Lantus (Insulin) Injecting and Partially Sighted

JohnEP

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi, My partner like myself is Type 2. As part of her medication she injects lantus insulin every morning. She is partially sighted, a result of undiagnosed diabetes over many years despite many trips to her GP (that is another story!) and she is beginning to have difficulty in reading her pen to make sure she has the right dose. When I am about that is not an issue but my worry is that if I am not it would be difficult for her, at the moment she relies on counting the clicks. I asked my friendly pharmacist if there was anything available that would be better for her and was quite concerned that she was using the 'click method'. I am sure there must be many others in my partner's situation, injecting but has difficulty in reading the pen to get the correct dose.

Has anybody got any knowledge or experience in this. My pharmacist made some enquiries to see if there was anything available that made reading the pen easier but drew a blank. There must be something, I cannot believe this issue has not come up with either blind or partially sighted people who inject insulin.
 
Messages
18,448
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
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Bullies, Liars, Trolls and dishonest cruel people
JohnEP said:
Hi, My partner like myself is Type 2. As part of her medication she injects lantus insulin every morning. She is partially sighted, a result of undiagnosed diabetes over many years despite many trips to her GP (that is another story!) and she is beginning to have difficulty in reading her pen to make sure she has the right dose. When I am about that is not an issue but my worry is that if I am not it would be difficult for her, at the moment she relies on counting the clicks. I asked my friendly pharmacist if there was anything available that would be better for her and was quite concerned that she was using the 'click method'. I am sure there must be many others in my partner's situation, injecting but has difficulty in reading the pen to get the correct dose.

Has anybody got any knowledge or experience in this. My pharmacist made some enquiries to see if there was anything available that made reading the pen easier but drew a blank. There must be something, I cannot believe this issue has not come up with either blind or partially sighted people who inject insulin.

Hello JohnEP, I'm sorry to hear of your partners declinging eyesight. There must be something on the market for people with poor sight, it would be a terrible thing to either underdose or overdose insulin. I do hope she can get some help soon. Please let us know how shes gets on and good luck. With best wishes RRB
 

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi, I did a bit of research this morning and then lost my answer in a forum go slow.
It seems to be working a bit quicker so here goes.

There is mention of pen magnifiers. One made by Novo and the other BD.
The Novo one would only fit their pens (so not for lantus). The BD one is presumably for any pen.
Unfortunately neither website includes mention of the magnifier.
I did get the impression that the BD one was a freebie so it might be worth contacting them (if it still exists?)

I also found that there are syringe magnifiers. This would unfortunately mean using syringes and vials.
I found these advertised freely in the US but less easy to obtain in the UK. :amazon has an entry but no availability, there is a seller on Ebay UK but they are based in the US.(oddly I found lots of adverts for magnifiers for canine insulin)

There is also a specific device ; the innolet. This is made by Novo and prefilled. . It is available for Levimir which is their 'equivalent' basal insulin.
http://novonordisk.co.uk/documents/prom ... sulins.asp
http://www.novonordisk.com/diabetes_car ... efault.asp

You might get some more knowledgeable advice from: (as you say there must be many others with a similar problem)
a specialist nurse (DSN)
DIabetes UK care line
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/ ... tAod8zYAeQ

RNIB helpline
http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/contactd ... pline.aspx