Lantus injection pens...can they be used?

Hi....
I am back on this board after a long time away. Some of you may remember me by my old username-Amberdawne. I have two diabetic kitties...Holly and Emmy. Holly was diagnosed almost 3 years ago and Emmy almost 2 years ago.I also had Leo....my first diabetic cat. He was diagnosed in 2006 and has since gone to heaven.
My question is....can I use the Lantus pens that come with the 5 cartridges. I understand that they are not marked in 1/2 units but where they are unit markings, could the 1/2 unit be eyeballed?
I currently use the 5 pack of Lantus cartridges but for some reason Walmart is no longer selling them alone, they have the pen with them.
My next question is....can I use the cartridges that come with the pen....can I use regular needles with them instead of using the pen. I am unsure of the structure of them. Are you able to still use them with needles even though they come in a pen form?

Thank for any help you can give me!

Amber
Holly & Emmy

 

You don't need to use the insulin pen or pen needles. Just use the cartridge with an insulin syringe. The Lantus sticky has a picture of how to do this: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151

A similar question was posted in Community the other day for pre-filled insulin pens, such as the Lantus SoloStar and Levemir FlexPens: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11925 There is a picture in that post of how to use insulin syringes with a pre-filled insulin pen.

 

That is what I have been doing for the past few years, using the cartridges with needles. The problem I am having is the cartridges are now sold with the pen included. Are the cartridges fixed within the pen so they cannot be removed? or does the package just contain a pen with 5 cartridges that you insert into the pen yourself? I just have to know this info before I buy the cartridges that NOW include the pen. I have never seen the pen/cartridge combo before and just don't want to waste my money if I get them home and find out that the cartridges are already inserted into the pens and cannot be removed. Do you know what I mean?

 

you just take the cap off the pen and leave the cartridge where it is, insert your syringe, and ta-da!

in other words, back in december i got a box of 5 already assembled pens. when i decided to switch to lantus, i just pulled one off, took the cap off it just as i would if i were going to write with that pen, and inserted my syringe into the rubber end of the now exposed 3ml cartridge, drew up what i wanted, withdrew my syringe, put the cap back on the pen and laid it back in the fridge.

i have not tried to remove the cartridge from the pen as there's no need to so i don't know if it's removable. i assume it is though.

 

Great...thanks for the great info! I am off to buy some Lantus!

 

Actually, I like that it is in the pen. To me it adds a little bit more protection if it gets knocked on to the floor. However, if you still use either a vial or cartridge, I recommend that you wrap either a paper towel or cotton around it and store it in an empty prescription bottle. That little trick has saved me many times from having to replace insulin. Callie has a very bad habit of knocking things off of the counter or table when she is demanding my attention and a few times the insulin was her victim before I had a chance to put it away.

 

The cartridge probably isn't removable from the pen, but as said above, there's no need to remove it to use the syringe.

As to actually USING the pen, I used to do it for a while with Levemir and found the dosing to be very inaccurate.

Being off by nearly a unit isn't a problem for *people* using the pen, but for a cat on 1.5 units it's disastrous. Unless you are dosing very large amounts, I wouldn't use the pen.

 

That means that the pen is the same box as the cartridges but they are separate from each other.

Lantus OptiClik cartridge:


Where the OptiClik cartridge goes in an the insulin pen (for Human diabetics):



Just to clarify, you are using the Lantus OptiClik cartridges and not the Lantus SoloStar pens, correct?

The Lantus SoloStar pens are pre-filled with 3ml of Lantus (basically like a disposable ballpoint pen already filled with ink). You cannot remove the reservoir containing the insulin from the pen at all. When the pen is empty or when you start to see wonky higher than usual bgs, then you just toss the entire pen away and start a new pen.