An insulin pen with a memory

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Austin Mini

Austin Mini

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi there everyone, as I’m getting older and forgetting stuff I’m thinking that now is the time to buy a spanking brand new insulin pen and a spare one too.
I am using my trusted Eli Lilly HumaPen Luxura pens which are a good twenty years old so took a look on internet and found they arnt available anymore never mind one with a memory.
Can anyone recommend a memory pen they are using and where you can obtain one please?
 
Pens are specific to the cartridges they come with, so you can't mix & match unfortunately. So if your insulin manufacturer doesn't make a pen with a memory, you would either need to switch insulin or find an alternative memory device. There is something called a Timesulin cap which is a replacement cap for disposable pens, so there may be one for your pen.

Probably best to call Lilly's UK HQ for advice - 01256 315000.
 
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RBZ5416 said:
Pens are specific to the cartridges they come in, so you can't mix & match unfortunately. So if your insulin manufacturer doesn't make a pen with a memory, you would either need to switch insulin or find an alternative memory device. There is something called a Timesulin cap which is a replacement cap for disposable pens, so there may be one for your pen.

Probably best to call Lilly's UK HQ for advice - 01256 315000.
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Lilly’s 3mL insulin cartridges is what I have always used hence the Lilly Luxura pen.
 
Looks like they had one but then withdrew it to make some improvements, the HumaPen Memoir.

You could try one of the replacement caps (though they usually just remember the time you made the last injection and nothing else). Or talk to your team about changing insulins so you can use NovoPens.
 
I am having a similar problem. The Luxura pens are showing their age and I’ve already had a issue with one of them, thankfully resolved for the time being.

The Humapen Memoir has been discontinued for some years. Timesulin caps are only made to fit disposable pens, which I refuse absolutely to consider due to environmental and storage issues.

It looks like Lilly’s loss will be NovoNordisk’s gain - one of several points I made in an email to Lilly earlier this year, which got a singularly useless response.
 
Austin Mini said:
Lilly’s 3mL insulin cartridges is what I have always used hence the Lilly Luxura pen.
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You seem to have missed the point, or are just re-affirming it.

Obviously you use a Lilly cartridge in a Lilly pen. The point I was making is that you can't use those cartridges in another manufacturer's pen. For reasons I can't begin to fathom, there is no standardisation in the cartridges. So you will have to change insulin.

Are you certain that the pens are discontinued? It's still referenced on their web site along with the half unit HD variant. It would seem somewhat unlikely that a manufacturer would continue to supply cartridges with no means of dispensing what's in them...
 
RBZ5416 said:
You seem to have missed the point, or are just re-affirming it.

Obviously you use a Lilly cartridge in a Lilly pen. The point I was making is that you can't use those cartridges in another manufacturer's pen. For reasons I can't begin to fathom, there is no standardisation in the cartridges. So you will have to change insulin.

Are you certain that the pens are discontinued? It's still referenced on their web site along with the half unit HD variant. It would seem somewhat unlikely that a manufacturer would continue to supply cartridges with no means of dispensing what's in them...
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Luxura HD pens were discontinued in 2019. The only reusable pen now available is the Savvio, which is whole unit only
 
Austin Mini said:
Hi there everyone, as I’m getting older and forgetting stuff I’m thinking that now is the time to buy a spanking brand new insulin pen and a spare one too.
I am using my trusted Eli Lilly HumaPen Luxura pens which are a good twenty years old so took a look on internet and found they arnt available anymore never mind one with a memory.
Can anyone recommend a memory pen they are using and where you can obtain one please?
Click to expand...
You’d probably need to switch insulin to novorapid to use a memory pen, other insulin manufacturers eg humalog and apidra don’t have memory pens
 
Lucyr said:
You’d probably need to switch insulin to novorapid to use a memory pen, other insulin manufacturers eg humalog and apidra don’t have memory pens
Click to expand...
Not going to switch insulin been on it since 2000
 
Austin Mini said:
Not going to switch insulin been on it since 2000
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Then I think your only option will be to switch to Kwikpen (disposable) with a Timesulin cap. (Junior Kwikpen if you need half-units)

Don’t close your mind to changing insulins, though. A year ago it dawned on me that the once-daily Lantus I’d been using for 20-odd years was actually causing me a lot of grief which I’d always blamed on me getting it wrong. Others’ experiences on here led me to change to Levemir twice a day. The difference has been remarkable and I wish I’d done it ages ago!

It’s all too easy to get into a habit and close your mind to the fact that there may be something better out there.
 
I know myself that it is certainly possible for an old dog to learn new tricks, providing said doggy is willing to learn em. (or at least, female doggies! - do NOT utter the correct terminology please - I hope I'm not!)
 
I would seriously consider a change to NovoRapid with guidance from your DN. It's a very popular fast acting insulin. I recently got my DN to upgrade me to a NovoPen 6 which downloads usage to your mobile if you use a Libre 2.
 
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