? 3/15 Kit AMPS 223, +1 226, +2 161, +6 189, PMPS 226, +1 162, +2 124 ?Lab results questions

Alicia & Kit cat (GA)

Alicia & Kit cat (GA)

Member Since 2019
Yesterday's thread

She seems to be fully recovered from yesterday's gabapentin, which is great! Sometimes it takes her until later in the next day to fully shake it off, so I was happy to see her acting like herself.

So, the Lantus pen I started using on March 9 has been being weird. Every time I draw insulin, I get a lot of air bubbles, but there aren't any in the pen. It hasn't mattered what syringe I'm using - I even checked from a second box of syringes just in case I got some bad syringes. But it still brings in a lot of air. I have to draw insulin, remove syringe from pen, push out air bubbles, and repeat. Sometimes I have to repeat 3 times. I tried not removing the syringe and just drawing insulin until I thought I had enough, but then I got too much and several units were wasted at a time. Bad pen? The insulin seems to be doing something. I'm picking up a new pen today that I'll start using today so that Eric doesn't have to deal with a wonky pen while I'm gone (it's frustrating to me and I've been doing this for a hot minute). Anyone else seen this?

Happy Ides of March to all!
 
Alicia & Kit cat said:
Yesterday's thread

She seems to be fully recovered from yesterday's gabapentin, which is great! Sometimes it takes her until later in the next day to fully shake it off, so I was happy to see her acting like herself.

So, the Lantus pen I started using on March 9 has been being weird. Every time I draw insulin, I get a lot of air bubbles, but there aren't any in the pen. It hasn't mattered what syringe I'm using - I even checked from a second box of syringes just in case I got some bad syringes. But it still brings in a lot of air. I have to draw insulin, remove syringe from pen, push out air bubbles, and repeat. Sometimes I have to repeat 3 times. I tried not removing the syringe and just drawing insulin until I thought I had enough, but then I got too much and several units were wasted at a time. Bad pen? The insulin seems to be doing something. I'm picking up a new pen today that I'll start using today so that Eric doesn't have to deal with a wonky pen while I'm gone (it's frustrating to me and I've been doing this for a hot minute). Anyone else seen this?

Happy Ides of March to all!
Click to expand...
I always have to flick out air bubbles. I thought that was normal :rolleyes:

Very glad to hear Kit is feeling better after the meds.
Have a safe day, Alicia :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Staci & Ivy said:
I always have to flick out air bubbles. I thought that was normal :rolleyes:

Very glad to hear Kit is feeling better after the meds.
Have a safe day, Alicia :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
I have to flick some out as well, but it's sucking in air like there's a giant air pocket in the pen, and I see no air pocket. If it was just with one syringe, I'd think faulty syringe, but it's an exponentially larger amount that I would expect to see. It's so weird. And I worry that if there's some weirdness that's causing it that it'll also affect the efficacy of the insulin?
 
Alicia & Kit cat said:
I have to flick some out as well, but it's sucking in air like there's a giant air pocket in the pen, and I see no air pocket. If it was just with one syringe, I'd think faulty syringe, but it's an exponentially larger amount that I would expect to see. It's so weird. And I worry that if there's some weirdness that's causing it that it'll also affect the efficacy of the insulin?
Click to expand...
Very weird. Wonder if the pharmacy would have a clue. Or you could call that manufacturer??
I hear ya on getting a new pen to be sure though.
 
The needle is hollow so there's air inside of it :) When you draw up insulin the air moves down to the syringe barrel. You just have to tap / flick the bubble(s) up towards the needle and push them out slowly along with any extra insulin you don't need.

Some brands of insulin syringes are just really bad with bubbles and no matter how much you tap, the bubbles stay stuck in the syringe barrel.
 
squeem3 said:
The needle is hollow so there's air inside of it :) When you draw up insulin the air moves down to the syringe barrel. You just have to tap / flick the bubble(s) up towards the needle and push them out slowly along with any extra insulin you don't need.

Some brands of insulin syringes are just really bad with bubbles and no matter how much you tap, the bubbles stay stuck in the syringe barrel.
Click to expand...
Oh, I get that. I've been using this brand of syringes since 2020 when she was first diagnosed. But never until this pen has it drawn in so much air - like it'll draw in more air than insulin. And if I tap it and work out the air bubbles, and then have to add more because there wasn't as much insulin as I thought because there was SO MUCH AIR, more bubbles appear when there shouldn't be any more air that should appear. It's so weird. Because it shouldn't be doing it. It's like magic air appearing out of nowhere. It boggles the mind.
 
Any reason you’re only buying one pen at a time? Just asking because it has to cost more $$ that way. Did you see my post the other day with coupon information and how to have prescription written for that purpose?
 
Staci & Ivy said:
Any reason you’re only buying one pen at a time? Just asking because it has to cost more $$ that way. Did you see my post the other day with coupon information and how to have prescription written for that purpose?
Click to expand...
I tried using the coupon the first go round, and it was a pain in the tuchus and never worked? Weirdly (because I'm apparently all about being weird), the pens are only $23 a piece, so I'm okay with it. How they suddenly started being $23 a piece when they were $100 a pen before, my brain can't figure that out. And the last go round, I ordered 5 pens, we got halfway through the first one, and she went into remission. She's not anywhere close right now, but my brain is still like, remember when you had all that insulin you couldn't find anyone to give to? So a little of that as well.
 
You have been doing this for a long time - if you think something is weird, something must be off.
I'd definitely get a new pen and tell the pharmacy that the current pen may be gimped.
I would be concerned, particularly the timing coincides with her BGs getting higher too.
May or may not have anything to do with the quality of insulin, but you never know!
 
Mikanmama said:
I would be concerned, particularly the timing coincides with her BGs getting higher too.
May or may not have anything to do with the quality of insulin, but you never know!
Click to expand...
This is the little niggle in my brain. Which then also starts to freak about the fact that I'd be starting a new pen days before leaving. :nailbiting:
 
Wow please tell us what your investigations yield! I was noticing a similar problem (although I think my pen may have air bubbles too...). I always have to pull out at least 0.5U or even 1U and squeeze out to get the right amount with how many air bubbles I see.
 
thornmallow__ said:
Wow please tell us what your investigations yield! I was noticing a similar problem (although I think my pen may have air bubbles too...). I always have to pull out at least 0.5U or even 1U and squeeze out to get the right amount with how many air bubbles I see.
Click to expand...
So, I always have a few air bubbles, just because there's air in the needle of the syringe before I draw insulin into the syringe. The pharmacist thinks this is exacerbated in this particular pen because she thinks the pressure is off some. She tested with a syringe I brought, and said the wrong pressure just means I'd need to draw insulin a bit slower - the needle is small enough that it can't compensate for the pull and is drawing in air (but more science-y version). My only concern was that she shot the insulin from the syringe back into the pen, and that's just not a thing we do, especially with pens. But she also has probably not seen anyone use a pen as a vial and not with pen needles. I'm going to test the drawing insulin slower tonight, and if it's still an issue, I'll switch to the new pen while I'm gone. Or something like that. We'll see how many times I change my mind between now and shot time (spoiler - it'll probably be a lot :facepalm:)

One thing I do to keep the amount of bubbles down - I press the plunger in pretty hard before I insert it into the insulin. I think it's a holdover or muscle memory from the first time Kit was on insulin, from the tail end when we were on a drop dose. That seems to make fewer bubbles be an issue. You also start to get a feel for how much you need to draw to counteract the bubbles. A final handy tip, which you may have already seen - once I think I have enough insulin, I tap the syringe to get the bubbles to the top, then bring the plunger down even further so I know all the bubbles are in one place, then just push on the plunger until I see a drop of insulin on the tip/when I hit the dosage amount (I hope that made sense).
 
Alicia & Kit cat said:
I tried using the coupon the first go round, and it was a pain in the tuchus and never worked? Weirdly (because I'm apparently all about being weird), the pens are only $23 a piece, so I'm okay with it. How they suddenly started being $23 a piece when they were $100 a pen before, my brain can't figure that out. And the last go round, I ordered 5 pens, we got halfway through the first one, and she went into remission. She's not anywhere close right now, but my brain is still like, remember when you had all that insulin you couldn't find anyone to give to? So a little of that as well.
Click to expand...
Still…. I paid $35 for 5 pens. Maybe just having them in the house sends Kit into remission :rolleyes:
 
Staci & Ivy said:
Still…. I paid $35 for 5 pens. Maybe just having them in the house sends Kit into remission :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Sure - but it was such a hassle last time and literally no where would take the coupon. And I genuinely don't have the spoons to add it to the list of things to do. Maybe this summer when I have less happening I can take the battle on again, but it's just not something I have high on my list of needs to happen currently.
 
Hi Alicia :)
I sympathise with your air pain. I've had a few weeks with the same problem, it drove me nuts.
And I did have air bubble in the vile. Still have. What I tired once is pulling the syringe a bit further down after I've already drew insulin and then push the plunger up to get a squirt. You risk quirting too much but I found that it helped with stubborn air bubbles.
Another thing I do is draw the insulin really slow.

Staci & Ivy said:
Maybe just having them in the house sends Kit into remission :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
This gave me a good laugh :joyful::bighug::bighug:
 
Alicia & Kit cat said:
So, I always have a few air bubbles, just because there's air in the needle of the syringe before I draw insulin into the syringe. The pharmacist thinks this is exacerbated in this particular pen because she thinks the pressure is off some. She tested with a syringe I brought, and said the wrong pressure just means I'd need to draw insulin a bit slower - the needle is small enough that it can't compensate for the pull and is drawing in air (but more science-y version). My only concern was that she shot the insulin from the syringe back into the pen, and that's just not a thing we do, especially with pens. But she also has probably not seen anyone use a pen as a vial and not with pen needles. I'm going to test the drawing insulin slower tonight, and if it's still an issue, I'll switch to the new pen while I'm gone. Or something like that. We'll see how many times I change my mind between now and shot time (spoiler - it'll probably be a lot :facepalm:)

One thing I do to keep the amount of bubbles down - I press the plunger in pretty hard before I insert it into the insulin. I think it's a holdover or muscle memory from the first time Kit was on insulin, from the tail end when we were on a drop dose. That seems to make fewer bubbles be an issue. You also start to get a feel for how much you need to draw to counteract the bubbles. A final handy tip, which you may have already seen - once I think I have enough insulin, I tap the syringe to get the bubbles to the top, then bring the plunger down even further so I know all the bubbles are in one place, then just push on the plunger until I see a drop of insulin on the tip/when I hit the dosage amount (I hope that made sense).
Click to expand...
That does make sense! I tried it today and I don’t know if I did it right… will have to practice a bit more. Thanks.
 
I got Kit's lab results back - relatively stable in her numbers. Her BUN crept up a little from 58 to 60, and her creatinine went from 2.4 to 3.1. Her triglycerides were crazy high in November, and they've come down a lot, although they're still high. Her cholesterol is also high - are these being high a diabetes thing? A kidney thing? Something I can work on? Are there kidney disease things I should be doing in regards to her BUN and creatinine? Currently she isn't on anything extra other than what she has for diabetes and arthritis.
 
Fistuk & Shelly said:
Hi Alicia :)
I sympathise with your air pain. I've had a few weeks with the same problem, it drove me nuts.
And I did have air bubble in the vile. Still have. What I tired once is pulling the syringe a bit further down after I've already drew insulin and then push the plunger up to get a squirt. You risk quirting too much but I found that it helped with stubborn air bubbles.
Another thing I do is draw the insulin really slow.


This gave me a good laugh :joyful::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
I pulled suuuuupppppper slow tonight, and barely a bubble, so I'm guessing it's just a pressure issue with the pen cartridge. I'm usually pretty good at hitting the mark, although there's that occasional syringe that gets a bit finicky and doesn't want to slide as smoothly. But that's okay, I have my non smooth moments :joyful::joyful::joyful:
 
thornmallow__ said:
That does make sense! I tried it today and I don’t know if I did it right… will have to practice a bit more. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Practice is always good! I spent probably the first month of Kit being diagnosed practicing with a syringe and water. It's so much stuff that goes along with this FD thing, but you're in a great place full of supportive people, and I believe in you! :bighug:
 
Alicia & Kit cat said:
I pulled suuuuupppppper slow tonight, and barely a bubble, so I'm guessing it's just a pressure issue with the pen cartridge. I'm usually pretty good at hitting the mark, although there's that occasional syringe that gets a bit finicky and doesn't want to slide as smoothly. But that's okay, I have my non smooth moments :joyful::joyful::joyful:
Click to expand...

Hi Alicia, I'm glad pulling the insulin out super slow gave you barely a bubble and she recovered from the gaba. :bighug::bighug::bighug::cat:
I'm glad that Eric did his first shot last night :cat:
 
Alicia & Kit cat said:
I got Kit's lab results back - relatively stable in her numbers. Her BUN crept up a little from 58 to 60, and her creatinine went from 2.4 to 3.1. Her triglycerides were crazy high in November, and they've come down a lot, although they're still high. Her cholesterol is also high - are these being high a diabetes thing? A kidney thing? Something I can work on? Are there kidney disease things I should be doing in regards to her BUN and creatinine? Currently she isn't on anything extra other than what she has for diabetes and arthritis.
Click to expand...
Not sure if Epakitin would affect diabetes, but I used it with great results for another older cat I had with kidney disease. I used to sprinkle it on Tigeress' food, and she ate it no problem. It's a bit pricey, but I found it did work well. Check with more experienced members/your vet for any interference w/diabetes. Good luck with pen and your trip- so much stress!
 
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