Pen Needle size?

[PJ Brown]

Our vet prescribed the Lantus pen, which I picked up yesterday at the pharmacy. I drove straight home to give Jett his first shot. I opened up the package and found no needles. I'm in a panic because I need to give Jett a shot, since his BG was 573 on the blood test from July 5th. I call a pharmacy closer to my house and they have pen needles and they ask me what size needle do I want. Well, I have no idea! I went to the pharmacy and they originally gave me 12 mm needles, but when I told them it was for a cat, they gave me 4 mm needles. I was happy with this until I gave Jett the shot and couldn't tell if the insulin went in subcutaneous. Attached is a pic. What size pen needles are best for a cat? Thanks!

 

[Carol & Murphy (GA)]

I think almost all of us use insulin syringes to draw the insulin out of the pens
I use U-100 syringes with half unit markings 3/10 cc 5/16" needle length with a 31 gauge needle
getting syringes with half unit markings is important

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

From the sticky LANTUS & LEVEMIR - SYRINGE & INSULIN INFO: HANDLING, DRAWING, & FINE DOSES:

(Scroll about a third to half way down the page til you see SYRINGES. In addition to the following information there are pictures and a video showing how to draw insulin from a pen using syringes. We don't use pen needles because they will only disperse insulin in whole units and we make dose adjustments in quarter units. Actually the entire sticky has information you'll need to know when using Lantus.)

• U-100 3/10cc syringes with half unit markings are the best to use for drawing Lantus or Levemir from vials, cartridges, and pens. BD, CarePoint Vet, Monoject, GNP, UltiCare Vet Rx, Sure Comfort, and ReliOn are just some of the brands available with half unit markings. Needle gauge and length is your preference Syringes come in ½ inch or 5/16 inch needle lengths. Needle gauges are 29, 30 or 31 (31 being the thinnest)

• Full and half-unit syringe scales:

• 

Hope this helps...

 

[Larry and Kitties]

4 mm is on the short side. I have used 5 mm pen needles but went back to using a syringe to draw insulin out of a pen. I found the pen with pen needle harder to use since the pin is so long. I only tried the pen with needles since I purchased the pens from Craig's list and the needles came with the pens.
My MurFee was on 20 units so the 1-unit increments for the pen was not a concern for MurrFee.

 

[PJ Brown]

From the sticky LANTUS & LEVEMIR - SYRINGE & INSULIN INFO: HANDLING, DRAWING, & FINE DOSES:

(Scroll about a third to half way down the page til you see SYRINGES. In addition to the following information there are pictures and a video showing how to draw insulin from a pen using syringes. We don't use pen needles because they will only disperse insulin in whole units and we make dose adjustments in quarter units. Actually the entire sticky has information you'll need to know when using Lantus.)

• U-100 3/10cc syringes with half unit markings are the best to use for drawing Lantus or Levemir from vials, cartridges, and pens. BD, CarePoint Vet, Monoject, GNP, UltiCare Vet Rx, Sure Comfort, and ReliOn are just some of the brands available with half unit markings. Needle gauge and length is your preference Syringes come in ½ inch or 5/16 inch needle lengths. Needle gauges are 29, 30 or 31 (31 being the thinnest)

• Full and half-unit syringe scales:

• 

Hope this helps...

Thank you, Jill! This is so helpful, esp. since I spent money on pen needles that I won't be using.