Using pens .

[PaulAshby]

Had the curse for a while now but have been using the old disposable syringes and my diabetes team want me to start using a pen where the size of the tiny needle worries me as I couldn't feel guaranteed that the insulin will stay in the tissue, any advice pen users?

 

[EllieM]

Had the curse for a while now but have been using the old disposable syringes and my diabetes team want me to start using a pen where the size of the tiny needle worries me as I couldn't feel guaranteed that the insulin will stay in the tissue, any advice pen users?

You can get different sizes of pen needles. Ask for the longest? But honestly, I think you just meed to get used to the new system. (I have old style syringes as my emergency back up for when my pen breaks or I can't find it and theor needles seem very long now.)

Good luck.

 

[Jaylee]

Had the curse for a while now but have been using the old disposable syringes and my diabetes team want me to start using a pen where the size of the tiny needle worries me as I couldn't feel guaranteed that the insulin will stay in the tissue, any advice pen users?

Hi,

I remember the days as an old school injector. Then switched to the pens back in the late 1980s.
Never had any issue with the old syringe needle sizes. They where what they were..

However, pens. Carrying & use on a daily basis. They are more compact & from memory less of a faff when dosing. (In comparison from drawing up from a vial. Yawn, then the “druggie” stigma if caught by the uninitiated whilst doing so?)

I usually have a needle pre-fixed ready to go, protected by the pen cap. With a couple of spare needles rattling around in a pocket.
In summary on pen use, a time saving breeze..

 

[Antje77]

Had the curse for a while now but have been using the old disposable syringes and my diabetes team want me to start using a pen where the size of the tiny needle worries me as I couldn't feel guaranteed that the insulin will stay in the tissue, any advice pen users?

I'm on pens and I've used 4mm, 5mm and 6mm needles, and the insulin stays in just like it should with all of them!
Mind, there is a small drop of insulin on the skin after injecting, but that's just the insulin hanging on the needle from doing the 1 or 2 units airshot before injecting.

Unlike @Jaylee , I don't keep a needle attatched to my pen but I simply keep spare needles in my pen case. Screwing a needle on is 2 seconds I don't mind spending.

 

[Nicola M]

As a child I used 8mm needles (crikey knows why ) but as I got older they changed the size of my needles I went from 8mm to 6mm to 4mm. Never had any issues or saw any noticeable differences between using the bigger size to then the smaller size. I have never used syringes but couldn't fault insulin pens before going on a pump. I didn't dislike using pens, as above I always kept plenty of spare needles with my pens so I could put a new one on each time I injected.

 

[Ushthetaff]

I too remember the old needles the size of darts , and only changing them when they were blunt , thank god that’s in the past , I used disposable syringes for years and I too was a bit anxious about the needle size , I was even more flabbergasted when they told me I had to change the needle every time I used it , ( must admit it not something i do even now) , thankfully my anxiety was unfounded been using 4mm long needles for absolute ages and haven’t had any issues at all , good luck with the new system im sure after a short space of time you’ll wonder why you ever worried about it .

 

[Daibell]

Hi. These days, 4 mm needles are the most common and appear to do the right job unless you have a lot of excess skin fat.

 

[jaywak]

I'me an olden and can remember the old days of 12 mm needles , I now have the fat lumps to prove it , the 4 mm pen needles are fantastic I must of been using them for probably 30 years and never had a problem and for me anyway are completely pain free !

 

[PaulAshby]

Thanks all for your input, I've got a very swollen belly due to needle action and not rotating enough but that's me being lazy, think I'll have to come into the modern world and get on with it, cheers all

I'me an olden and can remember the old days of 12 mm needles , I now have the fat lumps to prove it , the 4 mm pen needles are fantastic I must of been using them for probably 30 years and never had a problem and for me anyway are completely pain free !

Yeah my stomach looks like a reverse hunchback of Notre Dame think I'll have to indulge now, my brother's type1 also and he swears by them

 

[david4503]

Had the curse for a while now but have been using the old disposable syringes and my diabetes team want me to start using a pen where the size of the tiny needle worries me as I couldn't feel guaranteed that the insulin will stay in the tissue, any advice pen users?

Do you have a choice about this? If you do, it makes sense to use whatever you’re comfortable with. My doctor tried to get me to switch to pens so I looked into it. For me, they wouldn’t be more convenient and in some ways less so. Needle size is equivalent either way, so not a decision point. I try not to change what’s working unless there’s a good reason.

 

[PaulAshby]

Do you have a choice about this? If you do, it makes sense to use whatever you’re comfortable with. My doctor tried to get me to switch to pens so I looked into it. For me, they wouldn’t be more convenient and in some ways less so. Needle size is equivalent either way, so not a decision point. I try not to change what’s working unless there’s a good reason.

You're right I've been so used to the syringes that it's never been an issue but the lipohypertrophy is getting a bit bad now, just been thinking about a butterfly catheter to save multiple needle pricking, I think they're good for 7 days, am checking whether it's another option, cheers for the comment.

 

[david4503]

You're right I've been so used to the syringes that it's never been an issue but the lipohypertrophy is getting a bit bad now, just been thinking about a butterfly catheter to save multiple needle pricking, I think they're good for 7 days, am checking whether it's another option, cheers for the comment.

I take it you’re rotating sites frequently to deal with this issue? Also, the last time I saw an illustration of injection sites, I remember thinking they had found some new ones since I began with this. Just a thought.

 

[Juicyj]

Had the curse for a while now but have been using the old disposable syringes and my diabetes team want me to start using a pen where the size of the tiny needle worries me as I couldn't feel guaranteed that the insulin will stay in the tissue, any advice pen users?

To be fair they wouldn't' suggest them unless they worked, time to move with the changes, it's good to try something new.

 

[PaulAshby]

I take it you’re rotating sites frequently to deal with this issue? Also, the last time I saw an illustration of injection sites, I remember thinking they had found some new ones since I began with this. Just a thought.

Yeah I do rotate sites, will checkout the new options, cheers

 

[Skylab]

Going back onto the syringe 8mm ,had a gutsfull of the pen , supply issues with my PORK INSULIN ,I take 56 units am it only does 42 then I have to dial the extra 14 units.. also leaking cartridges and they run out quickly.,so for me it's back to 10 ml vials and plastic syringes.There has been little advance since 1982 .One Injection a day would be an ADVANCE .I am on 2 jabs a day ,4 jabs a day is no ADVANCE.The Blood sugar machines and strips are a big ADVANCE The only one in 40 years.

 

[PaulAshby]

Going back onto the syringe 8mm ,had a gutsfull of the pen , supply issues with my PORK INSULIN ,I take 56 units am it only does 42 then I have to dial the extra 14 units.. also leaking cartridges and they run out quickly.,so for me it's back to 10 ml vials and plastic syringes.There has been little advance since 1982 .One Injection a day would be an ADVANCE .I am on 2 jabs a day ,4 jabs a day is no ADVANCE.The Blood sugar machines and strips are a big ADVANCE The only one in 40 years.

Cheers for this comment, just been reading about an insulin tablet, the results from tests look interesting but probably won't be available for a while yet.