How often do you do it?

[Fallenstar]

Hi all

How often do you change the needle on your pen?

Do you change it every time you do an injection?

I used to be really bad for making a needle last forever I have never had an infection, thank goodness , and I do change them now on my Bolus more often but not every time, kind of when it starts to feel a bit blunt! :lol: So every couple of days...is this bad????? Runs for cover!

Have any of you had an abscess or infection at your injection sites? Can this happen with not enough needle changing?
How often were you told to change your needles?

 

[Grazer]

Hi! I'm a T2 who doesn't inject so can't help you directly, but I do test and thus stab myself that way! My lancets I use for ever until they start to hurt (prersumably going blunt), and I've never had a problem. I've used some for almost a month. After all, it's only my blood on them!

 

[ClaireG 06]

As a type 2 on insulin, i change my pen needle all the time. I don't change my lancet one though until i have problems getting any blood!

 

[Hobs]

I'm a T2 who injects Victoza each morning directly before my breakfast. I remove the needle from the pen immediately after injecting and put it straight into the sharps bin. I was told by the endo that leaving the needle connected to the pen will leave the remaining pen contents open to all the bugs constantly circulating in the air; so its not all about getting an injection site infection but about adding who knows what directly into your body the next time you inject as well!! As each needle costs around 8p I think the money saved by NOT changing each time is not worth bothering about... anyway, its not about costs, its about safe injecting

 

[Fallenstar]

Thanks for your reply's peeps, much appreciated.

I don't like the sound of that Hobs, right from now on I'm going to get my shine on together and change it more often. I inject around 8 times a day with correction doses ,sometimes more. So I can't see myself changing the needle that much but I will now change it daily ,religiously.

Grazer You and I alike, I let mine get so blunt I have to take it out of the finger pricker to give it a right good stab sometimes :lol: I use the same bit of the same fingers and they are just rock hard scar tissue now ,so don't hurt anymore ,so I can afford to be vicious!

 

[Grazer]

Grazer You and I alike, I let mine get so blunt I have to take it out of the finger pricker to give it a right good stab sometimes I use the same bit of the same fingers and they are just rock hard scar tissue now ,so don't hurt anymore ,so I can afford to be vicious!

Know what you mean. I cut myself recently, accident in the kitchen, but before I stuck a plaster on I thought might as well make the most of it and did a blood test! :lol:

 

[AMBrennan]

Why would you not change lancets? They cost about penny and are, just like needles, available on prescription. You can even get Unistick if remembering and/or changing the lancets is an issue or if fiddling with exposed needles on a train/plane/car/in public is inconvenient

Personally, I don't worry about saving money by reusing lancets and needles since I'm spending £10 a day on CGM anyway.

Edit to add: Does anybody remember the dire warning to not inject in bathrooms? That's exactly why it would be a good idea to not reuse needles - because otherwise you need to rely on your environment being completely free of germs.

 

[Ausra]

I am very good at changing the needle on novorapid and lantus, i change it with every injection, but i'm very bad at changing lancets.. i keep the same for month..
AMBrennan, we keep the same lancets not because we want to save money for NHS, but because personaly for me, it annnoys me to change them. I have no clue what a CGM is but spending £10 every day is a lot of money!

 

[AMBrennan]

Continuous glucose monitor; my sensors cost £40 and last for about 5 days.

 

[Otenba]

How often do you change the needle on your pen?
Do you change it every time you do an injection?
....
Have any of you had an abscess or infection at your injection sites? Can this happen with not enough needle changing?
How often were you told to change your needles?

I used to never change it despite being told to change it every time. I now change it every time because there's no excuse not to really.

During the time when I didn't, I managed to get a nasty scar on my right arm which is like a matching scar with my TB jab one on my left arm - all thanks to a site getting infected (seriously, it had stuff pouring out of it when it finally had enough of being angry - my sister: ew! me: COOL!). The scar still hasn't gone and I doubt it ever will now.

When I did the DAFNE course my nurse explained that another danger of not changing the needle was the fact that insulin can crystalise in the needle. This shocked me and I decided then that I really should stop being lazy.

Changing your needle every time has got other benefits too:

~You can protect loved ones from harm by removing the needle (if they come across your kit and don't understand what it is - eg, a baby copying your diabetic behaviour).
~If you need to "milk" your pen before you inject, the cap bit that the needle comes in makes a great place to squirt the insulin (This removes the chances of you stinking of insulin - yes, I used to do it on my clothes!).
~Get a lot more use out of your sharps bin - there's a reason they're available on prescription!

Once upon a time I did use the same finger pricking needle for about 4-5 months but that was much sooner nipped in the bud in comparison lol. I dread to think what a difference it would have made to my blood results - my results must be been incorrect every time thanks to that idea! There's a reason why we need clean hands and a fresh clean needle every time after all, eh! XD

Edit:

I can't believe I forgot another benefit of changing either every time! It makes it more comfortable! A new needle is much better than an old blunt needle because there's less lubricant on the old needle as a result of over use (this is why they have a use by date too).

 

[davey b]

I inject twice a day and test 4 times a day. Fresh needle and lancets every time - they're on prescription and I have no limits on my prescription for strips or lancets or needles. As otenba has pointed out, needles are lubricated to help insertion, the more you use them, the less lubricant there is, and the greater the chance of scaring, and the chance of crystalization increases. As for lancets, again, there may be residue on it from the last time you used it - not to mention fluff and other contaminents if you keep it in a handbag.

 

[smidge]

Hi all!

I change my needle every time. I'm far too much of a wimp about injections to ever re-use one! It's hard enough sticking a new, clean needle in myself :lol: I try to change my lancet every time too, but sometimes I get to the end of the drum (Accuchek fastclick) and realise I haven't got any more with me, so I have to re-use the last one until I get home again

Smidge

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, I’m a little bit taken a back by this question! haha Why would anyone want to use a needle for a second, third, fourth time? As it says on the side of the box "Guaranteed for single use only"! Any doctors suggesting that you should be using a needles more than once needs to be reported to...umm where is the best place to report a doctor? I have no idea! It only takes one infected reused needle to give you an infection & that could easily lead to amputation! When i first got diabetes 30 odd years ago, disposable needles were non existent. We all used a single stainless steel needles, with an old stainless steel/glass syringe which was stored in a jar of surgical spirits in between uses, to keep it sterile! Years ago campaigners fought tooth & nail to get diabetics free disposable needles on the NHS! My first disposable needles were supplied to me through my diabetic health clinic at Perth Royal Infirmary, using charitable donations from the members of the public! Our beloved government actually choose to hand out disposable needles to junkies for free, long before we diabetics were ever issued on the NHS! So please, don’t knock a good thing, because if those in power ever get it in their heads that money could be saved....i guarantee you they will try their best & take our needles & other equipment away from us, so they can have even more funding for their wars in the middle east!

 

[RussG]

It's a complete no brainer for needles. A new one for every injection, every time without fail. Anything else is taking an unnecessary risk.

 

[phoenix]

another one, who pre pump, changed needles each time.
I spent 10 days in hospital at diagnosis and the routine was to test, inject, then throw away lancet, and needle in a mini sharps bin . I was prescribed 5 needles and 6 lancets a day and really never considered reusing needles. I used to change lancets each time but have to admit that I'm less scrupulous about them now and reususe them far too many times.

 

[ebony321]

This subject has been discussed many times on here, and for once it's nice to NOT see floods of posts from people who think it's a good idea to say how they never change the needles and it has never harmed them.

Change the needle everytime, who gives a stuff about the money, you wouldn't save money by skipping on some insulin or testing before you ate.

I know alot of people don't change lancets until they are blunt, not as bad as re-using a needle but still bad practice!

Alot of people will have had diabetes to remember having to sharpen their own needles and may have the mindframe if it was okay back then then it's okay now, but theres a reason why times change

If you don't use a new one everytime how you gonna fill that ugly yellow box :wink:

 

[Grazer]

The only reason I don't change my lancets very often is that I've slipped under the net with repeat prescriptions for strips as a T2. I got a repeat prescription initially, so now they automatically just happen. I don't have a repeat prescription for lancets, and if I asked for one it might flag things up. I'll probably just buy some to play safe. Anyone know what lancets for a Bayer Contour cost?

 

[Beav]

On my injection pen I change it every time but on the finger prinker I havn't changed it in over a year

 

[Andybanbury]

I was told that because needles are so fine these days. That they start to hook over after a couple off uses so hurt more when you pull the needle out and can effect absorbtion. Don't know how true this is :?

 

[Catwoman76]

Hi I normally change my needles every 2 to 3 times I use it.

I had a very nasty infection in my tummy, just below the belly button, in 2002. I had been visiting my mum in hospital for weeks and then she died. Just before I went to my sisters for a short stay, a few weeks after the funeral, that's when I noticed the infection. My sister kept dressing it ,but it got so bad I had to go to her doctor and was prescribed antibiotics. It only takes a tiny little bug on the end of the needle to cause an infection or abcess, not nice at all. best wishes Sheena