why I'll never use anything other than Monoject syringes

I hope the photos included come out okay, it's a tiny camera and getting close-ups is hard.
pic 1 - Monojects have a 12.7mm needle length compared to most new syringes that have gone from 8mm to 6mm. It's a nightmare getting a 6mm needle into a long haired cat.
pic 2 - Look how much thicker the plungers are on Monojects. It's awful having a squirming cat and getting the plunger 1/2 way down before it binds on you.
pic 3 - The plunger caps (for lack of a better word) are twice the size on Monojects. You'll get a way better feel for how far the plunger has gone down especially if you often have to work in low light because of migraines.
pic 4 - The plunger tabs on Monojects are made of a softer plastic and are much bigger than on BD's. Again, this is just something you feel and I cannot put into numbers.

If anyone can't find these it might be because Monoject partnered up with Coviden. The 29gauge 1/2cc 12.7mm needle are product code 8881600848 If you're really lucky you might find 30 gauge 1/3cc syringes. I know people get set in their ways but I'll never go back. I've had to use BD's for 2 weeks and Noah got his first fur shot in years. Do not let the needle length put you off, it's easy to deal with if you're a tent injector.

 

That came out all wrong. Text first, then the pics!

 

monojects were one of the last two brands i ordered, i like them and like that they are individually wrapped. they are only 8mm though, almost too short now for my long hair cat whose fur is super thick again.

think i found some of the 29g 12.7mm ones you are talking about just now but, they don't look like they have half units markings on them. do yours??

 

I am a convert to the 8mm Monojects, did take a bit of time to adjust to the thin lines which are a little harder to see.

 

Mine are U100, 0.5cc with 50 lines so each line is 0.01cc. They say "Insulin" and "50 units" but for me that's not right. A Caninsulin unit is 0.025cc. When Nigel was switched to Caninsulin I was given "Special" (especially expensive) official Caninsulin syringes which are the only syringes I've ever seen that are not marked in 0.01cc markings. Instead I was given a 1cc syringe with 40 lines and told each line was 1 unit. They're big enough for a donkey and 28 gauge which made Nigel shriek. That's how I did the math and ended up with these, found under an inch of dust in an old drug store. Mine might not look like yours because I special order them from pharmacies in Canada, where I live. So to answer your question about half units, 1 line on mine is 0.4 units. It works good for me in metric because generally if Noah is at 20 I just divide that in 2 and give him 10 lines which is 4 units. Noah is a high-dose bouncer.

 

If anyone else is scratching their head at the math please ask first. Changing syringes is not always as easy as it looks and the numbers I quoted are for Caninsulin only. And what I get from my vet may not be the exact same thing you get from yours.

 

I wish the vendors would provide a 10 unit syringe. That way we could have 1/4 unit marks and accomplish better micro-dosing. I bet 95% of kittehs get less than 10 units per dose.

 

I can't remember what Nigel was on before switching to Caninsulin. With other insulins what is considered a unit? What Noah gets requires 0.025ml to make one unit and what ticked me off was that I was just sent home with a vial and a general guideline but no math. My vet's partner was just horrified that I had "deviated" from the norm changing syringes. Such a prude.