When Novorapid pens don't click

[spooner]

Hi

Sometimes the pens don't click when you inject, so you are left unsure as to whether the insulin has actually gone in or not. Of course you have to assume that it has, and not do a duplicate jab, then wait and monitor yourself to see if you go high to make sure that the jab did not work and then medicate again. By this time I find i'm all out of synch and it can take a day to get back into my normal rhythm Anyone else every have this problem? I find it's getting more regular.

 

[HLW]

Oh so they do! I've just got one out to see if it clicks, and it does when pressing the button in, I'd never noticed that before!

I can't see how the click is at all useful though - if the button is all the way in and the dial is at zero you have injected whatever dose you had dialed up.

Mine are Novopen 4s, and the disposable pens work the same way too (I used those at first), I don't know how the other novopens work if you have a different one.

 

[spooner]

Sometimes the plunger seems to slip from say 8 to 0 for example, really fast with no clicks, and it means that actually no insulin has been administered. It keeps happening to me. Seems like a fault, or maybe just a dodgy batch of pens. But this happens maybe every few months for me. I just wondered if any else has experienced this?

 

[AndyS]

I always thought the click was an audible / haptic feedback mechanism for people that are blind or parially sighted.

I know I have found it very useful on a coupld of occasions when I have had to do a jab in dark or poor light.

I haven't yet had a pen do this to me though if it did I would assume some kind of fault on the mechanism and bin the pen. If more than 1 in a pack did it I would report it and get the whole pack awapped out.

A

 

[noblehead]

spooner,

Provided you've done a air-shot prior to dialing up your usual dose then you will have received the correct dose of insulin even if it has gone in fast, this is provided that the needle is inserted in the skin correct. The click is when you are dialing up the units for the visually impaired, I use the novopen 4 and mine doesn't click as loud when injecting compared to when dialing up, if you are still unsure and think the pen is faulty then ask your gp for a new pen.

Nigel

 

[spooner]

Thing is when this happens it definately does not inject as I go seriously high later on. I discard the pen when this happens. I've been type 1 for four years nad it has happened very rarely, but this year already it's happened twice. Doesn't seem to be anyone else here so far that has experienced it so maybe I just got a dodgy box and have been unlucky this year. If lots of folks posted that they have the same thing then i'd worry but it doesn't seem to be the case. Cheers for responses.

 

[alaska]

One of my insulin pens went dodgy a few years back. I couldn't work out why I was getting such high numbers and then started to notice the pens 'slipping' down to 0 without feeling the normal amount of resistance I usually would.

When it happened a couple of times in the space of two days I decided to test by doing shots into the air (pointing towards the ground) to see if the pen was working. I found that the pen was not delivering a stream of insulin so I got it replaced by the health centre.

I'd had the pen for several years so I can't complain too much.

 

[AndyS]

I think one of the tests you can do, Certainly with BD MIcro-Fine needles, is wind out to 20u and that should fill up the bottom part of the cap.

But test shots into the air are a best practice before every shot.

 

[spooner]

I hear ya, but it's a random thing when it happens, I do shoot into the air, always with a new pen to get it going. But when it slips i've already inserted the needle so you can't see if it is injecting or not. And afterward I inject into air and it seems to work, so i'm left wondering if I have received any insulin or not. Again, out how god knows how many thousands of injections this has happened maybe 10 times, just a lot of them recently.

 

[AndyS]

Yeah time for a new one methinks

 

[sugar2]

I know what you mean completely!

My pens used to do this occasionally (now on pump). I usually took it as a sign to get a new pen. Alas, the old priming trick didn't always work. From memory, sometimes it injected, even if no click...and then sometimes it didn't.

I think you should only use them for a year...so if its older, make sure it is on your repeat prescription and get a new one.

 

[jopar]

Pens clicked when a dose is being dialed up and not so much when being injected, but should have some resistence when injected...

If at any time you worried whether there is a problem with your pen then you can double check that it is doseing correctly, by dialing up 2 units of insulin, then squarting this into the outer protection cover of the needle, if it is correctly dosing the insulin with be in line with the collar (the joint that at the top of the cover that start to slope down towards the needle end)...

Pens are generally very good without much problems, problems can occure if you've dropped the pen, or you haven't returned the rod to the beginign correctly, Some pens you just push the rod back others such as levimer/novo pens you have to wind the the rod back with the collar!

Reusable pens do really need replacing every couple of years as they can wear after a couple of years...

 

[Daver]

I hear ya, but it's a random thing when it happens, I do shoot into the air, always with a new pen to get it going. But when it slips i've already inserted the needle so you can't see if it is injecting or not. And afterward I inject into air and it seems to work, so i'm left wondering if I have received any insulin or not. Again, out how god knows how many thousands of injections this has happened maybe 10 times, just a lot of them recently.

Hi,

I use Novorapid and Levemir pens but have been advised to do an air shot before each injection, not just when you start a new pen. I also used to count the clicks in to ensure the correct measure.

Hope this helps

Take it easy,
Dave

 

[TheSparkyPony]

I miss my Novorapid pens - I've just started on the Humalog Kwikpen pens, and they don't click or make noise at all. Plus it takes around 8u to prime when you first use them, in my experience anyway, tried with different batches too!

I obviously do the air test first but not the same as hearing those reassuring clicks! :lol: