Lantus - vials or cartridges?

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Nancy&Pepper (GA)

Nancy&Pepper (GA)

Member Since 2012
I am switching to Lantus. should I get it in vials or cartridges? I checked "Lantus and Levemir - Info, Proper Handling and storage" at the Relaxed Lantus Support Group board and the video made it look tricky to get the Lantus out of the cartridges without contaminating the cartridge. Does the Lantus in vials really last as long as 6 months as is suggested? What is the best option?
 
nancy2 said:
I am switching to Lantus. should I get it in vials or cartridges? I checked "Lantus and Levemir - Info, Proper Handling and storage" at the Relaxed Lantus Support Group board and the video made it look tricky to get the Lantus out of the cartridges without contaminating the cartridge. Does the Lantus in vials really last as long as 6 months as is suggested? What is the best option?
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I am not sure what you mean about contamination?

Go with pens or cartridges because I don't believe vials will last for 6months; Lantus is guaranteed for 30 days or so once seal punctured. Levemir, for 42 days. And yes, I know that people say it lasted them longer, was still working, but why take a chance of wasting alot of 10ml when you can go with the 3ml pens or cartridges.
 
Thanks for your reply. The video said I had to be careful not to let anything, air or insulin that's been drawn, from the syringe get back into the cartridge or it might contaminate the insulin.

How long do most people use the cartridges?
Thanks for your help - I'm a little nervous about the switch and I want to do everything right.
 
The same contamination risks apply to vials too, not just cartridges.

The thing with cartridges is, instead of one big bottle of insulin, it is split into 5 small ones. Yes, the upfront cost is more. But since our kitties use such small doses, a vial of insulin will go bad before they get to use all of it, even if it is kept in the fridge... so you are throwing away your $. The pen cartridges will be usable down to the last drop if properly handled. On average I used one cartridge every 2 months. Using cartridges also mean it would be less devastating if the insulin was accidentally dropped or shaken. :smile:
 
You can use a cartridge till all the insulin has been drawn out.

What are you switching from? If you post on the Lantus forum, I am sure there are others who have switched the same as you, and they can help you with conversion to the dose you will need for Lantus.
 
In the US, the Lantus OptiClick pen cartridges are not available. You can buy the Lantus SoloStar pens instead and use them the same way as instructed in the Lantus handling sticky.

You do not want to inject air or extra insulin back into the pen/cartridge. Just stick the insulin syringe needle into the rubber stopper and pull the plunger to get a little more insulin than you need (maybe half a unit more or so). Remove the insulin syringe from the pen/cartridge and tap gently to float air bubbles towards the needle, then push the plunger to expell the air and the extra insulin you don't need.
 
So Lantus is guaranteed at 30 days assuming its not refrigerated after being opened. If you refrigerate the vial and don't shake/bump it Lantus vials can last 4 months or longer. I'm on 4 months on my current 10ml vial and still using it. The 10ml vial is $119.00 at Costco while the pens are $225. That being said the pens have smaller vials and if it does go bad you aren't throwing out as much money. If you can swing the higher upfront cost of the pens they are the better value. Some folks buy Lantus from Canadian pharmacies which is much less expensive but you have to factor shipping time in. Jan
 
I've used both vial and cartridge - I prefer cartridges as I don't feel like it might go bad before I can use it all. I'm currently using a vial, a huge gift from another sugar cat's beans - we're on the last about 1/4th. It still seems just as good as it was when we opened it. We've been using it for over 100 days now. I keep whatever wrapped in a thick washcloth standing in a large plastic cottage cheese container on top shelf of fridge. When I remove it, I unwrap the washcloth while vial/cartridge is standing up instead of laying down and rolling it to unwrap.

You'll do fine! BIG HUG!
 
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