”I’ve been living with type 1 diabetes for 57 years,” says diabetes advocate, mentor, and blogger FatCatAnna on August’s Divabetic’s podcast. “So I feel like a kid at heart.”

Anna shares what it was like to manage diabetes in the 1960s. “I started with one insulin injection a day. It was pork insulin called NPH.”

It might be hard to imagine that the first insulins developed were from animals. But over the last century, there have been several innovations in insulin therapy, starting with the isolation of insulin and the purification and concentration of animal pancreatic extracts.

The first commercial insulin formulations were made with animal insulins, primarily beef and pork insulins, which had PK and PD properties similar to human insulin. However, a common problem with animal-source insulins was the formation of anti-insulin antibodies, leading to lipoatrophy and insulin resistance in many patients. Processing techniques were developed to purify active insulin. By 2006, the manufacturing of pork insulin (Iletin II) for human use was discontinued.

Today’s insulins include insulin mixtures, concentrated insulins, and insulins with alternate routes of administration, providing a wide array of options for people with diabetes.

Not only have insulin formulations changed over the past fifty years but so has

diabetes self-care management.  By the 1960s, the development of urine strips for detecting blood sugars and the single-use syringe allowed faster and easier insulin therapy options. This was still a far cry from today’s self-care tools. Specifically, the invention of the blood glucose monitor for home use, something we take for granted, was still several years away.

“Back then, I just did a jab in the morning,” says Anna. “Then, I had to eat like a soldier at 8 AM, 12 PM, little snacks in between, and so on.”

Fifty-seven years later, her curious mind keeps on top of all the new forms of insulin therapy and technology today.

“I like to learn all kinds of new and different things in technology,” she adds. “Now, I’m using a CGM (continuous glucose monitor). That’s a game-changer for anyone who is on insulin. The fact that gives you insight into what’s happening and warns you when you’re going high or going low helps you use your insulin properly.”

Hear FatCatAnna‘s full interview using this link on Blog Talk Radio using the player below: