Questions about pen needles and syringes

[Abby and Cassie]

So I received my syringes in the mail to use with my lantus solostar pen. I read to draw up a little extra than what I'm giving and then to tap/expel the excess insulin/airbubbles into the air/paper towel. My question is,

How much extra do I draw up? I was hoping I'd save more insulin in the long-run by not having to prime the pen and waste 2 units with the pen needles, so I hope it's not TOO much extra I have to draw up. The lady in the video I watched seemed to be drawing up an extra unit to expel. That seems like a lot, can I just draw maybe .25 extra? Does it depend on if there's a big air bubble or just a small one?

 

[Panic]

Someone asked a similar question the other day, I'm going to copy and paste what Chris & China said:

We don't use the special pen needles here. We use regular insulin syringes and pull the insulin out of the pen for several reasons, one of which is because if you DO use the pen syringes, you have to hold it for 10 seconds. With regular insulin syringes, you shoot and it's over.

Also, you're supposed to "prime" the pen which means wasting 2 units each time you shoot. At the price of Lantus, wasting 4 units per day is crazy!

If you get regular insulin syringes, you just pull the cap off the pen and insert the syringe into the rubber stopper. Don't push air into the pen, just pull the dose you want out. You want to get 3/10ml, 30 or 31 gauge insulin syringes with half unit marks.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

So I received my syringes in the mail to use with my lantus solostar pen. I read to draw up a little extra than what I'm giving and then to tap/expel the excess insulin/airbubbles into the air/paper towel. My question is,

How much extra do I draw up? I was hoping I'd save more insulin in the long-run by not having to prime the pen and waste 2 units with the pen needles, so I hope it's not TOO much extra I have to draw up. The lady in the video I watched seemed to be drawing up an extra unit to expel. That seems like a lot, can I just draw maybe .25 extra? Does it depend on if there's a big air bubble or just a small one?

You don't have to do that if you are shooting with the syringes. I just push down on the syringe before inserting it into the lantus pen so there is no air and then just draw the amount

 

[Heather & Ducote]

So I received my syringes in the mail to use with my lantus solostar pen. I read to draw up a little extra than what I'm giving and then to tap/expel the excess insulin/airbubbles into the air/paper towel. My question is,

How much extra do I draw up? I was hoping I'd save more insulin in the long-run by not having to prime the pen and waste 2 units with the pen needles, so I hope it's not TOO much extra I have to draw up. The lady in the video I watched seemed to be drawing up an extra unit to expel. That seems like a lot, can I just draw maybe .25 extra? Does it depend on if there's a big air bubble or just a small one?

I always draw up extra while I have the needle inserted into the bottle and then go to my original dosage while still in the bottle. For example, I give 3.5 units so I draw up around 5 units and then push back up to 3.5 while still in the bottle. I then take the needle out and "flick" the syringe to get rid of any bubbles.

 

[Panic]

I always draw up extra while I have the needle inserted into the bottle and then go to my original dosage while still in the bottle. For example, I give 3.5 units so I draw up around 5 units and then push back up to 3.5 while still in the bottle. I then take the needle out and "flick" the syringe to get rid of any bubbles.

Pushing insulin back into a pen isn't recommended, it can ruin the insulin. Vials are different (though not sure if it's still not recommended for Lantus in general).

 

[Heather & Ducote]

Pushing insulin back into a pen isn't recommended, it can ruin the insulin. Vials are different (though not sure if it's still not recommended for Lantus in general).

Oops! I didn't look at the type of insulin Cassie was on

 

[Abby and Cassie]

You don't have to do that if you are shooting with the syringes. I just push down on the syringe before inserting it into the lantus pen so there is no air and then just draw the amount

So I don't have to draw any extra up at all, just to the 2 unit mark? What do I do if there are bubbles in it and I need to get them out?

 

[Panic]

So I don't have to draw any extra up at all, just to the 2 unit mark? What do I do if there are bubbles in it and I need to get them out?

Are you using actual syringes or pen needles? If syringes you can draw up a little more than necessary to compensate for air bubbles or you can flick the bubbles and then draw more out.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

So I don't have to draw any extra up at all, just to the 2 unit mark? What do I do if there are bubbles in it and I need to get them out?

It's fine to just draw a tiny bit more than 2 and then tap the syringe to get any air bubbles out...then if necessary, just expel the tiny bit into the sink or a paper towel (or whatever) so you have exactly 2U

One helpful tip...if you've got air bubbles that are stubborn and won't move to the top to expel them, try drawing a little MORE air into the syringe and then giving it a couple of good thwaps (thwaps being a very technical term...LOL). It's easier for the "stuck" air bubbles to move up into a bigger air bubble....and then expel the extra air and you're ready to go!

 

[Abby and Cassie]

Thanks everyone!!