Newbie with pen issues

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kris.firth

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I have read on a thread on this site discussing the Lilly HumaPen Savvio. Ever since I started injecting Humulin M3 I originally had the pre filled brown/beige disposable pens, in an effort to reduce waste I switched to the Humma Savvio Pen by Lilly and now use the cartridge.
I found remembering what day I injected what was beyond my memory so a set up a spread sheet as a memory aid. Since using these pens (one supplied by NHS the spare I purchased myself. I noticed that for no real reason that my BG readings are unstable. I then looked at the amount of units I extracted/injected in excess of of the 300 units possible from each cartridge often showing 315 320 330. I contacted Lilly and they replaced both the pens. I am now back in the same place with the amount of units from each cartridge. I have not heard from Lilly about the pens they asked me to send back. I am now extremely concerned that these pens are unreliable. They jam or do not deliver the specified amount. Has anyone else had a similar situation.
 
Welcome @kris.firth I hate the Savvio and wish Lilly would bring back the Luxura, which was much, much better. @gillrogers has had issues with the Savvio too, I think but not sure.

As well as reporting the pen to Lilly, fill in a Yellow card to report them officially as faulty. I think you can do one for devices as well as medication.
 
Sorry to hear about your worries around the Savvio pen @kris.firth

Diabetes is random enough without nagging anxiety around whether out kit is working properly :(

I believe there used to be a way of checking insulin delivery by dialling up 20u and delivering it into the outer cap of the pen needle. It should precisely fill the thin ‘nose’ section.

I’m not sure if this applies to all brands of needles though, so you’d want to check the patient information leaflet to see if this might be an option.

I was always told not to run cartridges completely ‘out’, but to swap them when they looked down to the last dose.

Are you doing ‘air shots’ before each injection, squirting 2u into the air to check that insulin is flowing properly before you dial up your actual dose?

Oh and welcome to the forum 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sorry to hear about your worries around the Savvio pen @kris.firth

Diabetes is random enough without nagging anxiety around whether out kit is working properly :(

I believe there used to be a way of checking insulin delivery by dialling up 20u and delivering it into the outer cap of the pen needle. It should precisely fill the thin ‘nose’ section.

I’m not sure if this applies to all brands of needles though, so you’d want to check the patient information leaflet to see if this might be an option.

I was always told not to run cartridges completely ‘out’, but to swap them when they looked down to the last dose.

Are you doing ‘air shots’ before each injection, squirting 2u into the air to check that insulin is flowing properly before you dial up your actual dose?

Oh and welcome to the forum 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response to this I do a 2 unit air shot which I aim at my thumb nail as it is easy to see (sight and feel). The pen is strange as when you first press the button it does on occasions appear to slip between 2 & 6 units the pressure difference is subtle but it is possible to feel it. The real story shows up at the end of each cartridge when you can see that 315 units were delivered from a 300 unit pen. I will check out the dose amount into the needle cap. Apart from that onwards and upwards. Thanks
 
Welcome @kris.firth and sorry to hear the worries you are having with your device.

As @everydayupsanddowns says going down to the last drop is not something I do either. If I can't measure my dose plus a few then I swap out pens - maybe it's something about dregs from my boarding school days 🙂

My local NHS provide me with disposable pens but I have noticed if I do the 'air shot' horizontally or downward air bubbles can get into the pen. I have since started doing my air shots almost vertically and no longer have that issue.

Doing the injections in the early hours or late at night with low lighting conditions is a drag too because I have to make sure I have my reading glasses to get things right and I certainly would not see the air shot working unless I have my glasses on and a contrasting background!

I have reminders set in my calendar just to make sure I don't miss anything. I found a missed taking my Creon with a few meals because I was concerned with not missing my insulin instead, so the reminders helped me. I log all of my insulin & meals using the Libre View app (used to use the smartlog app when I was on finger pricking) - getting to remember to do that was a task in the beginning too, hence setting up the calendar reminders...

Hoping you get things sorted
-DJ
 
kris.firth said:
Thanks for the response to this I do a 2 unit air shot which I aim at my thumb nail as it is easy to see (sight and feel). The pen is strange as when you first press the button it does on occasions appear to slip between 2 & 6 units the pressure difference is subtle but it is possible to feel it. The real story shows up at the end of each cartridge when you can see that 315 units were delivered from a 300 unit pen. I will check out the dose amount into the needle cap. Apart from that onwards and upwards. Thanks
Click to expand...

It’s because it doesn’t click like the Luxura pen did. It has a horrible ‘loose’ motion and a nasty cheap feel. I’ve held on to my Luxura for this reason.
 
Noop not me with the Savvio, my problems are with the Humalog Kwik Pen though with half units sometimes not actually deploying. Started doing the yellow card report but because my insulin wasnt listed i couldnt take if further. Been a tad distracted and havent followed it up.
 
Inka said:
It’s because it doesn’t click like the Luxura pen did. It has a horrible ‘loose’ motion and a nasty cheap feel. I’ve held on to my Luxura for this reason.
Click to expand...
thanks Inka in your first response you mentioned completing a yellow card how do I achieve this.
 
gillrogers said:
Noop not me with the Savvio, my problems are with the Humalog Kwik Pen though with half units sometimes not actually deploying. Started doing the yellow card report but because my insulin wasnt listed i couldnt take if further. Been a tad distracted and havent followed it up.
Click to expand...
Thanks Gill I will look into the yellow card reporting.
 
gillrogers said:
Noop not me with the Savvio, my problems are with the Humalog Kwik Pen though with half units sometimes not actually deploying. Started doing the yellow card report but because my insulin wasnt listed i couldnt take if further. Been a tad distracted and havent followed it up.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry @gillrogers It must have been someone else.
 
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