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Which Insulin pen did I open?

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Xinte

Member
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16
I Have been type 2 for over 15 years but after all medication stopped working, I have now been prescribed Insulin (Tresiba) an had my first instructional appointment yesterday with my Diabetes nurse where she watched me give myself an injection with the pen, as she will be titrating my dose, I am starting with only 8 units. After the appointment, I realised that I had put the pen I used back into the box with the other 4 pens and now I dont know which pen I opened and used. I was told that I should discard the opened pen after 28 days, but now I dont know which pen this is. Because it was only 8 units used, there isnt a decrease of liquid in the clear window and seems to be no other indication of which one has been opened. Do I need to throw them all away and ask the nurse for a new pack of five pens? Or keep them all for just 28 days? thank you in advance
 

Hi,

If you remove the cap on the pen & study the cartridge rubber membrane at the top where the needle screws in.
is there a bit of a “dint” in the centre of one where a needle may have penitrated?

Oh, & welcome to the forum..
 
Jaylee said:
Hi,

If you remove the cap on the pen & study the cartridge rubber membrane at the top where the needle screws in.
is there a bit of a “dint” in the centre of one where a needle may have penitrated?

Oh, & welcome to the forum..
Click to expand...
Hi Jaylee, and thank you for the welcome I did as you suggested and studied the rubber membrane on all 5 pens but unfortunately, even with a magnifying glass as I was unable to see a dint or any differences in any of the pens, I really appreciate your reply though
 
Do all your pens have needles on them? They are sold without needles. In any case, you shouldn't keep the pen warm for more than 28 days, whether it's open or not, so I guess you can use any of your pens and put other pens in the refrigerator
 
Hi Jaylee, I can tell that you are a little stressed about going on Insulin, don't worry, it's a good thing, it works much better than the pills and is more flexible.
I would line all of the pens up and inspect them really closely, the piston in one of them will be about one mm lower than the rest, pick it and keep the rest in the frig. Even if you get it wrong I doubt if it will matter.
All the best
Keith
 

Hi again,
According to here. https://www.novomedlink.com/diabete...dministration/tresiba-flextouch-and-vial.html
You got 8 weeks out of the fridge with a pen at room temp.

I have to admit I use reusable pens for my insulins. I could remove the cartridge & check the “bung” travel up the cartridge.?
 
Hi, don’t stress, if I’m right… and I’m rarely right, if the insulin gets old or goes off, it just stops working.

I have to confess I often forget pens and find one floating around on the floor of my van and use that, coulda been there months for all I know and it still seems to work ok. I never throw them out, just use them all regardless where or how long they’ve been out of fridge. This is not advice, just trying to reassure you that you couldn’t possibly be as bad as me lol
 
Jaylee said:
I have to admit I use reusable pens for my insulins.
Click to expand...

I agree, I'm a big fan of reusable pens. My insulin cartridges take up enough space in my fridge, I'd hate to have to fill it with whole pens. (Plus there is the much less stuff to throw away with reusables.)
 
Thank you for your replies and sorry for not responding earlier, my grand daughter has been here, It seems I've been stressing too much about an opened pen, you put my mind at rest that the worst that could happen is that it just won't work. Fenn you did make me laugh and I probably am just as bad and not to stress so much Zynyaka, my pens don't have needles on them, the needles come separately in plastic bubbles and you attach a new one everytime you use it, Xsthiek, I didn't pick up where Jaylee seemed stressed about going on insulin, but I agree its more effective and flexible and without all the awful side effects of pills. Ellie, the pens are really quite small so don't take up much space in the fridge ,thank goodness I dont have to store the boxes of finger prickers, test strips etc in the fridge, lol , thank you all for your replies, I appreciate you taking the time
 
Xinte said:
Xsthiek, I didn't pick up where Jaylee seemed stressed about going on insulin,
Click to expand...

Me stressed? I’ve only been doing this for nearly 44 years..
34 of which using pens of some sort or another.
Over the years I’ve had many misadventures with them. Including loosing one at work then finding it handed in on the security desk. & a dancer sitting on one..

Always make sure you keep spares to hand.
I hope you had a great time with your granddaughter.
 
I really apologise Jaylee, I wrongly assumed from Xshtiek's reply {Hi Jaylee, I can tell that you are a little stressed about going on Insulin, don't worry, it's a good thing, it works much better than the pills and is more flexible.} that you were a fellow newbie to Insulin like myself I love spending time with my 3 year old granddaughter but Oh boy does it wipe me out nowadays, but so worth it
 
Sorry Jaylee, I got the name wrong, my post was meant for Xinte!
 
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