Insulin pens

[Sally Brown]

hi all,how does one know when their pen is running out? I’m on novo rapid and levermir:,am I right in thinking when you see a red marker in the clear window it’s time to change pen?

 

[khskel]

If you are on disposable pens turn the dial as far as it will go and it will either stop at the maximum dose or how much is left in the pen.

 

[Matt Cycle]

Hi Sally. The marker tells you it's getting close to the end. If you wind back the plunger it will show you how many units are left (you can then wind it the other way back). It depends how many units you're using but when on pens I used to go right to the end - waste not, want not.

 

[Northerner]

hi all,how does one know when their pen is running out? I’m on novo rapid and levermir:,am I right in thinking when you see a red marker in the clear window it’s time to change pen?

Hi Sally, what pens are you using? I'd recommend requesting novopen echo pens for use with your novorapid and levemir (you can get a red one and a blue one so you know which is which!). They have a number of features, one of which is the ability to dial up a dose to see how much insulin remains in the cartridge, then dial it back again - I use this all the time when I am getting close to the end and am often surprised to see I have enough remaining to perform the injection I need to without it stopping halfway! 🙂 The Echo also has a useful timer on the end which tells you when you last injected - very useful if, like me, you sometimes inject then 5 minutes later wonder if you actually did because it was so automatic! 😱 🙂 It's a doddle to change cartridges too, the pens are very well made and much more environmentally-friendly than disposable pens 🙂

 

[SB2015]

The two colours of pen were incredibly useful to me when on pens. It made it easy to know which one was which. I managed to get half unit pension orang which matched the Levemir and green which matched the Novorapid. It still did not stop me making the mistake of putting the wrong insulin in a pen on one occasion. It soon became obvious.
I was on such small doses that the time limit of 28 days out of the fridge ended the cartridge before I had used up all the insulin (I stuck the discard date on the pen when I put a cartridge in) so never got right to the end. Interesting to read how the pens have developed further over the last few years.