Important to prime KwikPen for EVERY injection ?

[captaindave]

Hi all,

When i spoke to my DN before starting insulin injections ( approx 1 month ago ) she said that i only had to prime the pen before the FIRST time i used it. I am on my second pen now, so i have only primed twice so far.

However tonight i notice there was an info leaflet in the pack of pens - lo and behold - it states that you should prime before EVERY use, and if you do not prime before each injection, you may get too much or too little insulin.

So, i quickly rang local medical centre just before they closed and luckily my DN was still there - told her the above and the attitude was , well we say to only prime each pen once, but if the instructions are to do it every time, then do that.

So i thought i would see what the consensus was on here ?

I am losing confidence in my local"support" people, already been mis=diagnosed as a T2 for over 3 years :-(

 

[Antje77]

Priming first time with a new pen is because the plunger may need a couple of units before it hits the insulin, so that's the most important one.
Priming before every use is mainly to check if the needle works. With very small doses it may make a difference in the amount of insulin as well, not sure about that.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

You should prime (conduct an "air shot.") when changing the needle.
Just 1 or 2 U will do..

On the whole, I "prime every time!"

 

[captaindave]

Cheers both !

From tomorrow i will prime every time - seeing a consultant in a weeks time, will run this ( and other issues ) past him then.

 

[becca59]

Prime every time to check needle working. Had a couple that haven’t.

 

[Jaylee]

Prime every time to check needle working. Had a couple that haven’t.

... & the mechanism too..

20U to this red line (below.) if you feel the pen isn't working to check the dose..

(Not the best pic, but you get the idea..)