Confused about using NovoRapid FlexTouch

[Hobbit]

I've been using NovoRapid FlexPens for years with no issue, but for some reason my diabetic nurse recently prescribed me the FlexTouch version. I just had to use it for the first time and it's awful, I'm not even sure if I did it properly. When I pressed the button it shot most of the dose into me and then the dose counter slowly turned the last few units back down to zero again, making me think I wasn't pressing hard enough. I wasn't sure if it was broken? The FlexPen tells me with each click how much dose I injected but this feels really unintuitive and makes me wonder if I injected too much.

Can anyone who uses the FlexTouch please let me know if this sounds like how it's normally supposed to work?

 

[Elenka_HM]

I have FlexPens for Levemir and FlexTouch for Novorapid, and I understand the change is a bit strange at the beginning. When in FlexPens the button sticks out more the more units you dial (and you need to press longer to get it back to 0), FlexTouch stays the same length no matter how many units you select and it all goes in with one quick "click". I don't know about the last units going "slowly back to zero" as I use very small amounts of Novorapid, 2 or 3 units, which goes in instantly.

About injecting more than you should you don't need to be worried, as long as you dialled the correct dose. I heard that for some people hearing the clicks can be a way to double check their dose but we should not rely on that (certainly not with FlexTouch) but on the dose counter.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

but for some reason my diabetic nurse recently prescribed me the FlexTouch version.

By the looks of it FlexTouch is replacing FlexPen.

The reusable pens behave a little differently to FlexPens and I guess FlexTouch might be similar. You get clicks as you dial up the dose but not really when injecting so you need to trust that you dialled the right dose and make sure you inject it all. I didn't find that particularly confusing but it was a bit of a surprise the first time I used it.

There's a video on their page: https://www.novonordisk.com/our-products/pens-and-needles/flextouch.html

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Did you do an ‘air shot’ @Hobbit?

I was told to inject 2u into the air (which makes a tiny visible squirt), before each dose to ensure the pen was delivering properly.

Over my years of MDI I had a few times when the air shot drew a blank, and I had to redo it - which could have meant I missed some insulin.

 

[rebrascora]

Also important to hold the needle in for a count of 10 after depressing the button to ensure all the insulin is administered.