Using your Lantus pen and drawing frron it with a syringe.

Hi this is Paula Nowak with Elvis The Cat. What I was wondering about is the insulin that's a unit in the insulin pen; will the same amount in a unit in the syringe be drawn up. I'm just wondering if the units on a syringe is the same amount as a unit in the Lantus pen? If someone was using the pen but I know that on here I need to use a syringe, so if you were going to give one uniti, is it the same amount of liquid in the syringe as it is in the pen. I mean it should be , that would be only be normal. but I could have sworn that when I was reading on here or maybe it could have been somewhere else, that you have to get a certain size syringe to be able to get the same amount as what you're using for when your drawing out of a Lantus pen with a syringe. I hope I explained myself well, but I really didn't know how I was going to explain this ! I've got so much on my mind this morning I'm so frazzled and Elvis has been bouncing up and down in numbers and right now I only have the Lantus solostar pen which is whole units and he has been in the 400s in the morning but in the evening he's always in the high one hundreds or very low 200s and it's been like that for days now so I don't want to give him two units of insulin when he is below 200, that is just crazy I think right? So I guess there's two instances hear that I'm writing about is the syringes and how much you're drawing up and if it's the same amount of in the unit that's in the pan that will fit into the syringe? I know that when I called Walmart and that's where I'm going to be getting my new meter my new human meter and I was thinking that I would get syringes because that would be the right way to go and someone on here told me yes you're going to also have to get syringesespecially if you have the Lantus pen and you can draw from the pain like it's a vial. I am definitely going to Walmart tomorrow and I am buying syringes and I am buying a human glucometer that I was told on here that I need to get if this is going to work and getting Elvis into remission. I know that I I'm supposed to start a spreadsheet but I am going to start it tomorrow hopefully with the new glucometer that I am getting I suppose I could start one and put in my old numbers but then the old numbers from the pet glucometer are going to clash with the numbers from the new glucometer, anyway I know I can do this I just need to calm down and move forward in faith. I'm also a little concerned about my veterinarian and she is getting back next week and I'm hoping that she's going to write me the prescription for the Lantus 5 pack of solar star pens which are at extremely good price at Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Vancouver Canada. of course I'm not telling her that I'm getting them from Canada because I don't know what she's going to say but they did say that I could get my insulin from any pharmacy that I choose. Another thing is that my sister is helping me pay for this and she is going to help me pay for the Lantus pens because they are under $200 for five of them and that seems to be the most economical way to go at this time and I will be able to use the pens like a vial and draw out the Lantus pen with a syringe, at least that's what I heard on here that I could do. I know my sister will not pay for a large vial of insulin and that is why I need to get the 5 pen pack. I'm so glad that my sister was able to help me because I just get SSI and that does not pay out that much and my roommate is looking for work and I have had to pay all of the electricity and all of the rent.

 

There are two different kinds of syringe for insulin, because insulin comes in two different concentrations. A container of insulin (whether it's a pen or a vial) that is marked U-100 has 100 units of insulin per ml. A container of insulin marked U-40 has 40 units per ml. A Lantus pen contains U-100 insulin, so you need to get a syringe that measures U-100 insulin.

When you buy syringes, there are 4 numbers you need to remember. Once you've gotten your first box, you can save the part of the box that has those numbers so that you can get the same type the next time.

First - what is the concentration? That is the U-100 or U-40
Second - what diameter is the needle? That is expressed in gauge - the smaller the number, the thicker the needle. The standard is 29g to 31g - it's not really critical, there's very little difference between 29g and 31g.
Third - how much does the syringe hold? This is important because cats get a very small amount, so you want a smaller size, with markings that correspond to the small doses we usually give. So you want a syringe that holds 3/10 of a cubic center, or 0.3 cc. Ideally, you should ask for one that has 1/2 unit markings, because we usually adjust doses by a quarter of a unit.
Fourth - how long is the needle itself? This may be given in inches or in millimeters. 12 mm is about 1/2". 1/2" seems to be standard, though you can get them slightly longer or slightly shorter.

You can click on the image below, and see all of those things on the box. ADW Diabetes is a good source for these, at a very reasonable price. You'll need to give your vet information because they may require a prescription. They will contact the vet to confirm.

 

Hi there. When you draw from a solo star pen with a syringe, you need U 100 syringes. The best reason to use the syringes as opposed to the needles that attach to the pens is so that you can control the dose better. With the attached needles, you can only draw in increments of 1 unit as opposed to be able to dose in between doses like .25 or .50 or .75.

The units from the pen and needle would be the same as the units you would draw from a U 100 syringe. You can get those syringes at Walmart. Their brand is only about 13 bucks for a box of 100. I use the 31 gauge, 6 mm length , 3/10. They are a blue box.

Could you start using the Spread Sheet that we all use here? And then make a signature and attach the SS to the signature so that we can see what numbers you are getting then we can help guide you with the dose? If you need help with that please yell and someone can help you.

 

I draw from my pen using the very same!

Relion*

 

I want to run something by you .At night he seems to be always in the low 200s or the high 190s or maybe even a lower than 190 so I give him one unit at night then in the morning he's back up into the 400s and this has been going on for about 2 weeks but it's happened a lot in the past also. Elvis was diagnosed as a diabetic November 1st of 2018 and it appears to me from what I noticed that he's lower at night and so I have given him a lower dose and then then the morning he shoots back up again, so it's like a vicious bing bang bing bang up down up down so do you think I should give him two units of Lantus at night; for example which is not an example because he was 220 just 10 minutes ago, so I'm thinking one unit and my roommate was thinking one unit, but you know he's going to be up to the 400s by morning as always, so I'm wondering if I should give him two units tonight and then he won't be in the 400s tomorrow but then I'm concerned because of the 220! So do you think a 220 deserves two units or just one unit ?? I'm really thinking one !

 

Most kitties will run lower at night. It is really difficult to give any dosing advise without seeing the numbers and you have been getting for the last few days. Would you be willing to set up a Spread sheet like the rest of us and it will help you to see trends and patterns and then the rest of us can see them too and offer suggestions to you.

 

yes sorry I know a lot of people on here have been telling me about the spreadsheets and I don't have any units for the dosing that I've been giving him with the pet glucometer. Well I haven't written down any units but I I have in the last week but before that I didn't record it because I didn't know about the spreadsheets and I am going to get a spreadsheet going. I wasn't able to get to Walmart until tomorrow Friday so I can get my new glucometer and strips and syringe so I'm going to be starting a spreadsheet over the weekend I know it's been a little bit slow for me and starting this spreadsheet but I have a lot of stuff going on and I'm just trying to get everything together with the fact of me having congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation at the same time and having a pacemaker . It's not all that bad for me because the way I look at it is Elvis comes first! He is my baby and I would go to the ends of the universe for him and that never ends!

 

With the syringes and stuff, you are worried it draws up a different amount, but as long as you have the U100 syringes, one unit is one unit. It’s a bit like asking if an ounce is still an ounce when it’s in a tall glass or a shallow pan; it is still one ounce no matter what! And a unit is a unit, whether it is out of a syringe or out of the pen. All the numbers about the right sizes and stuff is just because when humans have diabetes they often has MUCH larger doses of insulin, so there are some big syringes that will not do the tiny doses we need on our kitties! So follow the guide suggested above of what syringes to get.

And as for what dose to do; the people on here really need those mid-cycle readings before suggesting any dose changes! The readings before his shot do not tell the whole story and it’s really important to get more readings.

You can set up a spreadsheet with your current meter and the pen, then there will then at least be some data to begin with. When you get a new meter, just make a note of it on the spreadsheet, or leave a row as a gap or something so you can see when the new meter numbers are in use. It’s ok to have those two different readings on there as long as it’s noted so people looking can take that into consideration.