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What should I have done?

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
AlexB

AlexB

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Last night when I was doing my insulin, my Novorapid pen jammed and wouldn't go any further. I only had 8 units when I was suppose to have 16, and this has never happened before so I didn't know what to do.

I just left it, I had my background insulin. Like I said this has never happened before, the nurses never told me what to do when this happened. What should I have done?
 
Are you on pre-filled pens or do you have a pen that takes cartridges? did you have any more pens? if so I would have got a new one and taken the other 8 units x
 
Hi Alex, the exact same thing has happened to me last night I injected my humalin im on 22 units it stopped and jammed on 10 so i did as you did rather then OD on it i left it . So id appreciate suggestions to
 
AlexB said:
Last night when I was doing my insulin, my Novorapid pen jammed and wouldn't go any further. I only had 8 units when I was suppose to have 16, and this has never happened before so I didn't know what to do.

I just left it, I had my background insulin. Like I said this has never happened before, the nurses never told me what to do when this happened. What should I have done?
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Hi Alex, first thing I would suggest is making sure you have a spare pen should this ever happen to you again (which I hope it doesn't). Were you injecting prior to a meal? If so, in your situation I would have just ditched half the carbs in the meal and filled up on something non-carb.
 
No, this was in the evening, I don't usually take my insulin till about a few hours after the meal in the evening. If this happens again I will be sure to use another pen. I just worry about accidental OD with insulin.
 
Is there a reason you inject after your meals? x
 
AlexB said:
No, this was in the evening, I don't usually take my insulin till about a few hours after the meal in the evening. If this happens again I will be sure to use another pen. I just worry about accidental OD with insulin.
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That's the right approach Alex - high levels aren't great but it's better than risking going too low, good move 🙂 Only inject more if you are absolutely sure about how much you received though - if the pen was faulty, it's hard to be sure how much you actually got.
 
I have pre-filled pens and always make sure I have a good stock in the fridge to cover for incidents such as this. Also, I always inject before eating so I can adjust my carb intake incase this happens when I'm out, as no doubt it will one day.
 
I have pens in the fridge I just didn't want to panic if I take the other 8 units. I tried to email my DSN but shes away so couldn't talk to her about it so I came on here for some advice.
 
I agree with Lucy, I inject up front but we don't know your reasons for injecting after although a couple of hours after does sound a bit much, but if this is the advice you were given then so be it lol x
 
It wasn't the advice I was given, I just don't like doing it straight after because I get scared of doing it. So I have to get the courage to do it. I shake when I do the injections, because of the sleep hypos I had where I didn't wake up. Sometimes I get my mum to do my injections. I do it when I go out to eat I don't wait a few hours then, its just when I am at home.
 
Hi sorry Alex not meaning to overtake your thread but as i stated earlier same boat as you, if a pen jams on me should i throw it away no matter how much insulin is left in it? x
 
AlexB said:
It wasn't the advice I was given, I just don't like doing it straight after because I get scared of doing it. So I have to get the courage to do it. I shake when I do the injections, because of the sleep hypos I had where I didn't wake up. Sometimes I get my mum to do my injections. I do it when I go out to eat I don't wait a few hours then, its just when I am at home.
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I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were anxious around injecting yourself. Can you ask your DSN if you can access psychological services to help you with this? My hospital offer psychological assistance for those having difficulties such as this xx
 
Steff said:
Hi sorry Alex not meaning to overtake your thread but as i stated earlier same boat as you, if a pen jams on me should i throw it away no matter how much insulin is left in it? x
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IMO yes x
 
Did you try it again after it jammed for an air shot to see if you could get it working again? either way I'd chuck it as you can never be sure that it wouldn't happen again, others may think differently but I'd rather start a new working pen 🙂 x
 
My understanding was that this jam is caused by an air bubble trapped in the needle and that it 'jams' to prevent this from getting into our blood stream but I don't know how where or when I picked this up lol. When I have a jammed pen I just change the needle and keep using, I will check how much is left when it jammed and inject 1 - 2 units less just to be on the safe side. Never had any problems doing this x
 
Sprogladite said:
My understanding was that this jam is caused by an air bubble trapped in the needle and that it 'jams' to prevent this from getting into our blood stream but I don't know how where or when I picked this up lol. When I have a jammed pen I just change the needle and keep using, I will check how much is left when it jammed and inject 1 - 2 units less just to be on the safe side. Never had any problems doing this x
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Sounds unlikely to me - you inject into subcutaneous fat, never into the bloodstream 😱 As the others have said, if a pen is faulty at any time, chuck it. Sounds wasteful, but it doesn't happen often and it's important that you can trust the equipment you are using 🙂 I've never had disposable pens, but it strikes me they must be less robustly made than a re-usable cartridge pen, and potentially more prone to failure :( Worse for the environment too! 😱 🙂
 
If I had any pen (either Rapid or Lantus) that was not doing quite as it should then it would be straight in the bin, no messing about.
It's so critical to have the correct dosage that if there's any doubt I'd get a new one (and have done so).
regards
zx
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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