 
Hi, this is my first post on the forum even though I have been reading posts for about a year now. I am considering asking a specialist today whether I can change my insulin back to porcine. When I was first diagnosed about 33 years ago I was initially prescribed the pork insulin. No problems at all with this everything was just fine. Then they had a big sweep and put everyone on the human, no choices, no testing etc. Within a week I was head first in the freezer at work and being carried home everyday with hypo's, woke up in Hospital a few times as well. I reported everything to the specialist who told me I was not managing my condition correctly, not eating the right diet or taking the right amount of insulin, (these issues had never come up before) and for not getting it right he got my driving licence revoked, even though I had never had an accident or a hypo whilst in the car. I learnt after that the way to survive was to take less insulin and eat just that little bit extra in carbs. Dangerous I agree but it worked for a while but unfortunately as I have got older not working so well and the hypo's are daily as are the highs. Fingers crossed as no other complications, so I am not totally out of control. Looked into the pump therapy and asked about it but was pooh poohed by the doctor. Actually the pump may not be for me anyway as I don't have any issues with injecting and as far as I can see that is the only benefit.
Didn't know until about 2 years ago that they still made the animal insulins, at the time everything was working in my survival book, so put it to the back of my mind really. Now things are getting hard and nobody seems to have any answers, my fingers are red raw with testing, the results always a shock and even if they look OK within an hour will change dramatically, warnings of lows are fading which is scary with no logical reasons only sudden drops or spikes.
Anyway don't know if changing the insulin will work, maybe looking back everything did not seem so problematic, but really need to try something else rather than wait for the next appointment or get passed on to the dietician or anyone else they can think of to keep me busy and out of their hair.
 
jozoe post is similar to me but I was diagnosed in 1958 and I have just past my 60th. birthday! Hooray!! Having struggled for many years with mood swings, poor and very difficult blood glucose control, many changes to my "bolus" etc., and now splitting my levermir I am going to get my "medical diabetic specialists" to put me back on porcine insulin. I've been diabetic T1 for over 57 years and I'm sick of being ignored in the treatment of my condition. I have read over and over again about people being told that , " soon you will not be able to get animal insulins so you'll have to get used to using human ( synthetic yeast based ) insulin". My experience with this rubbish insulin has been over approximately 20 years and it has never really work, well having my licence revoked due to a hypo that caught-me-out, it has broken this camels back!
When I think back prior to the insulin change I was reasonably well controlled with no hypos no hypers able to drink alcohol work late, get up early and only did Bg tests when I felt unwell.
My fingers are now sore through continual testing in an attempt to satisfy my doctors and the DVLA but my "specialists" may be going to give me a cgms which will help but not solve the problem. The monitoring system should be with me on the 20th May this year and when received it I shall attempt to revert to the porcine insulin I know will work!
 
Human insulin can be made in large quantities far cheaper ?
easier to make , supply and ship out to us ?

I am now back onto Levemir insulin as the onset time with the porcine insulin was taking too
long with me .
I was left with too high BG levels too long in terms of time 'hourly' .

Levemir onset time acts quicker with myself .
I have got past the brain fog feeling this 2nd time around on Levemir .

Some persons do really depend on the animal insulins though for their own reasons .
 
I use porcine insulin in my pump and feel a million times better than I did on the Humalog I was on previously. That caused joint pain, tummy problems and the most crushing tiredness and weakness.

I contacted the IDDT for info about animal insulins and they were very helpful

http://iddt.org/about/gm-vs-animal-insulin

Why did some companies discontinue animal insulins? One word - profit.
 
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I use bovine insulin in my pump Pumping for almost 8 years and complication free after 50 years on insulin.
 
Well done on 50 years on insulin and staying complication-free! Any tips welcome : D

I had to persuade my consultant to let me use porcine insulin in my pump. She was worried about it causing blockages, but I was able to provide evidence that it wouldn't. I've never had any problems with it in my pump and I've been using it for two or three years.

I did get the impression she thought I was going backwards though as she kept trying to persuade me to try the latest analogue. Personally, I find the analogues worse than the regular human insulins.
 
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