I will definitely keep the next (good) empty kwikpen when I have one. As you are injecting from the bad pen into the empty one does the “plunger” move as it fills up? Also with the empty extra kwikpen - is there a way to flush with water because there’s always a bit of insulin in there and I can imagine that would get old/gross(?)
For using the last bit via syringe - Would I take a syringe and stab the front (after taking off the pen needle obviously) and draw it out?
I’m relatively new to all of this.
Would having some blood in the insulin render it ineffective? I did google that and a few forums said it would still be fine while a couple others are like “omg, throw it away now!”
First, yes, when you inject into the empty kwikpen the plunger will move as you fill it up, no problem there.
Yes, stabbing a needle into the kwikpen septum to get out the last bit would be exactly how you do it. After removing the needle and wiping the septum with an alcohol swab if you want to be cautious and clean.
We have proven over and over again that the modern insulins last a lot longer than expected. But I am not sure what the life on 70/30 is. If you wanted to be extra cautious, you could flush it out with dilutent that is supplied by the insulin companies at no charge. Search the forum for instructions. Don’t use non-sterile water.
I personally would not use insulin that had the blood in it.
Thanks for all the info and feedback. While googling “blood regurgitation into insulin pen” (ah the joys of this condition and the weird sh*t that happens) I discovered in my readings that I am not really injecting correctly and with my new non-Satanic kwikpen I have adjusted my ways and have almost no dribbling or any insulin waste beyond a tiny drop after pulling out. Awesome.
You should have seen the look on my husband’s face when I showed him the pink insulin. He was mortified that I was thinking about using it and said “That’s disgusting” and “That’s going to go bad - do you want to die?” Lol
I do plan on calling Express Scripts tomorrow to complain since I did throw out quite a bit. Not expecting much but we’ll see.