Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stephaniebeth on January 14, 2013 at 10:16am

Dear Stuart,
I am a 50 year Joslin Clinic medalist,so have had many years of experience. Although I have been on the pump for the past 12 years, there have been a few situations where I have had to use a syringe when I am ill. I have not heard anything about discontinuing types of BD syringes. So all I can say is to talk with your doctor and call BD about this. I did get a notice in my last box of syringes that explains that the scale is changing to include mL/cc. That is 1/2 cc has changed to 0.5 mL/cc. I know how how frustrating equipment changes can be...we have enough to manage without this confusion. So I do hope that you are able to access the equipment you need. Best wishes, Stephanie

Permalink Reply by MegaMinxX on January 14, 2013 at 8:23pm

Try searching online sites such as American Diabetes Wholesale.

Permalink Reply by JaninaWalker on January 14, 2013 at 8:47pm

I'm a 31 year duration T1 who is 55 and I've used BD 29 gauge since 1986 and use the same syringe 60-150 times. I bought my third box of 100 syringes a couple of months ago that I haven't even started yet as I'm still using my last 10 syringes of the last box of 100 that has lasted me 14 years. So 29 gauge is pretty good. I hope they don't decide to stop making that type too. I've heard the 31 gauge does break easily. Mine is the 3/10 cc type. So, even if you can't get the 28 gauge, the 29 will probably work for you.

Permalink Reply by Gustavo Adolfo Villar on January 15, 2013 at 12:09pm

Hello Stuart,
I am a type 1 diabetic with 54 years of injections (three times during the first 3 years, and then twice a day thereafter) and just like you, only the 28 gauge will not bend in my skin. I was buying the BD 28 gauge, 1/2 cc, 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) long (No. 328465, shown below) in boxes of 100, but now it's getting harder to get (CVS pharmacy still sells it but you have to put and order, and they require a doctor's prescription), so I looked around and found a similar product in Walmart also made by BD (gauge 28, 1/2 cc, ~1/2 inch (13 mm) long, Reorder No. 329465) for about the same price (around 30 dollars) without prescription and without insurance. As far as reusing the syringes, I done that without any problems (just like I use to with my glass syringes, with non disposable needle. However the glass syringe and needle you could boil often. The plastic disposable ones you can not. You can only clean them with strong alcohol after each use, and then let the alcohol dry completely before you use it again. So I would not reuse them too many times, keep it to a minimum and only if neccessary. I do not know if you can still buy the old glass syringes and corresponding needdles. Those would be safer to reuse. I hope this helps.