For those who use pen insulin, if your last available dose in the pen is not enough for your disage, do just throw it away and open a fresh pen? Or, do you inject the remaining insulin, open up a new one and inject the remaining additional units? How about the effectiveness of such approach? I have never asked that question to my doc. I will ask her on my next visit. Just wondering how you are doing it.

These past few weeks, I have been wasting insufficient remaining insulin from the current pen. Like today, I still have 32 units left in the pen. My dosage is 56 units. I threw away that pen and opened a new one (which I think is wasteful). And insulin is not cheap.

My daughter usually uses the last of the vial, then makes up the rest with the new one.
Yes, it is expensive.

I don’t mind mixing insulin if I am using “vial”. But Im using pen, which also meant I have to poke myself 2x to inject the “catch up” dose. It’s not fun poking myself twice.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
My daughter usually uses the last of the vial, then makes up the rest with the new one.
Yes, it is expensive.

I stick myself twice. Insulin costs too much to justify the minor inconvenience.

If it is less than 10 units I just throw my wife's away and get her another one.
But we have really good insurance.

Two sticks here also

2 sticks here also, unless it's trivial amount, like 5iu

Thanks fellows. For those doing 2 sticks, same injection site? Or different sites?

I've been type 1 for 34 years. Only used the pen insulin for a few years before changing to a pump 8+ years ago.
But when I used the pen, I would use the remaining insulin first unless it had 5 or 6 units or less, then open a new pen.
Always, and I cannot stress this enough, always use a different injection site. You want to avoid the build up of scar tissue for injection sites as long as possible.
Don't get me wrong, you can be close (maybe an inch or two away), just not the same place.

quote:

For those doing 2 sticks, same injection site? Or different sites?

after 30 years, I _still_ have lots of good injection sites left...but twice in a row is just often too tender to have to endure for no good reason.

I pick another zone on the other side & complete the dose with a new pen. AND new point.

Ill finish the first and go to the 2nd to complete the dose. If the pen is less than 28 days and has been refridgerated, I dont think twice. If the initial pen has 3 units or so left, I ding it and go fresh. I always swap injection spots. ie: left thigh to right thigh. my .02.

A couple more insulin pen shots a day does not phase me, and I try to provide a little room between the injections, so I just usually use all the insulin in a pen. My daily regimen includes several small injections. IMHO you must first determine what your best regimen should be, and then tailor that regimen to fit a particular day of varying activity and meals. I test, and adjust my amount of insulin before each meal, and before bed.

If the pen needles are painful, go down in gauge - I use a 31 gauge, the BD micro, and I barely notice any discomfort, and after 40+ years I find practically zero scaring at the injection sites.

If only slightly lower than the dose I want I just stick once... if significantly lower amount in pen then I stick twice.

I get my insulin from the VA, but don't like to waste it.

Two sticks, waste not-want not.

Type 2 here. I usually finish the dose with another pen. If the initial pen is a few units less than the dose, I usually just say it's enough and will use a new pen for the next injection.

flashguy

I went ahead and retrieved the last pen with 32 units remaining from my to be discarded med container. This is the first time injected 2x to complete my current dosage of 56 units. Injecting twice was not bad at all. I can’t believe I wasted those other pens.