Has anyone made this insulin mistake before? Any tips on avoiding it again?

Lg2020

Newbie
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2
Im type 1 and normally have very good control but the start of this week has been a nightmare. A bad night time hypo followed by blood sugar level that shot up and just wouldnt seem to come down with correction doses. Same thing for 3 days in a row.

Initially thought I was coming down wih an illness but yesterday I decided discarding my insulin and trying a new vial. That's when I noticed I had put the fast acting novo rapid insulin cartridge in the pen i use for my long acting levemir.

Very stupid of me. I take my long acting at lunch time and just before bed so had been taking a big dose of novo rapid with no food then off to sleep for the night. Scary!

Anyone else done anything this stupid? It's taken me 17 years to make this mistake

I know it's my fault but made me think there should be some safety mechanism in the pen and the vial to configure it to only take one type of insulin

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Rokaab

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2,159
Type of diabetes
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Pump
I know it's my fault but made me think there should be some safety mechanism in the pen and the vial to configure it to only take one type of insulin
All of the insulin cartridges for pens are exactly the same size, its so you can use any reusable pen with any cartridge otherwise it'd be very restrictive and there would have to be loads of different pens

But I'm sure plenty have done exactly the same thing.
 
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therower

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@Lg2020 . Can’t say I’ve ever made that mistake. Made plenty of others though.:banghead:
To avoid confusion I’ve always gone with vials and pen for bolus and disposable for basal.
 

Lg2020

Newbie
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@Lg2020 . Can’t say I’ve ever made that mistake. Made plenty of others though.:banghead:
To avoid confusion I’ve always gone with vials and pen for bolus and disposable for basal.
That's a useful idea thank you I may do that.

I'm also changing the timing of my basal to morning and evening so at least if I did it again I'd be awake and notice it more
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
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19,284
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LADA
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I use the single use pens for my long acting and refillable pens for my short acting.
And still I've managed to use the wrong pen...
 

michita

Well-Known Member
Messages
479
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I also use novorapid and levemir. Novorapid cartridges are orange and levemir green. I use my red insulin pen for novorapid and other blue pen for levemir. You can get orange and green pens.. not sure if this helps... ?
 

Carl13128

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Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
I only have the long lasting in the bedroom. The fast acting is down stairs. This helps me
 

Seacrow

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Messages
496
Type of diabetes
LADA
It only took once before I decided one insulin via pen, one insulin via vial and syringe. Even I couldn't mix those two up.
 

lizdeluz

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1,306
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Multiple injections per day, I sometimes do them without engaging my brain - that can be a mistake! I like the fact that one of my pens, my Echo, can tell me what I've just injected! If I've made a mistake, at least I know, and can ask my brain what I'm going to do about it!
 

tonybird

Newbie
Messages
2
I also use different coloured pens for my insulin Red for novorapid and a grey pen for the more sedate levimir.42 years in and still learning.
 
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Ushthetaff

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Yep done that and like tony bird I use diff coloured pens , and now thankfully it doesn’t happen .
 

kaylz91

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1,090
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Tresiba in Red Echo pen, Novorapid in Blue Echo pen, I think I would've noticed though with the bands indicating around 50 units remaining on the cartridge generally being a different colour, and for me at least completely different width, odd that you were using Novorapid without meals and experiencing no hypo's whatsoever though, for many that would have ko'd in no time