Lyumjev is a new ultra-fast-acting insulin and a true game-changer in the (near) future of diabetes care. For quite some time, I have been reading on Lyumjev and looping. This month we have started using it.
In this blog, I share the world’s first Lyumjev DIY closed loop summary. See https://petervanrijt.github.io/lyumjevsummary/. I share this extensive summary to help people (how) to decide to use this new insulin in their Do-It-Yourself Artificial Pancreas System (DIY APS).
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First the disclaimer
I am not a healthcare professional. Always consult your doctor before making changes to your diabetes treatment plan. For this blog series, I do not have – and do not want – any sponsorship deals or whatsoever and pay for all equipment just like anybody else.
Table of contents
Blog-specific parts:
And the general parts:
Blog-specific parts
Suddenly, we are innovators
At our home, I manage diabetes technology, actively looking for new treatment options and suggesting them. My girlfriend lives with diabetes all day. Her deepest desire is to live a normal life without being bothered by it. And stay healthy in the long run! Because of this, we experience the disease together.
Online Lyumjev was pitched as: “Lyumjev is an ultra-fast-acting insulin (a so-called URLi – Ultra-rapid lispro), which works faster than e.g. Humalog or Novorapid, and even faster than Fiasp. This insulin can better combat glucose peaks after a meal (…)” (translated quote from this article on diabetestype1.nl).
The shorter peak time of 45 minutes with Lyumjev, compared to 75 minutes (Humalog, Novolog, Novorapid) and 55 minutes (FIASP), seems small but is a significant difference in using all available automation in (do-it-yourself) closed loops systems.
Working out the idea
Just the idea, using Lyumjev in a Do-It-Yourself Artificial Pancreas System (DIY APS), already is an achievement. My girlfriend is the first patient in her hospital with this type of equipment. And she is the first customer on this insulin type in her pharmacy. Insulin is a lifesaver, but in a high dose could also be life-threatening. As with all new medical things, a lot of research and persuasion were necessary.
For quite some time, I have been searching and reading on Lyumjev with looping. A lot of information is available, but all new, you need to know where to look, and an index is missing. From the beginning of my quest, I purposely saved all information and links. I have summarized my notes in a large document during my summer holiday, with some user quotes from private Facebook groups. Together with my girlfriend, I went through it, and she decided to continue. Last week we started with using Lyumjev ourselves. Suddenly, we are true innovators :).
Sharing information
Since the launch of Lyumjev, more and more people in the do-it-yourself community have become curious. I am convinced it is a waste of resources when everybody in the community searches for the same scattered information and asks the same questions on the do-it-yourself Facebook groups. At this time, I realized that I had already created the world’s first Lyumjev DIY closed loop summary. But nobody knew.
I came up with the idea to create a PowerPoint presentation from the existing document. Such a summary could enable (new) users to improve faster with fewer basic questions, and therefore they have more time to improve their personal settings. Also, a significant improvement is it will enable the community to improve it. Together we know more than one alone.
After two days of structuring, translating Dutch to English, and cleaning private quotes of Facebook members, the presentation was ready. I shared it on Facebook AndroidAPS Users (English), Looped (English), Looped-NL-BE (Dutch), and started catching feedback.
The website and collaboration
Immediately after sharing the presentation, the problem of processing feedback quickly arose. A document update on Facebook leads to a new file (which is already hard to find for non-tech users), a new message topic, and because of three different groups, you need to multiply all actions by three. Only with a few updates, I was sure nobody could find the most recent version easily. Probably not the best way to collaborate.
The community suggested improving by using GitHub Pages. It is an online website accessible worldwide, everyone can contribute, and updating for me as an author is easy. And perhaps a more essential but invisible advantage; the information is not dependent on the Facebook policy.
All-new for me, but I Googled some, started an open-source repository, have selected the proper license (the same as the AndroidAPS project), set the appropriate project settings, downloaded GitHub desktop, and copied all information from PowerPoint to https://petervanrijt.github.io/lyumjevsummary/. Especially copying all information took some time because I have not used the ‘markdown language‘ much yet.
Information on this topic was not yet summarized in such a way and is now there. Please visit https://petervanrijt.github.io/lyumjevsummary/ and contribute in your own way! A big thanks to everyone in the community.
Special thanks
- Everyone in the diabetes do-it-yourself community;
- Medical researches to faster types of insulin;
- All reviewers within Facebook groups AndroidAPS Users (English), Looped (English), Looped-NL-BE (Dutch);
- WordPress thumbnail: https://www.pexels.com/photo/motivational-simple-inscription-against-doubts-5238645/.
General parts
Purpose of this series
The idea of the diabetic patient as a crisis manager is outdated. Using a ‘Do It Yourself Artificial Pancreas System’ (DIY APS), you have less to worry about and can achieve a higher quality of life for yourself and your caregivers. When appropriately configured, the diabetic person may have a healthy HBA1C value. You can start today!
Our blog series is called ‘our journey: from pen therapy to AndroidAPS, a DIY APS’. This T1D series aims to inform the world on current technical possibilities to bring down the effort on (daily) diabetes management activities and be healthier long term.
Follow this blog series to see how you can make a step-by-step shift from pen therapy to a ‘Do It Yourself Artificial Pancreas System’ (DIY APS). A similar project for Apple smartphones is called Loop project. Welcome to the future.
About the author
I am Peter, a millennial born in 1984, living in The Netherlands, and I hope someone will find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) fast. Both of our lives have rapidly changed since my girlfriend got the T1D-diagnose. I became involved as a volunteer on the AndroidAPS project. I commit my IT Service Delivery Management passion to a more comfortable and healthier diabetes life because of all automation possible since 2013. As a professional, I feel comfortable delivering value, overseeing all components while managing staff and costs.
Need some help?
The diabetes community develops all DIY APS possibilities since 2013. Volunteers make the most effort in the online DIY APS community through a pay-it-forward mechanism. Each participant/volunteer has severe perseverance and the will to contribute to the community in their field of knowledge. Please feel free to contact me on whatever related question you may have and request membership in Facebook groups AndroidAPSUsers / TheLoopedGroup / xDrip. Happy to help!
Peter van Rijt 
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