More Problems with Victor's Insulin

[H.M. Victor (GA)]

We went to give Victor his shot last night and were having a difficult time getting it to draw into the syringe properly. It looked like it was drawing in nothing/air at first before actually drawing in the insulin, because near the plunger inside the syringe you could see it looked empty and then after that you could see the insulin in there, if that makes sense. We kept trying several times but it just kept not looking right, and we also noticed when looking at the insulin in the syringe while holding it up to a light, we could see what looked like a powdery substance/particles at the bottom of the dose. So we decided not to give him his shot and get a new bottle today, since the one we have is getting kind of low.

The only other concern is that the pharmacy (which is within walking distance) my mom will be going to doesn't open until 9:00 AM and we usually give Victor his food at around 9:10 - 9:20 AM followed by his shot around a half-hour or so later. She's gonna see if she can find someone to give her a ride, but if she can't she'll have to walk and we're just worried about if she'll make it back in time to give his shot at the regular time. Is it okay if we give him his shot a little later than usual if need be? And also will the insulin be okay after walking home with it if she has to? I'm worried that it might get jostled a bit too much while walking home with it. Please advise.

 

[JanetNJ]

We went to give Victor his shot last night and were having a difficult time getting it to draw into the syringe properly. It looked like it was drawing in nothing/air at first before actually drawing in the insulin, because near the plunger inside the syringe you could see it looked empty and then after that you could see the insulin in there, if that makes sense. We kept trying several times but it just kept not looking right, and we also noticed when looking at the insulin in the syringe while holding it up to a light, we could see what looked like a powdery substance/particles at the bottom of the dose. So we decided not to give him his shot and get a new bottle today, since the one we have is getting kind of low.

The only other concern is that the pharmacy (which is within walking distance) my mom will be going to doesn't open until 9:00 AM and we usually give Victor his food at around 9:10 - 9:20 AM followed by his shot around a half-hour or so later. She's gonna see if she can find someone to give her a ride, but if she can't she'll have to walk and we're just worried about if she'll make it back in time to give his shot at the regular time. Is it okay if we give him his shot a little later than usual if need be? And also will the insulin be okay after walking home with it if she has to? I'm worried that it might get jostled a bit too much while walking home with it. Please advise.

Humulin is an in and out insulin. You have up to an hour window to give the insulin. Not sure about the air in your syringes. Is the point of the needle under the insulin level? Maybe there's pressure build up. You could try having the vial top up, draw back a few units on the syringe, insert into the top and press it down to inject the air, then flip over the vial and draw out the insulin.

 

[H.M. Victor (GA)]

Humulin is an in and out insulin. You have up to an hour window to give the insulin. Not sure about the air in your syringes. Is the point of the needle under the insulin level? Maybe there's pressure build up. You could try having the vial top up, draw back a few units on the syringe, insert into the top and press it down to inject the air, then flip over the vial and draw out the insulin.

Thanks for the suggestions, but we did okay. My mom went to a different pharmacy that opened at 8:00 AM so she was able to get back with the new bottle of insulin to give Victor his shot on time.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

we could see what looked like a powdery substance/particles at the bottom of the dose.

N insulin (and ProZinc and Vetsulin) are suspension insulins and the vials have to rolled to mix the insulin before drawing the insulin from the vial. If the mixed insulin in a syringe is allowed to sit, the insulin particles will separate and fall down due to gravity. That sounds like what happened to you or you did not mix the insulin in the vial before drawing it into the syringe.