Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by catlover on July 27, 2012 at 1:00pm

I reuse pen needles as long as they appear clean, no blood or not bent from the injection. I usually change them 1x a day. Using them for 3 shots. I put the cap back on them.

I find the insulin last just as long.

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Permalink Reply by tyler on July 27, 2012 at 1:20pm

I change mine if I have extra needles in my pocket or my car if not I just make sure the cap is on good and reuse .

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on July 27, 2012 at 1:54pm

i always use a new one. my cde said always use a new one, the nurse i usually see said i could reuse them.

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on July 27, 2012 at 1:58pm

one more thing, adam, can i ask why you switched back to pens? ive only ever used pens but everyone is all gung ho on the pump. did you not like it? (im a bit reticent about having the machinery, kind of scares me).

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Permalink Reply by BackIrish on July 27, 2012 at 2:05pm

I have been advised that if you can afford a new needle for each injection, use one. A used "dull" needle causes more scar tissue which over time can play havoc with insulin absorption.

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Permalink Reply by adam nash on July 27, 2012 at 4:13pm

I am at the beach on a little vacation and didn't want to deal with the pump and sand and infusion set get soggy so I switched to shots for now. But I will also be switching back in about a month when my pump supplies run out bc supplies are expensive with a high insurance deductible

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Permalink Reply by Clare on July 27, 2012 at 5:14pm

what did you switch back from ? Just me being nosy as I am planning on switching to the Omnipod pump once it is smaller but the rep at the company said they are still awaiting FDA approval. But to answer the question, I always switch out needles. First because I get 500 needles for 3 months which is a bit more than 5 per day. Second because I use pen needles for both lantus and humalog and they are not supposed to be mixed and keeping them distinct would take me too much effort. The nano needles are so small but they do create a lot of litter. I don't know about how quickly insulin will go bad if you reuse needles sorry I'm not really a wealth of information besides my own experience.

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Permalink Reply by adam nash on July 29, 2012 at 7:37am

Animas ping. I'm talking about leaving the needle on the pen and recapping

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Permalink Reply by christy on July 27, 2012 at 5:16pm

When I was on MDI, I'd change the needle with each new pen. I reused needles for several times for years when I was doing injections and never had problems with infections or insulin going bad, or absorption problems.

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Permalink Reply by Shawnmarie on July 27, 2012 at 5:50pm

I change once a day (three shots per needle). Lately, I've been doing an air shot of a couple units even when I don't change the needle just to make sure what I'm injecting is all fresh from the pen and not something that's been sitting in the needle -- probably unnecesssary, but I figure it can't hurt.

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Permalink Reply by Chad R on July 27, 2012 at 6:55pm

If it is convenient (i am at home) I change the needle for each shot, but if I am on the go and don't want to carry a buch of extra stuff with me I will re use a needle a few times and then change it out later. I normally don't notice any difference, however a few times it has gotten a bit dull and really pinches when it breaks through the skin.

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on July 28, 2012 at 4:24am

I change pen needles every time. With my insurance, they are cheap. My insurance company used to send me a hundred free with every insulin order, but that stopped. Still, I think it costs me $40 for nine boxes of 100 which lasts me a while changing every time.

Dr. Bernstein actually admits he reuses syringes until they get "dull." At his age, perhaps scarring isn't a concern. With pens, my biggest worry is that if you leave the needle on, you have a path to contaiminate your insulin. I've never seen any studies of the issue, so I think in the end everyone should just make their own call.

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