Pens & air shots

[mum2westiesGill]

When you're doing an air shot with your pen how many units do you dial up?

I've seen mention of 2 & i've seen mention of 4 😱 . Also 14 😱 😱 or would this latter one be the initial one when using a new cartridge?

 

[Doddy]

I do 2, but if nothing comes out, I do another 2. I just keep on doing 2 until some insulin comes out the other end!

 

[robofski]

I do 2, but if nothing comes out, I do another 2. I just keep on doing 2 until some insulin comes out the other end!

I do the same, but often with my echo, I think I've dialled two (counting the clicks) but its only one as its a half unit pen! So long as some comes out I'm good with it!

 

[Austin Mini]

I do one and 99 times out of 100 thats all I need. As long as something comes out your ok to go.

 

[ukjohn]

When you're doing an air shot with your pen how many units do you dial up?

I've seen mention of 2 & i've seen mention of 4 😱 . Also 14 😱 😱 or would this latter one be the initial one when using a new cartridge?

The Novopen 4 Instruction leaflet suggests a 4 shot on starting a new cartridge, and follow up with another 4 units until insulin appears.
with a cartridge already in use it suggest a 2 unit shot.

 

[robert@fm]

The Novopen 4 Instruction leaflet suggests a 4 shot on starting a new cartridge, and follow up with another 4 units until insulin appears.
with a cartridge already in use it suggest a 2 unit shot.

My NovoPen 4 instructions said to do 4u if a new cartridge, 1u if an in-use one. I used to follow this until recently, but now I do 1u regardless. If the priming shot doesn't work, I can alweays do another one.

 

[ukjohn]

My NovoPen 4 instructions said to do 4u if a new cartridge, 1u if an in-use one. I used to follow this until recently, but now I do 1u regardless. If the priming shot doesn't work, I can alweays do another one.

I was trying to make it easy for the woman, rather than complicated, at the moment she has heard of 2, 4, 14, and from here fours and ones, and from you 4 or 1 regardless.I like you don't follow the rules either, but when someone is confused I try to make it easier to understand.

 

[MaryPlain]

I was trying to make it easy for the woman, rather than complicated, at the moment she has heard of 2, 4, 14, and from here fours and ones, and from you 4 or 1 regardless.I like you don't follow the rules either, but when someone is confused I try to make it easier to understand.

I hope the original poster doesn't feel as patronised by that as I would!

When I had a pen I frequently found that after changing a cartridge it could take quite a few priming shots. At other times just one unit as others have said. I don't think that's hard to understand!

 

[ukjohn]

I hope the original poster doesn't feel as patronised by that as I would!

When I had a pen I frequently found that after changing a cartridge it could take quite a few priming shots. At other times just one unit as others have said. I don't think that's hard to understand!

After being on this forum for 4 years, I have never patronised any one, but I shall keep my eye open for you to make extra careful comments on your postings. at 73 years of age I have more respect for ladies than you may think, except for those that make sexist remarks like yours.

If the lady concerned feels that way she can pm me and I will apologise to her.

 

[Vicsetter]

It seems we are supposed to be ultra politically correct these days, pet, hum, her indoors, the little women are all banned. Shame that people seem to read into the written word more than was intended. The older you get the more petty it seems.

Anyway - with Levemir it's 2 units and as others have said sometimes that's not enough so just do 2 until it comes out (not easy in the dark, but when your trousers/skirt start feeling wet it's time to inject). What I find very strange is that with Victoza you do an initial prime shot and thats it from then on. Each inject is dial up 1.2 and inject, it doesn't seem to need priming.

 

[MaryPlain]

After being on this forum for 4 years, I have never patronised any one, but I shall keep my eye open for you to make extra careful comments on your postings. at 73 years of age I have more respect for ladies than you may think, except for those that make sexist remarks like yours.

If the lady concerned feels that way she can pm me and I will apologise to her.

Sorry, what was sexist about what I said, please?

 

[trophywench]

Oh please chaps and chapesses, don't let's gerrin into a load of carping over something that WASN'T meant. I am 100% sure of that because I've met John and he is a perfect gentleman with a great SOH.

That's the trouble with the written word over the spoken word innit?

Let's leave it.

 

[Copepod]

As I don't change my needle each time I inject, more likely just when I chenge cartridges, or sometimes a bit more often, I find that priming a new needle takes several units, while priming before an injection takes as little as 0.5 units (with my half unit pen) or 1 unit (with my whole unit pen).

So, in my case, not changing needles saves not just needle costs, including manufacture and disposal, environmental and financial to NHS, but also insulin. But that's not to say that others shouldn't do what they choose, just that I can justify what I do to my own satisfaction.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

The Novopen 4 Instruction leaflet suggests a 4 shot on starting a new cartridge, and follow up with another 4 units until insulin appears.
with a cartridge already in use it suggest a 2 unit shot.

I was trying to make it easy for the woman, rather than complicated, at the moment she has heard of 2, 4, 14, and from here fours and ones, and from you 4 or 1 regardless.I like you don't follow the rules either, but when someone is confused I try to make it easier to understand.

Hi ukjohn.

Thank you very much for both of your replies.

I hope the original poster doesn't feel as patronised by that as I would!

After being on this forum for 4 years, I have never patronised any one, but I shall keep my eye open for you to make extra careful comments on your postings. at 73 years of age I have more respect for ladies than you may think, except for those that make sexist remarks like yours.

If the lady concerned feels that way she can pm me and I will apologise to her.

Please may I assure you that I did not in any way feel patronised. When I post threads and ask questions on the forum all replies are welcomed!

 

[novorapidboi26]

I would guess at 4 when I prime my pen, sometimes its less, sometimes its more....

As with most I just keep going until a good amount come out....

I leave my needle on for way more than one injection and so this will have an effect on the cartridge pressure etc....

If you use a fresh needle every time, you might find more consistent results I imagine.......

 

[trophywench]

It does affect the pressure NRB and Copepod, you get air in the cartridge and the longer you leave the needle on, the more 'units' you will need for your air shot.

I know this because I used to do that too.

But tell you what both of you and anyone else who re-uses needles - after 35 years and many 'rotten' absorption areas, I suddenly started changing needles every single time.

These areas don't clear up and go you know.

OK so like blindness, kidney failure and your toes dropping off, you may consider like me then, that's so far in the future it doesn't matter.

Bit of a thought-concentrating shock to my system, that was.

PLEASE FOLKS -

NEVER EVER RE-USE NEEDLES except in an emergency.

 

[casey]

Hi Trophywench

I don't want to hijack the post, but as you mentioned changing needles, i just need to check something i was told. When i was diagnosed, 3 years ago, the DSN came up onto the ward to see me. When showing me how to inject etc, he told me that although you are supposed to change needles with every injection, it is actually fine to use the same needle for the whole day, only changing your needle daily. Obviously as this is what i was taught to do from the start this is what i have been doing. Was my DSN wrong ?, it sounds like it to me.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Trophywench

I don't want to hijack the post, but as you mentioned changing needles, i just need to check something i was told. When i was diagnosed, 3 years ago, the DSN came up onto the ward to see me. When showing me how to inject etc, he told me that although you are supposed to change needles with every injection, it is actually fine to use the same needle for the whole day, only changing your needle daily. Obviously as this is what i was taught to do from the start this is what i have been doing. Was my DSN wrong ?, it sounds like it to me.

Thanks for any help.

When I left hospital I only had a few needles before my prescription got sorted etc. so I asked my DSN what I should do - she said it was OK to re-use them a few times, so I did (I had to!). Since then though, I have always used a fresh needle every time. Interestingly, when speaking to Jane at the London Meet I was saying that one reason I don't re-ues needles is because I can't get the cap back on my novopen with the needle in place, shielded with the plastic cap. Upon which, she brought out her own novopen and showed it with the plastic cap and the pen cap on! This had me puzzled, until I realised that some needles (BD perhaps?) have smaller plastic caps to my novofine ones - which definitely don't allow replacement of the pen cap!

Jane said she replaced the needle when she put a new cartridge in the pen.

 

[Copepod]

Another factor to consider is that today's disposable needles are probably safer to reuse than needles for reuse in the past - when syringes were glass, stored in surgical spirit, and needles were supplied with emery blocks for resharpening.

 

[novorapidboi26]

resharpening, oh GOD.........😱