Diabetic Syringes

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lawman44

Lawman44

Member Since 2014
My cat Zoey was recently diagnosed with diabetes and was put on Vetsulin with a U-40 syringe which was ok unfortunately the vetsulin was not working properly giving him a roller coaster effect on his BG his nadir being 50-60. I am switching to Lantus ($286.00 for 5 Pens 1500 Units at Walmart) which requires the use of a Human U-100 syringe (if your using the cartridges like a vial) (.3 ML 1/2 needle 30 Gauge) with 30 unit max. Like most of us know cats may need an insulin adjustment of 1/4 of a unit up or down depending on his nadir and BG levels. It is impossible to do this with a U-100 syringe. being they only have 1 unit markings and you can easily overdose/underdose your cat. Yes you can get a syringe with 1/2 unit markings but those lines are squeezed in and its the same volume syringe and you need a magnifying glass to make sure your not over dosing or under dosing your cat. I wrote to Ulticare (which actually has a picture of a cat and 2 dogs on the box) and Relion both major syringe manufacturers explaining the issue with a human syringe. No Dog or Cat I know takes more then 5 to 10 units of insulin so why are we forced to use a 30 unit human syringe? They need to make a 10 unit syringe with 1/4 unit markings. Has anyone had the same concerns as mine? Please write to these companies and request the manufacture a U-100 pet syringe. You can reach out to them here Ulticare.com and Relion.com/feedback
 
The market for veterinary use is much more limited than it is for human use.

And there are smaller syringes ... but they require an autoclave and are made of glass for lab experiments.
 
I stand corrected Larry I didnt realize cats can require that much Insulin with their smaller bodies
 
Hey Larry question for you I just bought the lantus pens but I was told its better to use a syringe and draw right from the pen cartridge, but you have to be careful not to express air or insulin back into the cartridge. You need to draw 1 unit more then needed and express the excess on to a paper towel (alot of waste). How have you been making out with the pen needles?? Is it difficult to give the shot? I need to use a 1/2 inch needle because its easier for me to tent his skin and inject.what size are the pen needles I would be more comfortable using the pen needles so I dont have to worry about contaminating the cartridge
 
I think syringes are easier. There is typically a drop of insulin one pen needle when you pull it out. Ti reduce the amount of insulin wasted You have to leave the needing in the cat for a while (~20 seconds).
Since I have the pens and pen needles I will just use up the pen needles
 
The waste I am talking about is when you draw from the cartridge with a syringe you have to draw 1 unit over the dosing amount then expell that extra dose outside of the cartridge or you can contaminate the cartridge and that is $75.00 a pop if you do that. With the pen needles you set the dosage and inject with little to no waste correct? I just dont want to contaminate the cartridge thats why I thought using the pen needles would be better especially if I use the 12mm 1/2 inch needle 29 guage. I was just wondering if you find it difficult when using the pen needles or is it fairly easy.
 
I only draw up to the syringe mark I need, so no waste unless my hands don't cooperate or I change my mind (ProZinc lets me do that)
 
BJM Prozinc vials and Lantus cartridges are totally different There is a neg pressure in the Lantus Cartridges and from what I have been told by NO circumstances are you to expel air or insulin back in the cartridge. Yes in Prozinc you can expel air and insulin back into the vial and is more tolerant then Lantus when it comes to contamination. I am looking strictly for information on Lantus Pen cartridges not ProZinc or Vetsulin Vials
 
Lawman44 said:
There is a neg pressure in the Lantus Cartridges and from what I have been told by NO circumstances are you to expel air or insulin back in the cartridge.
Click to expand...

I know with the negative pH of Lantus, this is not recommended because of the possibility of cross-contamination of syringe lubricant, but I always expelled insulin back into the Lantus Cartridge and never had any problems with it (5 pens, good to the last drop). The negative pressure thing: not an issue really when using syringes with the pen. In fact, you can get that negative pressure back if you so desire.
 
What I'm saying is I do NOT expel back into the vial unless it is unintentional. And I might change my mind on the dose and expel some in the sink, not back in the vial.

And, I have used Lantus pens (Spitzer) and not had a problem with drawing up the dose I needed without excess.

You could pump the pressure up a bit to keep it from sucking back in if that has been an issue.
 
Some of us also use calipers to help us consistently measure doses, especially between the lines. I really like them, as the lines on the syringes are not always printed properly. Here is some info: Calipers
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top