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4mm insulin needle availability/quality

Microbe

Microbe

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi All,
I hope your having a great day!

For the last 6 months or so my local pharmacy has been having difficulties getting hold of my prescribed 4mm insulin needles (Mylife Penfine classic) and has had to dispense alternative brands.

The first was GlucoRx standard - these gave me bruises nearly everytime I injected (handy for rotation!)
The second was GlucoRx ultra - these were better but still worse than my usual needles
The latest are BBraun Omnican fine - these are really difficult to screw on and off of my insulin pens and dont have the internal needle cover.

I asked if he could get me some BD branded needles but he said I would have to get my prescription changed as the BD needles are more expensive. I have an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss this on Friday but was wondering if this is an issue anyone else has?
If you are happy with your current brand of needles please let me know so that I can try them.

Tia
 
Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will be able to suggest something as there is often a discussion about the quality of needles, some do seem to suit better than others.
Love your name, my colleagues and I were always referred to as the Microbes as we supported the Microbiology teaching labs.
 
Microbe said:
Hi All,
I hope your having a great day!

For the last 6 months or so my local pharmacy has been having difficulties getting hold of my prescribed 4mm insulin needles (Mylife Penfine classic) and has had to dispense alternative brands.

The first was GlucoRx standard - these gave me bruises nearly everytime I injected (handy for rotation!)
The second was GlucoRx ultra - these were better but still worse than my usual needles
The latest are BBraun Omnican fine - these are really difficult to screw on and off of my insulin pens and dont have the internal needle cover.

I asked if he could get me some BD branded needles but he said I would have to get my prescription changed as the BD needles are more expensive. I have an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss this on Friday but was wondering if this is an issue anyone else has?
If you are happy with your current brand of needles please let me know so that I can try them.

Tia
Click to expand...
I'm on bd, they are tge only ones i've ever had so not able to compare but tgey've been ok for me
 
Leadinglights said:
Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will be able to suggest something as there is often a discussion about the quality of needles, some do seem to suit better than others.
Love your name, my colleagues and I were always referred to as the Microbes as we supported the Microbiology teaching labs.
Click to expand...
Hi, I was a Biomedical Scientist in various NHS Microbiology labs for 33 years hence the forum name!
 
Have you rang round other pharmacies to see if they can source your preferred needles? Some pharmacies, particularly the franchises, are I believe, tied into particular suppliers/warehouses which may not stock your chosen brand. Independent pharmacies can often source less common items or things in short supply because they can shop around, so if I require a particular item which my pharmacy cannot obtain, then I ring round the pharmacies in my area and if I find one which has what I require or can get it, then I get the original pharmacy to give me a prescription for the item they can't get and take it to one which can supply it. There is very rarely a genuine deficiency in the item.
 
PS. I currently use the GlucoRx Carepoint Ultra and find them good, but I haven't tried MyLife needles so unable to compare and like all things diabetes related it may well come down to what suits any one individual. I can't remember which needles I had before the GlucoRx but they used to regularly clog with my Levemir and I suspect the coating on them reacted with the Levemir, but not had any problems since changing to GlucoRx. I think we all get the odd one that bruises or stings/nips when injecting, but obviously it should be occasional not nearly every time.
 
I used to get BD Microfine but my prescription was changed to generic 32 gauge 4mm needles, because BD are too expensive, so I get whatever brand the pharmacist gets in. This is usually Nipro 4sure, which i find an acceptable substitute, in terms of injecting, they are equal to the BD, the only thing i find is that they’re a little bit more difficult to screw on, you have to make sure you haven’t cross threaded them at the outset, whereas BD screwed on like a dream.
 
Microbe said:
Hi All,
I hope your having a great day!

For the last 6 months or so my local pharmacy has been having difficulties getting hold of my prescribed 4mm insulin needles (Mylife Penfine classic) and has had to dispense alternative brands.

The first was GlucoRx standard - these gave me bruises nearly everytime I injected (handy for rotation!)
The second was GlucoRx ultra - these were better but still worse than my usual needles
The latest are BBraun Omnican fine - these are really difficult to screw on and off of my insulin pens and dont have the internal needle cover.

I asked if he could get me some BD branded needles but he said I would have to get my prescription changed as the BD needles are more expensive. I have an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss this on Friday but was wondering if this is an issue anyone else has?
If you are happy with your current brand of needles please let me know so that I can try them.

Tia
Click to expand...
I’m struggling to get bd needles, chemist has given me glucorx, not as good as bd ones
 
Have always had BD Microfine Ultra apart from when I ran out and had to get an emergency prescription and the chemist gave me a box of GlucoRX ones (and I agree, they were more difficult to screw on) - need to order another couple of boxes soon, so will be interested to see if they change the prescription....
 
I've been bouncing around different brands last few months was my life got an additional one added to prescription GlucoRx so I don't keep having to ring the practice for alternative issue. I ended up buying some myself just so I had some cover/buffer as needles nearly ran out not for lack of trying to get more alternatives beforehand. Tricare needles worked quite well for me
 
I don't have a specific brand on my prescription,it just says 4mm needles , so it's always a surprise when I collect my prescription . They all seem to do the job ok though which is the main thing .
 
Just checked the NHS Drug Tariff and the change does seem sensible from a cost point of view

1747244372618.png

£4.99 per box for BD ones

1747244441595.png

GlucoRx are only £2.75

Quite a difference - especially seeing how many we all get through
 
mashedupmatt said:
Quite a difference - especially seeing how many we all get through
Click to expand...
It's enough of a difference to matter, I guess. Still low costs compared to CGM sensors and insulin. That does suggest there's no difference between GlucoRX CarePoint 4mm 31G and 4mm 32G needles so anyone getting 31G has every reason to request a change, I think.
 
I've had Omnican fine and Insupen, I prefer the insupen out of the two. They have an internal needle cover.
My prescription is just for generic 32G 4mm needles so I get whatever they have available.
 
Thought I'd double-check - not changed - yet...
1747246437866.png
Must be another Postcode Lottery
 
I use 4sure needles as they came with my keytone meter. They seem to work fine and the pharmacy doesn’t seem to have an issue getting them
 
I have GlucoRx FinePoint. The box is quite old as I use a pump so they are only for backup.
They definitely do not "flow" as smoothly as the BD ones I used to have.
 
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