Destroyed 2 Levemir FlexPens, help please

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harley

Member Since 2013
Hello from Betty and Harley cat in Greece!

Harley is a 15 yr old male, just diagnosed and has been on Levemir for 10 days.

I'm having serious problems with comprehending how to properly use the Levemir FlexPen with a syringe :? , I've already destroyed 2 of the 5 pens with absolutely minimal use :oops: . If anybody has the time and patience, I would appreciate some handheld, detailed, step by step guidance for dummies.

Thank you!

Betty and Harley
 
Thanks for replying Larry.

So it's not necessary to set the units before I draw? Tap and squirt to get it primed? Will the pen allow me to draw syringe after syringe straight out of the box, without actually doing anything at all? If so, that would be wonderful. I'm hoping the third pen will be the charm!

I ruined the second pen by injecting air as one site claimed was necessary:
http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Insulin_pen

I managed to fill 10 or so syringes with the proper dose in one sitting before the second pen refused to work. I put them in the fridge and I'll take them out to warm up before injecting Harley. Is it a bad idea to have the insulin sitting in the syringe awaiting future use?

Thanks again!

Betty and Harley
 
You do not do anything to the pen. Just stick the needle in the syringe and pull back on the plunger. The red/orange stopper on the opposite end of the glass vial in the pen will move as insulin is withdrawn from the pen.
You can still use the pen with air in the pen. Air seems to get into the pen anyway. With air, in the pen yo have to pull back the plunger on the syringe to a little greater than the dose to get the insulin to start flowing into the syringe.
 
Prefilling syringes is not recommended because the coating inside the syringe can cause the insulin to break down and not be as effective. As for using a syringe with the cartirgdes, here is a video on how to draw up insulin from a pen
[youtube]u4KtK_skpmQ[/youtube]


Have you read the info about proper handling and storage for lantus and levimer? http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151

Hope this info helps! Go to the lantus and levimer boards to read all the star stickies at the top of each page and find out everything you need to know.

Good luck and welcome to the board!!!

Donna
 
Larry and Donna I greatly appreciate your help!

I hope all goes smoothly from here :-D

Betty and Harley
 
Just having air in it doesn't destroy the insulin. If that were true, the instructions for using the vials wouldn't say to inject air before drawing out the insulin with a syringe.

Refrigerate on a non-moving shelf to use as much as possible before its effectiveness wanes.
 
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