For those of you who have used both L's

Status
Not open for further replies.
Dale 'n' Chip said:
I'm impressed that the clan of Lev don't roam the land evangelizing. That's just because everyone ends up here in the end by the natural force of gravity. They spend a lot to time and energy out there preaching but all you have to do is look at what they practice not what they promote.
Click to expand...

I was wondering as of late if I was the only one feeling this...... I love the gentle nature of both Levemir the drug and Levemir the clan.
 
Dale 'n' Chip said:
And I need to double check the *odd* numbers because the relion flange is thicker than the one in your pictures.
Click to expand...

I have found you can't rely on the Relion syringes. Every single one I take out of a pack of 10 have the flange line up differently to the zero mark, and they never, ever, ever fill completely. I have had wonderful results with the syringes from Walgreens, though. Much better consistency with markings, alignment, and many less wasted syringes and insulin due to air bubbles.

Suze
 
Jessica & Boo Radley said:
I was wondering as of late if I was the only one feeling this...... I love the gentle nature of both Levemir the drug and Levemir the clan.
Click to expand...

Levemir has many fans and I would hope that the Lev Clan does as well. I have always wanted to be a member of a clan! Must be my Scottish heritage coming out after a couple hundred years in the New World :lol:
 
Jessica & Boo Radley said:
I was wondering as of late if I was the only one feeling this...... I love the gentle nature of both Levemir the drug and Levemir the clan.
Click to expand...

That alone makes me want to switch Pumbaa to Levemir. :)

Suze
 
Suze wrote:
I have found you can't rely on the Relion syringes. Every single one I take out of a pack of 10 have the flange line up differently to the zero mark, and they never, ever, ever fill completely.
Click to expand...

Wait! What? What do you mean they don't "fill completely?"

I've been using Relion syringes since the beginning. I'm not microdosing, but I may have to. Could this flange business be part of the problem?

Also, I noticed that they all have air in the syringe, air that I have to push out before I load it. What's that about?
 
max&emmasmommie said:
...Also, I noticed that they all have air in the syringe, air that I have to push out before I load it. What's that about?
Click to expand...
That's normal so you can tell an unsued syringe from a used one. The relion syringes aren't what they used to be last year but they are still decent, at least the box I'm using now is. They always have bubbles but I found a foolproof way around that for Lantus.

First I push out the air and hold the plunger depressed, and insert the needle into the pen and pull out half a unit, then remove the needle. Hold the syringe with the needle pointing down and draw the plunger slowly out stretching the glob of Lantus along the wall of the syringe, until via surface tension, the bubbles all pull into the open space. Turn the syringe needle up and ease the glob of Lantus onto the plunger and push to the top expelling the bubble from the hub. So now I have just less that half a unit with no bubbles. Reinsert the needle in the pen and draw out a bead more than the needed dose, remove the needle from the pen. Fine tune the dose.

I do all that best in sunlight with 3X reading glasses and a large magnifier. Amazing how precise that can be. I also eyeball the size of the dose overall just to make sure it looks correct, nothing gravely wrong with the syringe.
 
Dale 'n' Chip said:
max&emmasmommie said:
...Also, I noticed that they all have air in the syringe, air that I have to push out before I load it. What's that about?
Click to expand...
That's normal so you can tell an unsued syringe from a used one. The relion syringes aren't what they used to be last year but they are still decent, at least the box I'm using now is. They always have bubbles but I found a foolproof way around that for Lantus.
Click to expand...

This is why I have always liked GNP syringes. They come individually packaged. You can't use it if you don't open the wrapper first!
 
This is on page one, but if anyone is interested, these are the syringes that I use and Vicky is talking about:

here is a link:
http://www.hocks.com/diabetic-supplies/ ... 0-box.html

They are sometimes mis-printed, so I ALWAYS check for flange to zero line alignment before drawing a dose and adjust where the draw needs to be based on that check. Right now, i seem to have a box with the zero line above the barrel end by .1u to .15u, thus making the .5u line actually a .35u dose. It is unusual to have so many misprinted one. Usually it is maybe 1 in 10 or 15 that is not correct.
 
Good grief! Misprinted insulin syringes?! Nearly 10% of them? That's just nuts.

Thanks for the info, both of you.

I think I'll check out Walgreen's,

and I'll suppress the urge to go on a rant about where things are manufactured, under what working conditions the people manufacture these things, how much fuel it takes to get these things to us, and how the poor quality of nearly everything is making me insane not to mention the rising cost of these poorly manufactured things . . . blah, blah, blah . . .
 
Um, Dale, deep breath..... getting all upset only raises your blood pressure and has no effect on the decision makers at the manufacturing facilities....

I have no idea what the "miss-print" rate in on say, BD syringes, but those damn things are horrid for developing bubbles and not being able to let them go. At least with the GNP ones, they draw smoothly and bubbles are infrequent and easy to get rid of. And they are a lot cheaper than the BD ones too.

Walgreens brand are OK, if I remember correctly. That's the brand I used to get (had to have a script).
 
max&emmasmommie said:
Good grief! Misprinted insulin syringes?! Nearly 10% of them? That's just nuts.

Thanks for the info, both of you.

I think I'll check out Walgreen's
Click to expand...


Dale: I totally agree with your rant about the poor quality of some of the products we purchase. :)

I know some people use the Relion syringes and have no problems. The box of 100 that I initially purchased has been nothing but problems. Just this morning, I had one that simply would NOT fill. And the Relions cause me to waste a lot of insulin because of having to way overfill them to compensate for the big air bubble that always remains near the plunger during the filling process. Yes, I can usually get the air bubble out, but I still have to overfill in the meantime.

I didn't have any problems with the Walgreen's syringes, so I will be getting more of those one day soon and take Relion up on their offer to refund my $$$$. It's the least they can do for all of the insulin I have wasted due to their product.

Suze
 
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie said:
...I hope you can talk your vet into trying Levemir. It really seems to be gentler for a lot of cats than lantus - this is based on several lantus folks switching to lev and finding that their cat acts better on lev. And it also seems to stop the bounces that some cats get going on with lantus.

I switched to lev (from vetsulin) because it was ph neutral, less fragile than lantus so the pen cart could be used to the end, and had just as good results. I have been very happy with it.
Click to expand...
I hope I can too. ;-)

If Levemir is less fragile do you think it can survive unknown temps and handling for the trip around the world 3X from NZ via the People's Republic of China, or wherever it goes for three weeks to get here from Canada?
 
That is a good question. It really depends on how they handle the shipment - well, how it is packed. I am not sure I would risk it. At least if you bought it at a local pharmacy and it was bad, they would have to replace it (I think).

It used to be that you could get both the pen cartridges and the penfills - the former being just the cart and the later being the cart encased in the pen. One of those comes from Turkey or something and the other they stock there, so it is only shipping from Canada. Still, you are looking at time on a delivery truck where temps can get into the low 100s this time of year.

I know it is an outlay of money, especially bought at a local pharmacy, but the set of 5 penfills will last years depending on dose. Which reminds me to say check the expiration date before accepting the insulin. You might also be able to find someone to split the costs with you, or to sell you 1-2 of there supply. I sold 3 out of the first 5 that I bought.
 
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie said:
...I know it is an outlay of money, especially bought at a local pharmacy, but the set of 5 penfills will last years depending on dose. Which reminds me to say check the expiration date before accepting the insulin. You might also be able to find someone to split the costs with you, or to sell you 1-2 of there supply. I sold 3 out of the first 5 that I bought.
Click to expand...
After the repeated insistence from Venita I applied for assistance with DCIN. I guess beggars can't be choosers, as they only order from Canada.

If it was only a difference of $100 (and I had $100) I wouldn't want to risk it. But surely very well mixed, slow cooked Levemir will be better than no Levemir at all? @-)

However it's still subject to the careful playing of the second (or third? or forth?) "convert your vet" card to get another script. *Sigh* If all these things don't break just right it may be down to making another serious run with NPH, too bad there really is no ISG for that. For some unfortunate kitties it may be the only option. :-|
 
I know it's a little late...

I use these syringes and have found them to be pretty accurate. They even talk about the flange line up in their description.

I'm also guessing most people know this @-) @-) but there's also a "generic" relion test strip that's much less expensive. If you buy 4 boxes of 50, you get one free so the total for 250 strips is $70.00.
 
Jessica, I just received those Monoject syringes from ADW, and love, love, love them! Measuring the dose is so much easier due to the thinness of the flange and the printed lines, and I'm wasting a LOT less insulin because of a lack of air bubbles.

I've also been ordering those Arkray test strips from ADW, and saving $0.08 per strip over buying them at Walmart really adds up over time! ($0.28 each for the Arkrays vs. $0.36 each for the Relion brand).

Lancets are also a whole lot cheaper via ADW...$2.18 for a box of 100 vs. nearly $8.00 for a box of 100 at the drugstores.

ADW has my stamp of approval, that is for sure!

Suze
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top