Filling your own pens

[Eric]

@DaveJ

As promised, here is a work up on how to refill your own Novopen cartridge refills, using a vial from a disposable Levemir pen, and the needle cap from a Lantus Solostar pen.

Hey, thanks for this Dave! Awesome stuff. I think DDIY is great.

I started a loooong time ago with DDIY and I am glad to see this noble art is alive.

[Chris]

That is quite inventive, thanks for adding to our knowledge! I wouldn’t have thought of that on my own.

[mike_g]

I use levemir in disposable pens (vials are not available at my pharmacy) and humalog and regular in vials.

Could I use the levemir cartridges with a Lilly Luxura HD pen? I’d plan to rinse them and refill with H or R, per the instructions above. I note that the Novo pen requires special treatment (Lantus caps, and I don’t use lantus). I wonder if the Lilly pen would work better with a Levemir cartridge?

[Eric]

@mike_g

Could I use the levemir cartridges with a Lilly Luxura HD pen?

I don’t think they will fit.

I don’t know for sure, because I haven’t used the Levemir cartridges, only Levemir vials. But since Levemir is made by a different company, I don’t think the cartridges are interchangeable with the Lilly pen.

[DaveJ]

Levemir cartridges are too narrow and too long to fit into a Luxura or Savvio Pen.
2nd picture shows them side by side illustrating the difference.
They will fit into a NovoPen, but it takes some parts hacking to get it to work correctly.

Filling your own pens

As promised, here is a work up on how to refill your own Novopen cartridge refills, using a vial from a disposable Levemir pen, and the needle cap from a Lantus Solostar pen. First off, the big difference to note between the Humapen and the Novopen is that on the Humapen, the needle threads are built onto the pen body, but on the Novopen, the needle thread is part of the actual cartridge. [Humapen_Novapen_sm] In the next picture, on the left you can see how the threaded cartridges sticks out …

Empty Lantus vials fit perfectly just as they are. Don’t know for sure if Basaglar vials will fit since they are so fragile I have never successfully salvaged one. I just turn Basaglar pens back for refilling as Eric shows here:

Refilling the Lilly KwikPen disposable pen

The Lilly KwikPen is a disposable insulin pen. But a lot of people may not know, you can actually refill it and re-use it! It’s very easy to do. Just two simple steps Notice in this picture how the plunger is all the way to the top. This Kwikpen is empty. Also notice that the black advance screw is pressed up against the plunger. [IMG_2238] This is the dosing button I am referring to: [IMG_2239] Step 1: Hold the base of the pen. Push the dosing button up into the base of the pen, and wh…

[chris53]

Apparently, the Luxura HD pen has been withdrawn from sale and replaced by a model called the Savvio. The Savvio apparently uses the same cartridges, but one YouTube video showed that they bayonet mount to the pen. So I am guessing that the cartridges are usable in both the Luxura HD and the Savvio, but have been modified to include the bayonet mount. Has anyone tried to refill the new bayonet mount cartridges? Thanks

[Eric]

@chris53

Has anyone tried to refill the new bayonet mount cartridges? Thanks

Welcome to FUD!

I have not tried the new ones, but if you are looking for a 1/2 unit pen that uses Humalog, their disposable KwikPen Junior is refillable and has 1/2 unit doses. And it is actually smaller than the Luxura, which is also nice.

Scroll down a bit on this page to get to the the KwikPen Junior:

Humalog U-100 Insulin | Humalog® (insulin lispro injection) 100 units/mL

[chris53]

Thanks so much Eric!

[Wasp99]

If you’re just refilling a cartridge with the same insulin and not flushing it with saline, how do you sterilize the inside of the cartridge where it was exposed to the outside air when the cartridge was empty, and the stopper was pushed all the way in?
Same goes for when you’re removing the stopper completely I guess, there is always that portion of the cartridge that was exposed to the outside.
Thanks!

[Eric]

You could swish some alcohol in it and dump it out if you want. But I have not ever had any problems with it. Insulin is a lot tougher than people think.

[amit0290]

@Eric

I don’t know for sure, because I haven’t

I am refilling my cartidge from viale by injcting the cartidge however after filling it, the result are not same, i need to take extra dose from cartidge. Is it normal?

[Eric]

@amit0290

i need to take extra dose from cartidge. Is it normal?

If you are filling it with the same type of insulin and there are no air bubbles in it, it will be the same.

But if you are getting different results there might be something else happening where your body needs more insulin than normal.

[Chris]

1. Are you priming before each injection?
2. Are you sure there are no air bubbles?

[amit0290]

There is single bubble showing in it.

Also is my re-filling the cartidge process correct?

I am refilling it with the help of syringe, filling the insulin in the syringe and fill it from the mouth of cartidge by inkecting it

[Eric]

@amit0290

There is single bubble showing in it.

If it is a small air bubble and the air bubble is not coming out of the needle when you inject, it’s not too much of a problem. When air bubbles get very big, you get less insulin with each injection because the air bubble compresses. But little bubbles are okay, as long as you do not inject them instead of the insulin.

@amit0290

I am refilling it with the help of syringe, filling the insulin in the syringe and fill it from the mouth of cartidge by inkecting it

Yes that sounds correct.

[amit0290]

Can i see a video how to refill it just to be sure.

Thankyou for support

[MMansouri]

Hello and thank you for this.
I have tried to fill an empty novolog (novorapid) cartridge with R so I can use it in my Novopen. I have followed the steps and flushed the cartridge with saline. However, the rubber stopper keeps popping out each time I inject the cartridge to fill it.
Is this normal? and is the insulin sterile now since it got exposed to the air because of the rubber stopper popping out?

[Eric]

@MMansouri

However, the rubber stopper keeps popping out each time I inject the cartridge to fill it.

Are you filling it too far? Maybe if you fill it with less insulin it won’t pop out?

I don’t think exposing it to air briefly will cause problems. When you use a vial, you inject air into the vial, and the air you put in the vial is not sterile…

[MMansouri]

Yes that could be it. I guess I have to do it slower as well.
Thanks!

[Chris]

You could also use a syringe to remove as much air as possible from the cartridge prior to you trying to fill it. And an advanced thing you could try if you have too much air, is to put the rubber septum facing upward. Insert a needle without a syringe, and then push on the stopper until all the air was removed, then inject the rest of the insulin into the cartridge.