? Syringes

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Sue484

Sue484

Member Since 2015
Morning all. This may be a bit of a daft question, but do different makes of syringes differ in what they call 1 unit? When I was fine dosing Frankie I was using the BD syringe, but when he is on single units I use what the vet gave me, Insumed syringes, and Frankie doesn't do as well in the reductions. I am experimenting today. I gave Frankie 3 fat units using the BD syringe this morning and I will compare it with 3 fat units from the Insumed syringe yesterday.
 
Different syringes definitely do differ. Some have a hub that holds extra insulin. They can vary by as much as .25 or more. Even the same syringes in a box can be quite different. When I changed syringe brands it took over a week to get the dose right.
 
Some syringes have fatter barrels than the others too. It's common for people to switch from one brand to the other and not get the same types of numbers.
 
I compared the barrels this morning and they both looked the same size but when I compared the unit markngs there was a lot of difference. I think I will stick with the BD as that is the syringe I get better numbers from Frankie with.
 
Well, it's looking positive so far. Although he is only slightly lower than this time yesterday, today he was starting from a red number and yesterday a yellow.
 
A unit is a unit. It's the interior diameter of the barrel that varies. If that is different then the spacing of the unit lines will differ. Try taking the plunger from one type and putting it in the other. If there is a difference in resistance then the interior of barrels is different.

Also, where the lines are printed on the barrel can vary from syringe to syringe. The spaces between the line are the same, but where the machine actually prints it on the barrel. On larger doses it isn't as important, but when you get under a unit it can vary by a large % of the dose. That's why many of us use calipers. We measure the distance from the inside end of the barrel to the plunger. How many mm will make up a unit varies from brand to brand.
 
The vets will usually have U40 syringes for pet insulin, U100 syringes needed for Lantus are human insulin syringes and what you get at human pharmacies. Check and make sure they are both U100 (looks like you are using Lantus which is a U100 insulin).
 
Yes they are both orange capped. I double checked with the vet when I got this batch of Insumed syringes but they will be going back this weekend. Just checked the plungers and the Insumed seems like it has a wider barrel, so that explains that then. He used to be on Caninsulin before and they had red capped syringes.
 
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