New Ulticare Half-Unit u100 syringes for pets-- pics

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Christie & Willie (GA)

Christie & Willie (GA)

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Just got my shipment of syringes today... mad props to ADW... ordered them Wednesday am, shipped from South Florida Wednesday pm, arrived in Kansas this afternoon! I know several folks are interested, so I thought I'd post my initial observations and some pictures.

I have to say, these are giving me concerns. First, I don't love the plunger... it definitely is thicker than than the plunger found on the monoject:


(Ulticare on the left, Monoject on the right)

More importantly, the spacing seems really odd:

With the Monoject (on the left), the spacing is always very equal. Contrast that to the spacing on the Ulticare... the space between 0u and 0.5u, and for every subsequent spacing between half units immediately before and after an increment of 5 seems to be much larger than the other half-unit increments. This might make dosing, especially microdosing, a bit difficult.

Here are a few more pics for those who might be interested:









It's almost shot time for Willie, so once our evening bidness is done, I'll do some experimenting with liquid in them and report back with my findings!
 
Tried working with these with both water and insulin. It is really difficult to measure drops as the slow twist method doesn't seem to work on these. From what I could tell, there was one drop large enough to fall down the shaft of the needle for each half unit, but two drops between the zero and half unit, 4.5u to 5u, 5u to 5.5u, etc., meaning that the spacing issue may be as it appears.

Also, while the monojects have the little triangle for the air bubble to go into, that's not the case with the ulticare, and I did notice part of a bubble along one side of the zero line. Also, when drawing, there were lots of microscopic bubbles right on the plunger that were impossible to dislodge. This concerns me given that, with Willie currently on a dose of s0.5u, tiny bubbles can make a difference.

I think I'm going to call ADW and ask to return these. The biggest problem for me is the inability to measure small drops of insulin... I think consistent microdosing on a twice daily basis will be extremely difficult with these syringes. That said, if you're above a unit, I think these could be good syringes, as long as you factor in any variance in spacing between the zero line and the 0.5u line.
 
I don't know. I think the distance between the 0 units to the 1 unit looks bigger than the 1 unit to 2 unit mark.
And likewise the distance between the 3 and 4 units mark looks less than the difference between the 4 and 5 units.
Maybe it's just an optical illusion.
 
I would stick with what you're used to.

IMO, the Monoject markings look like GNP brand ones I used to get from Hocks. Their lines weren't consistent either, that's why I went to using a micrometer to measure the length from where the 0U line should be to where the plunger end was. On the GNP brand ones, 1mm=1U, but that would not be the same for all syringes because the barrels are different circumference sizes.

Anyone who feels they are good with tools should be able to use a micrometer to measure micro-doses. I was comfortable doing it down to about .15U. Here are pictures and yes that's a GNP syringe.

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/FindingNeo/Micrometer instructions/
 
I got out the tape measure, and the spacing between each unit is 1mm. But the space between the zero line and 0.5u is also 1mm. Same is true before/after each 5u increment.



I could live with it if the plunger wasn't so sticky. With Willie's dose, I just start at 0.5u and then each time he earns a reduction, we take off a drop. So for us, a s0.5u is actually 0.5u minus one drop. The drops I measure are large enough to start down the shaft of the needle, but not drop all the way off. I can't get those on the Ulticare... it's huge drops or nothing.

I'm just happy I didn't order a case of them! I've heard good things about the new Relions and Walmart is 4 blocks away from my house, so I think I'll try a bag of those for $2 before deciding whether or not to go with those or reorder the monojects. Are the GNPs available only through Hocks?
 
I cannot find GNP syringes anywhere online other than Hocks, but I believe it's been mentioned before that those who've used both think they're the same.

I liked the GNP because they seemed to have a little reservoir which "captured" bubbles and they wouldn't collect as badly on the plunger. Every once in a while I would have to get a new syringe because I couldn't get a bubble to move there, but that was seldom.

Regardless of the syringe brand it's important to be consistent with how you draw and where you consider a certain unit to be - for example, at the top of a line of bottom of a line. Top or bottom of a line can be considered a "fat" or "skinny," for example. As long as you're consistent in what you consider a unit or fraction of unit to be, then you should be fine. It is also important to make note of where the zero line starts. On the GNP it would sometimes not even be at the very top of the barrel, there would be a space! That's why I went to using the micrometer because I liked the way the syringes drew the insulin, but that line was way too unreliable.
 
If they were consistent I would like the way they are drawn with the 'y' type box but they're no good if they are not. I could never use a micrometer. That would drive me crazy. I would wind up dropping it a million times. :lol:

Melanie
 
I received my first box of Monojects last night and when I compared them to the Walgreens syringes I've been using (which I've been told are the same as BD syringes) and I found the same issue you did with the Ulticare. I didn't compare them until after I gave Ruby her evening shot and now I'm concerned that I didn't give her the correct dose. This morning I went back to the Walgreens syringe because I wanted to make sure I was measuring the correct amount.

Do the Ulticare have the same amount of space at the top where the little triangle of space is on the Monojects and we just can't see it? We're down to .25 unit right now and if Ruby stays on this path, we might end up reducing further in the future. I bought the Monoject because I've heard they're better for tiny doses. I'm worried about using them because I don't know if what measures as .5 unit (just an example) on it is the same as what the Walgreens brand measures. Does that make sense?

I'm trying to do a test to see if they actually hold the same amount of liquid but when you get down to that small of an amount, I just can't tell.
 
I've done mini- but not micro-dosing. I would think you could take your colored water and extract the .5u into one needle; then discharge that onto wax paper, and compare to the same w/ liquid from the other needle. Or suck in the expelled .5u from one needle into the other needle and see where it falls. Not sure if you'd be able to absorb all the drop.

From the pics, it appears to me like the 0-1 and 4-5 unit markings are larger than 1-4.

I use the Relion U100s; 3/10 mL; 31 g.; 8mm needles from WalMart and have never questioned the markings. Got an empty plastic bag from them in my purse so I'll get the right ones later today! Model #81131-0311-79 if you're looking for them. And still prefer them for larger doses.

Lu-Ann
 
I've been trying to do the thing where I draw 5 units into one syringe, squirt it out and draw it into the other to no avail. When we're talking about under 1 unit, even a drop or two matters. I'll have to play with them some more tonight. I've actually been using the control solution for my AphaTrak meter. Its bright red and I have two bottles that are almost expired. I'll never use them both before they do so I figured what the heck.

I very well could be just totally over thinking this. I've worked so hard to get Ruby to the place she is, I'd hate to undo it all because I decided to change brands on a whim.
 
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