Run out of insulin can I take out of pen or cartridge

[megan]

My local surgery has been having trouble getting me the novorapid in a vial. I've told them it was getting urgent and now I have none and need to change the cartridge on my tandem t slim now.
The surgery says they have novorapid pens and I tried explaining that I cannot switch to this alone as I'd need the basal insulin too.

So what I'm thinking is either to push my t slim cartridge another day ( although they say only 3 days and I'm aware of the reasons why but it's an unknown exact response in the 4th day). The vial I need may arrive tomorrow

Or I try to draw the novorapid ( with syringe) out of the novorapid pen I do have or the novorapid pump cartridge from when I used the accucheck insight pump. It's still in date of course.

Never done either of these. Any suggestions welcome. Don't fancy trying to go back on to pens as it will be very difficult to figure out doses for me, this pump has made a big difference to me

 

[In Response]

I believe it is not recommended to draw insulin out of a pen cartridge.

Could your GP temporarily prescribe an alternative insulin such as Humalog? I found it worked similarly to NovoRapid for me when I trialled it.

 

[megan]

Thanks for the reply. The area I live in is so small they are unlikely to have another insulin but it's good to know, thank you

 

[Nicola M]

I’ve taken some out of a cartridge with a syringe at a push, I’ve never heard it isn’t recommended so didn’t think twice about doing it but as has been said above you can try ask to be prescribed a different insulin whilst you wait for yours to come back in stock. If possible you could also ask for the prescription on paper and go to other pharmacies to see if they have any stock.

 

[megan]

I’ve taken some out of a cartridge with a syringe at a push, I’ve never heard it isn’t recommended so didn’t think twice about doing it but as has been said above you can try ask to be prescribed a different insulin whilst you wait for yours to come back in stock. If possible you could also ask for the prescription on paper and go to other pharmacies to see if they have any stock.

Thanks for your reply. I live in a small remote place where the pharmacy is at the drs and there are no others..... they got it today thankfully and my extra 24 hours on the tandem t slim cartridge turned out ok. I know it's not advised so it's certainly not something I would suggest but it helped me out this time

 

[In Response]

Glad you got through without ringing out the pump to get the last few drops of insulin.

Just a thought. You mentioned you could not use NovoRapid pens as you would also need basal. This girl me thinking, do you have a supply of basal and bolus insulin pens in case your pump fails? I was advised to always have this back up to my pump and always take pens with me when I go away overnight. If my pump failed, I would definitely need them. It is a rare occurrence but it can happen.

 

[LilithJezebel]

I believe it is not recommended to draw insulin out of a pen cartridge.

I’ve taken some out of a cartridge with a syringe at a push, I’ve never heard it isn’t recommended so didn’t think twice about doing it but as has been said above you can try ask to be prescribed a different insulin whilst you wait for yours to come back in stock. If possible you could also ask for the prescription on paper and go to other pharmacies to see if they have any stock.

I have no personal experience one way or the other with this, but my first thought is it is probably not recommended due to the possibility of contamination or damaging the seal in some way. Just something to be aware of!

 

[In Response]

I have no personal experience one way or the other with this, but my first thought is it is probably not recommended due to the possibility of contamination or damaging the seal in some way. Just something to be aware of!

I thought it was something to do with the insulin being filled in a vacuum and there is a risk the cartridge could crack.
But I am not 100% certain on this. It is not something I have tried (telling me not to do something is often a red rag to a bull); only something I have read.

 

[Chas C]

I have filled from both cartridges and pens both work. I've never seen a recommendation to not do this. As for pen I carry them as a spare, when they are almost end of life (20 days), I use them to fill a my pump t:slim cartridge so its not wasted. In the past I've also used a pen to fill a Novo Cartridge for an Insight pump.

 

[megan]

Thanks for all your replies. I do have the quick and slow acting pens as a back up but really wanted them as a last resort knowing how much difficulty I would have doing the swap and calculations for a couple of days. It's hard enough to try to get bloods under some semblance of control, although I'm doing well now I'm on the t slim

 

[Rnr1975]

My local surgery has been having trouble getting me the novorapid in a vial. I've told them it was getting urgent and now I have none and need to change the cartridge on my tandem t slim now.
The surgery says they have novorapid pens and I tried explaining that I cannot switch to this alone as I'd need the basal insulin too.

So what I'm thinking is either to push my t slim cartridge another day ( although they say only 3 days and I'm aware of the reasons why but it's an unknown exact response in the 4th day). The vial I need may arrive tomorrow

Or I try to draw the novorapid ( with syringe) out of the novorapid pen I do have or the novorapid pump cartridge from when I used the accucheck insight pump. It's still in date of course.

Never done either of these. Any suggestions welcome. Don't fancy trying to go back on to pens as it will be very difficult to figure out doses for me, this pump has made a big difference to me

I have never had vials for mine always been prescribed pen refills to draw up from as advised by DSN so if I have a pump issue I can use a reusable pen