Highest amount of insulin?

Your first question does not have an answer I'm afraid. So much so I'm not even going to go into detail about why it cannot be answered.

The "universal" size of an insulin pen cartridge is 3ml.

NaziaB said:

Ok and how many units is that?

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Each ml is 100 units, so 300 units per pen.

Hi @NaziaB ,

You may find this thread interesting..
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/insulin-pen-query.117088/#post-1399473

Good luck on your quest!

I remember the original Novopen had cartridges even smaller than my pump cartridges - that was in the 1980s, and they held 1.5ml. A right pain as they needed replacing more often. I much preferred the 3ml pens. Mind you, the original Novopen did look very much like an actual pen.

It's the ergonomics of the pen too. You can't have something too small else it will mess up the ease of injection. I've always had 3ml pens/cartridges and wouldn't want anything different (apart from my pump : D )

@NaziaB The answer to your question is it totally depends on the individual (and what they're eating, of course).

azure said:

It's the ergonomics of the pen too. You can't have something too small else it will mess up the ease of injection. I've always had 3ml pens/cartridges and wouldn't want anything different (apart from my pump : D )

@NaziaB The answer to your question is it totally depends on the individual (and what they're eating, of course).

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Agreed. Some pens like the old "Lilly"? Came with an "adaptor" to help those with dexterity issues to dial a dose & inject...

Insulin is only dangerous if you use more than you need. Go and research T2 diabetes, in extreme cases you will find examples of 100's of units per day due to insulin resistance.

Snapsy said:

I remember the original Novopen had cartridges even smaller than my pump cartridges - that was in the 1980s, and they held 1.5ml. A right pain as they needed replacing more often. I much preferred the 3ml pens. Mind you, the original Novopen did look very much like an actual pen.

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Was that the one that was made of a similar plastic as a "Windows 95" computer hard drive case? I kept breaking mine.
More sturdier these days!

Jaylee said:

Was that the one that was made of a similar plastic as a "Windows 95" computer hard drive case? I kept breaking mine.
More sturdier these days!

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Not plastic - my first one was brushed metal, very slender and very, very heavy. Actually I wish I still had it - it was quite attractive as a 'thing'. Before dial-a-dose ones - you unscrewed the lid, then screwed it on to the other end of the pen, and a little button would pop out and that was the plunger. Two clicks, two units, at a time.

Just found this pic - thanks Google - which I love, as it shows an example of the first Novopen I ever had, together with an example of the last Novopen I ever had!

Snapsy said:

View attachment 22467Just found this pic - thanks Google - which I love, as it shows an example of the first Novopen I ever had, together with an example of the last Novopen I ever had!

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Wow! That is sheer quality..
I use the brushed metal style these days. But was never offered this back in the late 1980s.
(I have a choice of clour with the reusables.)

I was at college. & at time my old plastic one got sat on by a dance student. (It was a dance school.)
She couldn't understand why I was so upset she broke it....

Snapsy said:

Actually I wish I still had it - it was quite attractive as a 'thing'.

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That's taking me back, @Snapsy , I remember my metal novopen, they were pretty damned classy! Wouldn't look out of place as a piece of James Bond kit from Q. Then the bic biro version came in and it all went downhill from there... The old times, the old times...

NaziaB said:

Ok and how many units is that?

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I see @librarising has answered the unit query for you

I must admit that I do find the current Novo Nordisk pens a bit too large for my needs. As a guy I like ALL my equipment to have as small a footprint as possible, because everything is in my pockets. So for me, the smaller my equipment can be - the better.

I think an option of 1.5ml cartridges, especially for those of us on lower amounts of insulin, would be beneficial. I have no need for a single 60u bolus or basal dose, which is what my current pen can offer. Further, a 3ml cartridge of basal insulin will last me nearly a fortnight (including air shots to prime my injections). Would I trade a cartridge lasting me one week less for a smaller pen? Definitely

The same is true for bolus insulin. I eat a normal amount of carbs (150-200g) per day; and use an ICR of 1:10. That would mean a 3ml cartridge of bolus insulin would last me on average (2 meals, 2 air shots + 1 correction and 1 air shot) somewhere in the region of 13 days. Again, if I halved the life of my cartridge - I'd still be happier with the smaller pen.

Most of us are never far from our fridges, so changing pen cartridges more often isn't a big deal, especially if the end result is a smaller pen. I'm in and out of it permanently when I'm at home, so when I'm grabbing milk for a coffee or a bit of cheese to snack on - I could easily grab a fresh cartridge

I'm sure the cost to the manufacturer of increased amounts of packaging/glass casings would come into the argument somewhere; but how much of an impact that may have I don't know.

The batteries last for years, rechargeable would not be cost effective.

Bayer contour next link is a chargeable monitor.

NaziaB said:

What do glucose monitors run on? i.e. do they all run on batteries?

Does anyone have one that uses a charger?

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I use this one, which technically uses the power from my smartphone:

http://mydario.co.uk/smart-meter/

Almost all BG meters use CR2032 button cell batteries which usually last well over a year and are around 50p each for brand leaders such as Duracell.

Bayer's Contour NEXT ONE, LINK 2.4 and USB models are all rechargeable. There may be others but I don't know as I've never used any Bayer products.