Thursday, March 29, 2012

insulin pen thoughts

i saw a tweet that made me think of this ... i've never used an insulin pen.

humalog.com

when i was diagnosed, i used a bottle of insulin and a needle/shot to do injections. for six weeks. then i started on my insulin pump.

the few times (maybe three) i have had to take injections since i got my pump - due to a malfunction or something, while waiting for my replacement pump - i used the same thing.

i've never been given an insulin pen as an option. i don't even really know how they work. is it still a needle? does it just shoot insulin in so fast it doesn't need a needle?

not that i need one, or am planning to use one, just a random thought i had. i've had diabetes for almost 12 years, and i've never used (or even seen in person) an insulin pen.

9 comments:

  1. I'm with you! I went on the pump in 1993, and before then, I used regular needles and insulin bottles. My doctor recently gave me a pen to have in case of emergency - but it's sitting in my refrigerator, in the box, so I've never really held one/seen one in person either. How funny!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I used a pen while on a rafting trip a couple years ago. Seemed like it was nearly identical to shots. There is a screw on needle at the tip of the pen. You're supposed to replace it on every use, which means you have to carry spares. You take it just like a shot. Guess the advantage is not having to carry a separate vial with you, but that's a pretty minor change, considering you still have to carry spare needle tips.

    ReplyDelete
  3. you screw a needle to the top. i used one briefly, but i always preferred the syringes. when i tried them, you couldn't draw up 1/2 units. not sure about now though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used a pen for about a year before I got my pump. They're way better than syringes! You basically just screw on a little cap that has a needle in it and replace it every time you use it. It looks waaaaaay less sketchy than a syringe :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. i really don't like the pen commercials. they make it seem like SUCH an inconvenience to use syringes. i never felt that way. and in one i saw this morning, it showed a grandpa doing his shot at the breakfast table with his granddaughter there and the voice-over said something like "now i don't have to explain what i'm doing at breakfast". like, i get they are trying to say it's discreet, but this is your granddaughter, not a stranger you're explaining what you're doing to. is it bad that she knows that grandpa has diabetes? what's that about? that really annoyed me

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm on MDI and use a pen called the Memoir. It's nice because it remembers (hence the name) the date/time/amount of the last 20 shots I took. Sometimes a girl forgets if she bolused or not! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. My pump died on me last week, and I had a spare pen in the fridge, so I was doing MDI for a day. I love the pen just because I like just being able to twist the end to get the right dose. Plus, they do not need refrigeration once opened. Also, they are discreet. I work in an open cubicle environment and I gave myself shots all day without anyone noticing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm both a pen & syringe user. I prefer the syringe overall because I feel that it is more accurate--I have no scientific basis for that, it's just how I feel. BUT, the pen is so darned easy to use! Dial it up and stick. It's incredibly more discreet. No checking for bubbles. I can even dose while driving (Not encouraging anyone to do anything but driving when they're behind the wheel). I use syringes for Lantus, and a Humalog pen for meals.

    I'm Type 2, but the insulin resistance drugs have not worked for me, hence MDI and no chance for a pump.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nine years and I've never used a pen either.

    I got a pen to try Symlin years ago, but I was so confused by it and so unsure about even trying Symlin that I never actually used it.

    ReplyDelete