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Hello everybody. I'm a new member of this forum but will have been an IDDiabetic for 60 years just before Christmas 2012. I was terrified yesterday as before going on a short pre-Christmas break I took a new, in date pen and made sure I had adequate insulin with me for my trip. On Thursday I took the first dose out of the new pen and yhe following day was due for a fasting blood sugar. After leaving the surgery, I did a BM test and it was 32 mmol/l. Alarm. I gave myself 16units of insulin to get me back to my best level which is 16 mmol/l (please dont be alarmed, I alsosuffer from hyperparathyrod and hypothyroidism, so am controlled on abnormal levels.
What concerned me was that the insulin appeared not to work. I gave more, as I had my breakfast out, only a bacon bap, but suspected the bap, thinking maybeit was a sweetened one. Because I was going on a short trip, I wasn't feeling ill, but knew I wasn't right. I kept on using the pen, then suddenly thought maybeit wasn't working, so began to panic as this was the only time in 60 years, travelling light I hadn't taken a spare. Last night was very disturbed and I was dreading asking my hubby to drive me home in case he thought I was making a fuss.
At 4.00 am the Out of Hours Service from Arrowe Park Hospital woke me up withthe recommendation I got myself to hospital. Hating hospitals and being suspicious that the pen was malfunctioning, I had taken it upon myself to give an extra 2 unitsof my Lantus insulin, which thankfully did bring my sugar down to 22 mmol/l. Still too high, but it was proof that the Lantus pen was working.
IMy hubby got me home, thankfully we were only an hour from home, I got out another Novarapid pen, injected myself and my BM has now gone down. Proof to me that one of the pens I had been prescribed had malfunctioned.
Have any of you had this experience. This is now the second time it has happened to me. The first time I mentioned it to the Pharmacist they took the pen, but this time my hubby has kept the pen, and the rest of the batch it came from. I really think these pens require analysis, but I want to get this done privately, because this could kill a new diabetic withoutmy own monitoring skills.
Any help or discussion would be most welcomed.
Natalie Gage
What concerned me was that the insulin appeared not to work. I gave more, as I had my breakfast out, only a bacon bap, but suspected the bap, thinking maybeit was a sweetened one. Because I was going on a short trip, I wasn't feeling ill, but knew I wasn't right. I kept on using the pen, then suddenly thought maybeit wasn't working, so began to panic as this was the only time in 60 years, travelling light I hadn't taken a spare. Last night was very disturbed and I was dreading asking my hubby to drive me home in case he thought I was making a fuss.
At 4.00 am the Out of Hours Service from Arrowe Park Hospital woke me up withthe recommendation I got myself to hospital. Hating hospitals and being suspicious that the pen was malfunctioning, I had taken it upon myself to give an extra 2 unitsof my Lantus insulin, which thankfully did bring my sugar down to 22 mmol/l. Still too high, but it was proof that the Lantus pen was working.
IMy hubby got me home, thankfully we were only an hour from home, I got out another Novarapid pen, injected myself and my BM has now gone down. Proof to me that one of the pens I had been prescribed had malfunctioned.
Have any of you had this experience. This is now the second time it has happened to me. The first time I mentioned it to the Pharmacist they took the pen, but this time my hubby has kept the pen, and the rest of the batch it came from. I really think these pens require analysis, but I want to get this done privately, because this could kill a new diabetic withoutmy own monitoring skills.
Any help or discussion would be most welcomed.
Natalie Gage