11/12 Drawing Insulin from Pen..Question/Help

[Marje and Gracie]

Good evening LL!!!

Got a question from all you experienced pen/cartridge folks. I was using a vial and with Ella's instructions, never had any problems drawing bubbles in the syringe.
I switched to the more economical pens (and I like them) and I tried to draw the lantus per the same method but darned if I don't end up with bubbles and I have
a really hard time getting them out. I know any bubbles reduces her juice amount so I spend a ridiculous amount of time flicking the syringe, squirting straight up, glaring with my lighted magnifying glass, drawing more insulin, and doing the whole thing until I finally get no bubbles. Any suggestions/techniques GREATLY appreciated so it doesn't take me 15 mins to draw up the juice :lol: :lol: Sorry...there's still quite a bit of newbie in me :lol: :lol:

Thanks!!

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

my favorite from greg/carmelita:

Essay Question: How do you get rid of bubbles?

For each shot, we do these things:

1. Throw away the plunger cap and move the plunger a couple of times. (Jojo told us that spreads the plunger lubricant)
2. Make sure the plunger is all the way to the needle end, uncap the needle, and insert the needle into the insulin cartridge.
3. Pull the plunger back pretty far, maybe the 4 or 5 IU mark. The vacuum inside the cartridge "fights" this; it goes slowly.
4. The insulin will start moving into the cylinder very slowly, watch to see how much is in the syringe.
5. When there is about .5 IU more insulin than needed, withdraw the needle from the cartridge without moving the plunger.
6. This causes the insulin to move down to the plunger (away from the needle), and the air goes up to the needle end.
7. Put the cartridge back in the fridge; do the rest of this over the sink.
8. Press the plunger to expel the excess air at the top. (don't skip this step, even if there are bubbles! The less air is in the syringe when you flick on it, the easier it is to form a single bubble that can be pressed out.)
9. If there are any bubbles at this point (often there are not), flick the syringe to bring them to the needle end.
10. Twist the syringe while pressing the plunger slowly to expel any remaining air, and to "dial in" the desired dose. This way, you can see if the bubble is sticking to the side, because you're rotating the syringe and looking at it from all sides.
11. If there's a bubble stuck to the side of the needle collar, draw a tiny bit more air in to join it, and then rotate the syringe the opposite direction to last time, while pressing the plunger. This spins the bubble together and hopefully centers it on the needle hole so you can squeeze it out.
12. Because we do micro-dose, when dialing in doses, we try to hold the syringe so the angle on the needle is facing up. This way, the little drop of insulin that forms there can be pulled back into the needle without bringing air, if we accidentally dial the plunger in a drop too far.

That's it, ready to shoot. Now... find the cat....


This method gets easier with practice, and seems to make it snap to get rid of bubbles, without introducing air into the cartridge. The trick is, unless you can make a cartridge that works like Lantus, there's no way to practice this with water or whatever. It won't work drawing liquid from a drinking glass. Maybe this is what old Lantus cartridges are for...

 

[Michelle and Mannie (GA)]

oh yeah... been there. It still happens to me. I find that a very slow draw on the syringe lessens the bubbles in the syringe, also holding it completely vertical. With the pressure that exists in the pens I have found that slow helps with pressure equalization - therefore less, or no, bubbles. I have found too that pushing the plunger in as tight as it can go before drawing the insulin also lessens, if not eliminating, the bubbles. I still get them at times.

what Jill sent is a great summation.

 

[Tena and Curry(GA)]

Majorie...I too am having the same problem.....I can't tell you (probably don't need to either) how much time and insulin I waste....Curry's tapping her paw on the floor telling me to hurry it up.

Jill's information is handy.....Sometimes I'm spot on and sometimes I'm not.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Jill...again...thank you...I'll give this a try. Too bad I can't practice with water :lol:

Thanks Michelle and Tena...glad to know it's not SOLELY me :lol: :lol:

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

That's a great summation from Greg/Carmelita. Drawing slowly and making sure to get the air at the top out before flicking the bubbles is crucial. if you don't you can get more bubbles, not less.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Yes but is a pen under the same pressure as a cartridge? It sorta does not seem like there is a lot of pressure in there.....