?? Drawing Lantus from a pen

[Lisa and little]

hi all. I am on day 3 and I noticed this morning a strong vacuum pull back with huge air bubbles when I tried to draw my dose. Should I be drawing with the pen upright like a vial or laying down.(horizontal or vertical) Also I did nothing to “prime” my pen as I knew I was using a syringe. Perhaps I should have ? With PZI I injected air into the vial before drawing and was advised NOT TO DO THIS but it almost seems it needs it. Maybe I’m storing it wrong? Upright in the fridge?

 

[Shawna & Davidson (GA)]

It doesn't matter how you draw the insulin from the pen, I did both vertical and horizontal. Storage has no affect either....sometimes it's the needles, and you are okay to draw the insulin, just flick out the bubbles. You may need to draw more insulin to get the desired amount, but there is little waste. At times depending on the needles, I had half filed with air. Although frustrating, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing and it's just one of those things. Just insure when you put the needle into the pen, push the plunger in so that there is no air to start............

 

[Julie and Honey]

There used to be a video, but it seems to be gone at this time.

There should be no vacuum pull back at all. Maybe it is your syringe plungers being sticky? Look at the pen cartridge to ensure there are no air bubbles inside cartridge. There should not be. The cartridge work on a different principle and I am just guessing bot if air were to get in there it may make it harder to get insulin out. If you bought at local pharmacy and you see a bubble, take it back. The pharmacy should replace, per the drug manufacturer.

Here are some steps, Shawna covered some, but I tried to list step by step how I do it, if that helps.

Make sure not to inject air into pen cartridge, it works on a different vacuum principle than a vial.

I move plunger on syringe a couple of times to loosen up plunger, then before inserting in end of pen cartridge, push syringe plunger all the way flush to end of syringe so you are not putting air in pen.

Next, while holding syringe plunger pushed to end of syringe, insert in end of pen.

Next, I turn both upside down, so syringe plunger end is toward the ground, and holding both together, pull out a little more insulin than you need. (This usually results in less bubbles, also have heard if you let pen sit out for 5 minutes before drawing insulin so it is slightly warm it helps eliminate bubbles).

Remove syringe from pen, flick to move bubbles to the top of syringe, then push out excess insulin and most air will go out. Some syringes will always leave a small bubble in the little well under where needle meets barrel inside syringe, can’t do anything about that.

Also keep in mind, turning syringe plunger slowly counterclockwise vs pushing it up releases excess insulin slowly and you have much more control where the plunger stops and can land closer to the target of where you want the dose in the syringe.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)]

Julie's procedure is exactly what I did. It takes a while to get the hang of it. Her last sentence is especially important. Nothing is more frustrating than "pushing" the plunger and expelling most of your dose (along with the air bubble!). Always "twist" it! Some syringes are better than others. You may have to try a few brands before finding one that works for you.

Good luck!

 

[Lisa and little]

Thank you so much guys. basically what I’ve been doing except for the counterclockwise turn which I will try tonight. So it has nothing to do with the dial at the bottom of the pen? As I said I never did anything with that or anything to Prime the pen initially and I do not see an air bubble in the pen itself.

 

[Julie and Honey]

Nothing to do with dial on pen at all, that is for humans to select dose when injecting with pen itself vs syringe.

Only thing that makes sense is the syringe plunger is a little sticky, can’t figure how there would be any resistance from cartridge/pen itself?

 

[Lisa and little]

Nothing to do with dial on pen at all, that is for humans to select dose when injecting with pen itself vs syringe.

Only thing that makes sense is the syringe plunger is a little sticky, can’t figure how there would be any resistance from cartridge/pen itself?

The resistance is actually quite strong. I feel like I had to fight it hard this AM... hmmmm...?

 

[Julie and Honey]

The resistance is actually quite strong. I feel like I had to fight it hard this AM... hmmmm...?

I am starting to wonder if there is not something wrong with pen?

You are not touching the button on end of pen, right? Just removing cap, holding pen and drawing out insulin with syringe? If you are pushing button end of pen, that may be your problem, that is for humans to push when they use pen to inject themselves and don’t draw insulin with a syringe.


Also, even though you don’t use the dial on the pen, make sure it is set to zero, it should be by default but that might also have an effect?

 

[Lisa and little]

I don’t think I am but I will take special care this evening when I draw to make sure that I am not pressing inadvertently. Will also check it’s on zero. Thank you. I also put pen in fridge laying down this AM so maybe that will help with air? Grasping st stays probably but can’t hurt !! Thanks for the input