Diabetes Talking

Question:

Hi All Newsgroups have been playing silly buggers so not been able to post until now.  Started a new thread (sorry) as a result of losing the last the Quatermass!)  Showing my age now <g Readings have been encouraging if not consistent but (and lads, we have them so I am mentioning them) the time of the month is NOT the time to worry about my readings as they go haywire anyway (anyone else find that???)  so it’ll be another week or so until I can get some proper control and start always used a Novapen and there’s no comparison. I take the point that you can’t confuse them but I would take the Nova Pen anytime and take my chances. pens, I attended the clinic which was full to capacity and ONE nurse running around like a headless chicken trying to cope. I had literally 2 minutes while she demonstrated the pen at alarming speed. Next day got prescription for needles/cartridges etc and that night (only my second Lantus injection) used the pen. I know I was tired as I has worked a very long day BUT……I read the blurb and did all the safety tests and then went for What they had failed to tell me was that the big difference to the Optipen was that it doesn’t count down the dose…..the number you dial in is the number that stays there after the dose so you’ve guessed, I injected three times and it worked each time so got three lots!!!!  You have no proof that the injection has worked other than relying on the pen. Yes….insulin seeping out all over the place is a good sign but I can honestly say, this didn’t happen and I truly thought the pen wasn’t providing me with insulin. Now I know there are some that will call me stupid and that’s understandable but in my defence, I have only ever used a Novapen and been diabetic for 16 months. I am not an ‘old hand’ and everyone learns as they go I am not happy with the Clinic but if you had been there, you’d have been the same as me. I am not slow in coming forward but it was chaos and although I tried to ask questions and dug my feet in about it, in the end, there just was not the staff to cope and I got short changed. Having said that, I take full responsibility for my condition and am not trying to off-load blame……just that I think to take responsibility takes knowledge and that was not forthcoming. The outcome of the overdose was that I was shit scared (the understatement of the year!) but managed to go to bed with cake, biscuits Mars Bars and a big glass of milk – at least something good came of it then – and that soaked up enough insulin for me to wake-up in the morning. Optipen Users Beware!!!!!  Hope this may help someone to not make the same mistake as me. Margaret

Response:

Mine fluctuate with the WIFE’S timing:-) You may have a "time" but we blokes have a "time before " AND during.

Now why didn’t I see that coming…….of course the blokes have it worse <gggggg Is there no alternative to the Optipen for Lantus?

Apparently….and someone for goodness sake correct me if I’m wrong……as I understand it, the people who make the insulin (forget the company just now)  want to have you use their equipment so make the cartridges and needles non-compatable with other pens which is what we were saying the other day I think…….purely a business decision on their part to make more dosh! Oh wonderful!!. I hope you carried a box of Lucoz/Gatorade around with you for the rest of the night:-)

I not only had glucose tablets, glucowatch stuff, mars bars (note the plural) biscuits and cake but made up a sugar solution in a glass in case any failed or I needed them all!!! That’s a VERY common problem in this part of the world Margaret. If I were you, I’d go to syringes for the Lantus (even if you’ve currently got cartridges)

haven’t had the Optipen out of the box other than that night…….I am going to explore the possibility of changing it but I think what I said was true and that there’s no alterative so they can have the thing back and I can at least be sure when injecting with a syringe. This little incident has knocked my confidence in the Optipen as you’ll appreciate….perhaps I will try again…..but syringes for now.

Response:

Hi All Newsgroups have been playing silly buggers so not been able to post until now.  Started a new thread (sorry) as a result of losing the last the Quatermass!)  Showing my age now <g

So long as you’re not Boris Karloff look-a-like, you’re not THAT aged:) Readings have been encouraging if not consistent but (and lads, we have them so I am mentioning them) the time of the month is NOT the time to worry about my readings as they go haywire anyway (anyone else find that???)

Mine fluctuate with the WIFE’S timing:-) You may have a "time" but we blokes have a "time before " AND during.   so it’ll be another week or so until I can get some proper control and start

I suspect it might be. always used a Novapen and there’s no comparison. I take the point that you can’t confuse them but I would take the Nova Pen anytime and take my chances.

Is there no alternative to the Optipen for Lantus? Nova pens, I attended the clinic which was full to capacity and ONE nurse running around like a headless chicken trying to cope. I had literally 2 minutes while she demonstrated the pen at alarming speed. Next day got prescription for needles/cartridges etc and that night (only my second Lantus injection) used the pen. I know I was tired as I has worked a very long day BUT……I read the blurb and did all the safety tests and then went for

I can feel what’s coming here!!!!!! What they had failed to tell me was that the big difference to the Optipen was that it doesn’t count down the dose…..the number you dial in is the number that stays there after the dose so you’ve guessed, I injected three times and it worked each time so got three lots!!!!

Oh wonderful!!. I hope you carried a box of Lucoz/Gatorade around with you for the rest of the night:-)   You have no proof that the injection has worked other than relying on the pen. Yes….insulin seeping out all over the place is a good sign but I can honestly say, this didn’t happen and I truly thought the pen wasn’t providing me with insulin. Now I know there are some that will call me stupid and that’s understandable but in my defence, I have only ever used a Novapen and been diabetic for 16 months. I am not an ‘old hand’ and everyone learns as they go

))))))))))) You could say that! )) I am not happy with the Clinic but if you had been there, you’d have been the same as me. I am not slow in coming forward but it was chaos and although I tried to ask questions and dug my feet in about it, in the end, there just was not the staff to cope and I got short changed. Having said that, I take full responsibility for my condition and am not trying to off-load blame……just that I think to take responsibility takes knowledge and that was not forthcoming.

That’s a VERY common problem in this part of the world Margaret. If I were you, I’d go to syringes for the Lantus (even if you’ve currently got cartridges) The outcome of the overdose was that I was shit scared (the understatement of the year!) but managed to go to bed with cake, biscuits Mars Bars and a big glass of milk – at least something good came of it then – and that soaked up enough insulin for me to wake-up in the morning. Optipen Users Beware!!!!!  Hope this may help someone to not make the same mistake as

me. And at least you sirvived the night. Beav

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I not only had glucose tablets, glucowatch stuff, mars bars (note the plural) biscuits and cake but made up a sugar solution in a glass in case any failed or I needed them all!!! That’s a VERY common problem in this part of the world Margaret. If I were you, I’d go to syringes for the Lantus (even if you’ve currently got cartridges) haven’t had the Optipen out of the box other than that night…….I am going to explore the possibility of changing it but I think what I said was true and that there’s no alterative so they can have the thing back and I can at least be sure when injecting with a syringe. This little incident has knocked my confidence in the Optipen as you’ll appreciate….perhaps I will try again…..but syringes for now.

I know what you where going through here, the night I was released from hospital after diagnosis I got the 2 insulin quantities mixed up and started to go hypo quite soon after that. I found that the advise about teaspoons of sugar didn’t work too well so I had about half a cup dissolved in warmish water and that was 4 times during the night. After this problem of yours, I would really suggest you make sure you have GlucaGen available and I would recommend using it in a situation such as you had. That is what they would do in the Hospital casualty unit. It is not a nice way to deal with bad hypo but it is very effective. I would use syringes if you can as Lantus would normally be injected at home so you normally would not have to carry it around. If you would like to use a pen, and you are not to confidant at the moment, why not  use the pen for practice on a nice piece of fruit such as an orange, just throw the orange away afterwards, just use a syringe to inject yourself while you gain confidence. I realise it is a waste of insulin but you will get confidence and at no risk to yourself. Maybe you could get a pen loaded with water for practice, that is how nurses are trained to give sub coetaneous injections, just using a syringe and water. Hopefully you won’t have more experiences like this, I know it is very unpleasant and quite scary, of course the body produces a massive amount of adrenaline to really help with this so the fear aspect is exaggerated a lot. Regards, Sid. mwillia at mweb dot co dot za

Response:

Margeret, I swear to God I had exactly the same experience, I reckon I took about 80units of Lantus on the first night I had it, before I realised how the pen worked. Thanks God for my girlfriend who remained very calm, went to the shop and got four litres of lucozade and set the alarm for every hour during the night to check my BG reading. The optipen is shite, utter and total shite. Hopefully lantus will soon be compatible with a novopen, by far the simplest pen to use in my opinion. I also think that changing the cartridge is a bloody degree course in itself, and I also hate when you are nearing the end of a cartridge and you try dial up the required amount, say 30u, it only lets you dial how many it thinks is left, I don’t know whether to trust it or not. Regarding Lantus, It has stopped my massive peaks ( I used to have a lot of 16’s 17’s etc) but since I never really suffered from bad hypo’s, it’s not made too much difference. My last hBa1c was 7%, just like the two before it when I was on insultard. Anyway, glad you made it through the night    I thought I was a goner. I’m also newly diagnosed (almost 12 months now, 24 yrs old type 1) and this NG has been a Godsend for me, hope to speak with you for years to come Stef

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All Newsgroups have been playing silly buggers so not been able to post until now.  Started a new thread (sorry) as a result of losing the last the Quatermass!)  Showing my age now <g Readings have been encouraging if not consistent but (and lads, we have them so I am mentioning them) the time of the month is NOT the time to worry about my readings as they go haywire anyway (anyone else find that???)  so it’ll be another week or so until I can get some proper control and start always used a Novapen and there’s no comparison. I take the point that you can’t confuse them but I would take the Nova Pen anytime and take my chances. Nova pens, I attended the clinic which was full to capacity and ONE nurse running around like a headless chicken trying to cope. I had literally 2 minutes while she demonstrated the pen at alarming speed. Next day got prescription for needles/cartridges etc and that night (only my second Lantus injection) used the pen. I know I was tired as I has worked a very long day BUT……I read the blurb and did all the safety tests and then went for What they had failed to tell me was that the big difference to the Optipen was that it doesn’t count down the dose…..the number you dial in is the number that stays there after the dose so you’ve guessed, I injected three times and it worked each time so got three lots!!!!  You have no proof that the injection has worked other than relying on the pen. Yes….insulin seeping out all over the place is a good sign but I can honestly say, this didn’t happen and I truly thought the pen wasn’t providing me with insulin. Now I know there are some that will call me stupid and that’s understandable but in my defence, I have only ever used a Novapen and been diabetic for 16 months. I am not an ‘old hand’ and everyone learns as they go I am not happy with the Clinic but if you had been there, you’d have been the same as me. I am not slow in coming forward but it was chaos and although I tried to ask questions and dug my feet in about it, in the end, there just was not the staff to cope and I got short changed. Having said that, I take full responsibility for my condition and am not trying to off-load blame……just that I think to take responsibility takes knowledge and that was not forthcoming. The outcome of the overdose was that I was shit scared (the understatement of the year!) but managed to go to bed with cake, biscuits Mars Bars and a big glass of milk – at least something good came of it then – and that soaked up enough insulin for me to wake-up in the morning. Optipen Users Beware!!!!!  Hope this may help someone to not make the same mistake as me. Margaret

Response:

Margeret, I swear to God I had exactly the same experience, I reckon I took about 80units of Lantus on the first night I had it, before I realised how the pen worked.

It’s nice to hear I am not the only one……although I am very sorry you had the same experience. This is what is great about the NGroup isn’t it? Just glad we both woke up to read about it The optipen is shite, utter and total shite.

Amen to that!!!!  I hope the manufacturers read this NG !!! Hopefully lantus will soon be compatible with a novopen, by far the simplest pen to use in my opinion.

And Amen to that as well!! I also think that changing the cartridge is a bloody degree course in itself, and I also hate when you are nearing the end of a cartridge and you try dial up the required amount, say 30u, it only lets you dial how many it thinks is left, I don’t know whether to trust it or not.

Trust is a great way of describing it. The Optipen just doesn’t give you any confidence like the Novapen. As I only used it once, I haven’t got through a cartridge and intend to use up the cartridged insulin with syringes but with the Nova pen, after dialing up, if there isn’t enough insulin in the cartridge then it stops and you can read off the amount left you need to ‘trust’ and then work out what is still needed. Now I know this isn’t rocket science but haven’t we got enough to be sorting out without the added shite pens???  No doubt the manufacturers will put this down to ‘teething problems’ and I agree, I won’t make the same mistake again but that’s NOT the point is it??  They should have made sure they made the pens as user-friendly as possible for diabetics…….should have asked Novapen to make them then Regarding Lantus, It has stopped my massive peaks ( I used to have a lot of 16’s 17’s etc) but since I never really suffered from bad hypo’s, it’s not made too much difference. My last hBa1c was 7%, just like the two before it when I was on insultard.

Great news   I too seem to be levelling more. Although I have only been on it a a few days, I was having the high peaks at night then bouncing in the morning and it seems to be having the desired effect on that so far. Anyway, glad you made it through the night    I thought I was a goner. I’m also newly diagnosed (almost 12 months now, 24 yrs old type 1) and this NG has been a Godsend for me, hope to speak with you for years to come Stef

and grey…….Oh…….forget the grey…..there already <g Margaret

Response:

Good thinking. Now I won’t expect a "Margaret found dead in bed chock full of insulin" post anytime soon Beav

Continental Chocolates’  :-) Margaret

Response:

Mine fluctuate with the WIFE’S timing:-) You may have a "time" but we blokes have a "time before " AND during. Now why didn’t I see that coming…….of course the blokes have it worse <gggggg

You’re laughing… I forgotton how too:-))) Is there no alternative to the Optipen for Lantus? Apparently….and someone for goodness sake correct me if I’m wrong……as I understand it, the people who make the insulin (forget the company just now)  want to have you use their equipment so make the cartridges and needles non-compatable with other pens which is what we were saying the other day I think…….purely a business decision on their part to make more dosh!

I’d still go for the syringes if you think you could EVER do the "3x" thing again. Oh wonderful!!. I hope you carried a box of Lucoz/Gatorade around with you for the rest of the night:-) I not only had glucose tablets, glucowatch stuff, mars bars (note the plural) biscuits and cake but made up a sugar solution in a glass in case any failed or I needed them all!!!

Any bloody exceuse to scoff the forbidden fruit:-)) That’s a VERY common problem in this part of the world Margaret. If I were you, I’d go to syringes for the Lantus (even if you’ve currently got cartridges) haven’t had the Optipen out of the box other than that night…….I am going to explore the possibility of changing it but I think what I said was true and that there’s no alterative so they can have the thing back and I can at least be sure when injecting with a syringe.

And that’s the main point. Hi-tech stuff isn’t always the best.  This little incident has knocked my confidence in the Optipen as you’ll appreciate….perhaps I will try again…..but syringes for now.

Good thinking. Now I won’t expect a "Margaret found dead in bed chock full of insulin" post anytime soon Beav

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Margeret, I swear to God I had exactly the same experience, I reckon I took about 80units of Lantus on the first night I had it, before I realised how the pen worked. It’s nice to hear I am not the only one……although I am very sorry you had the same experience. This is what is great about the NGroup isn’t it? Just glad we both woke up to read about it The optipen is shite, utter and total shite. Amen to that!!!!  I hope the manufacturers read this NG !!!

As it is highly unlickley you should at least phone them and tell them your experiance so they change the instructions. If you do it in writting they by law have to take notice also tell your complain to your doctor and they can issue a yellow ticket (I think that is what it is called). I was given Humalog instead of Humalog Mix 25 I complained and as it had happened before they redesigned the pack so the chemist would have to be blind now to make the same mistake. — DaveT T1 since 1955 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hopefully lantus will soon be compatible with a novopen, by far the simplest pen to use in my opinion. And Amen to that as well!! I also think that changing the cartridge is a bloody degree course in itself, and I also hate when you are nearing the end of a cartridge and you try dial up the required amount, say 30u, it only lets you dial how many it thinks is left, I don’t know whether to trust it or not. Trust is a great way of describing it. The Optipen just doesn’t give you any confidence like the Novapen. As I only used it once, I haven’t got through a cartridge and intend to use up the cartridged insulin with syringes but with the Nova pen, after dialing up, if there isn’t enough insulin in the cartridge then it stops and you can read off the amount left you need to to ‘trust’ and then work out what is still needed. Now I know this isn’t rocket science but haven’t we got enough to be sorting out without the added shite pens???  No doubt the manufacturers will put this down to ‘teething problems’ and I agree, I won’t make the same mistake again but that’s NOT the point is it??  They should have made sure they made the pens as user-friendly as possible for diabetics…….should have asked Novapen to make them then Regarding Lantus, It has stopped my massive peaks ( I used to have a lot of 16’s 17’s etc) but since I never really suffered from bad hypo’s, it’s not made too much difference. My last hBa1c was 7%, just like the two before it when I was on insultard. Great news   I too seem to be levelling more. Although I have only been on it a a few days, I was having the high peaks at night then bouncing in the morning and it seems to be having the desired effect on that so far. Anyway, glad you made it through the night    I thought I was a goner. I’m also newly diagnosed (almost 12 months now, 24 yrs old type 1) and this NG has been a Godsend for me, hope to speak with you for years to come Stef and grey…….Oh…….forget the grey…..there already <g Margaret

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Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Margeret, I swear to God I had exactly the same experience, I reckon I took about 80units of Lantus on the first night I had it, before I realised how the pen worked. It’s nice to hear I am not the only one……although I am very sorry you had the same experience. This is what is great about the NGroup isn’t it? Just glad we both woke up to read about it The optipen is shite, utter and total shite. Amen to that!!!!  I hope the manufacturers read this NG !!! As it is highly unlickley you should at least phone them and tell them your experiance so they change the instructions. If you do it in writting they by law have to take notice also tell your complain to your doctor and they can issue a yellow ticket (I think that is what it is called). I was given Humalog instead of Humalog Mix 25 I complained and as it had happened before they redesigned the pack so the chemist would have to be blind now to make the same mistake.

Chemists?? I’ve had Humalog 3mm carts given to me on 3 occasions when the scrip clearly says 1.4mm. I’ve had  boxful of broken Humalog bottles (did you know they don’t actually fall apart when they’re broken?? The label holds them together so you end up trying to shoot broken glass into yourself)? I’ve had Beef NPH given to me instead of Beef Lente, I’ve had Ultratard instead of Insulatard and I’ve even had a "package" with NOTHING in that for me, but for some woman with a name ENTIRELY unsimilar to my own. Beav

Response:

Good thinking. Now I won’t expect a "Margaret found dead in bed chock full of insulin" post anytime soon Beav Continental Chocolates’  :-)

And you forgot "Wrappers". There’d be no sign of chocolate, cake or anything edible I’m sure ) Beav

Response: