Shortage of pre-filled FlexTouch pens of Fiasp and Tresiba

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I thought there had been a shortage of single use Tresiba pens for some time.
There were some people panicking that Tresiba was not available whereas, as you say, reusable pens and cartridges are still available.
The cynic in me is wondering whether this is a ploy to convert everyone to reusable pens. Although that is not a bad thing unless you have dexterity issues.
 
There was a write-up last year about this

www.diabetes.org.uk

What the Tresiba FlexTouch shortages mean for people living with diabetes

UPDATE, 20 NOVEMBER, 2023: According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Tresiba FlexTouch 100units/ml pens will be out of stock in the UK until December 2024. There are currently shortages of the Tresiba FlexTouch insulin pen, which could affect people living with diabetes who...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

I think the latest update that was circulated suggested that some of these shortages look likely to roll into 2025! 😱
 
That is interesting as a few months ago the pharmacy at my surgery couldn't get cartridges and I had to make do with a box of 5 Fiasp Flexpens. I have however had a prescription of Fiasp cartridges since then, which I was relieved about as not having half units and having to use those horrid cheap plastic disposable pens with no memory created quite a few problems for me, especially as I don't look at the display when I dial up a dose but just count the clicks and had to remember that each slick was a whole unit, so 4 units was just 4 clicks not the usual 8. I had a few near misses! 🙄
 
I've just seen this, after being moved from Tresiba Flextouch to Penfill in the past month or so. My theory is that the plastic that Novo uses to make the flextouch pens is being diverted to the manufacture of Ozempic pens, the demand for which will have gone through the roof recently and for which there is not, that I know of, a reusable pen option.

Either way, does anyone have any idea why the news item on the diabetes UK site, covering the shortage, suggests that people being switched from flextouch to penfill should pay particular attention to their blood sugars? As far as I am aware, the insulin in the cartridges will be exactly the same type and strength as that delivered in the flextouch pens, so why would patients' reactions to it be any different?

"Your healthcare team should provide you with a prescription for the pen device and show you how to use it. You should be advised too that you may need to more closely monitor your blood sugar levels during this time. " is the actual text in the article, to save you looking it up, and it's the second sentence that I'm asking about.

It's a bit of a strange ending, with no explanation of why just switching the injection device might affect your blood sugars, so I'm guessing it's just more of a reminder to keep control.
 
Greyman said:
It's a bit of a strange ending, with no explanation of why just switching the injection device might affect your blood sugars, so I'm guessing it's just more of a reminder to keep control.
Click to expand...
I think there was also a suggestion that some might be moved to some other insulin? Regardless, a change in device increases the chances of something going wrong (if you get a half-unit pen there's an obvious risk of getting the wrong dose).

But yes, of course there shouldn't be any problem for almost everyone.
 
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