New to Humalog

Bob said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give myself an injection or can I
use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

I don't think the Humalog cares; but most needles these days are designed to only be used once.
Given how cheap needles are when compared to test strips, I don't see any reason to reuse them.

Colin Percival

Bob wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give

myself

Quoted message said:

an injection or can I use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

Depends on how frugal and careful you are.

I use each needle four times. Some folks use them more often.

You cannot use the same needle for Lantus and another insulin.

Regards
Old Al

You are supposed to replace a needle after one use. However, I know hardly any diabetics who do. I
will use a needle 2 or 3 times. But, I don't let them sit overnight. (No, I don't know
why...everyone has their quirky little habits.) Because I take 3 injections in the morning (Humalog,
Lantus, and a study medication) I use 3 different needles, and then mark the Humolog and study
medication needles for reuse. Never, never, never use a Lantus needle with any other type of
insulin. Steph

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give

myself

Quoted message said:

an injection or can I use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

before I got a pump I was on MDI for 18 years. I usually would use a syringe a couple or three times
unless I had accidently nicked it putting the cover back on.

On a related note, I use lancets for months before replacing them.

If you feel nervous about reusing them, then DON'T!

dave

Bob said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give myself an injection or can I
use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give

myself

Quoted message said:

an injection or can I use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

before I pumped, I used the same syringe till it "hurt" might have been 2-3x or 5-6x just depended.

never use the same needle for Lantus!

go with your gut feeling, and don't wipe off the needle with alcohol, it takes the err whatever
stuff off and dulls it faster.

i use the B&D Ultra Fine needles with the insulin pen, and i use the same needle for the entire
cartridge (over a week for me.... maybe 2 weeks?)

if the needle gets bent when you replace the little cap on the end of it, that will require a needle
change before the cartridge is used up

kate
--
Join us in the Diabetic-Talk Chatroom on UnderNet /server irc.undernet.org --- /join #Diabetic-Talk
More info: diabetic-talk.orgdiabetic-talk.orgOpen ↗

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give

myself

Quoted message said:

an injection or can I use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

Bob said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give myself an injection or can I
use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

I probably get 4-5 uses from each one.

Sleepy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Colin Andrew Percival said:

I don't think the Humalog cares; but most needles these days are designed to only be used once.
Given how cheap needles are when compared to test strips, I don't see any reason to reuse them.

Colin Percival

My diabetes nurse said that these modern needles shouldn't be used more than once because they
become "barbed" (as in barbed hooks).

For hygien reasons I see no reason why you couldn't use the same needle twice on your self.

/Erika

The first ten years of your life you try to be just like your parents. Then for then years you try
to be as little as your parents as possible. Then you gradually change in to them.

Colin Andrew Percival <[email hidden]> wrote on Thu, 30 Oct 2003
13:55:23 +0000 (UTC):

Quoted message said:

Bob said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give myself an injection or can
I use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

Use it as many times as you like, until it starts being difficult or painful to insert. [Don't let
anybody else use it, of course!]

Quoted message said:

I don't think the Humalog cares; but most needles these days are designed to only be used once.
Given how cheap needles are when compared to test strips, I don't see any reason to reuse them.

Save the environment! They might be cheap, but that's no good reason to waste them.

Also, if you're going to be travelling, if you're using syringes/needles lots of times you only need
to take a handful with you. If you use them just once, you need a lorry-load. There's also less
hassle finding somewhere to throw them away.

Quoted message said:

Colin Percival

--
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany) Email: [email hidden]; to decode, wherever there is a repeated
letter (like "aa"😉, remove half of them (leaving, say, "a"😉.

Stephanie Kolban <[email hidden]> wrote on Thu, 30 Oct 2003 09:03:08
-0600:

Quoted message said:

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My question is this: Do I need to replace the needle everytime I give myself an injection or can
I use it more than once. Thanks for replying.

Quoted message said:

You are supposed to replace a needle after one use. However, I know hardly any diabetics who do. I
will use a needle 2 or 3 times. But, I don't let them sit overnight. (No, I don't know
why...everyone has their quirky little habits.) Because I take 3 injections in the morning
(Humalog, Lantus, and a study medication) I use 3 different needles, and then mark the Humolog and
study medication needles for reuse.

What a hassle!

Quoted message said:

Never, never, never use a Lantus needle with any other type of insulin. Steph

Why not? Would it kill you? [Those were rhetorical questions]

This quoted paragraph sounds rather like the syringe manufacturers' "Never, never, never use a
disposable syringe more than once.".

Does anybody have any negative experiences caused by using the same needle for Lantus and
something else?

I would say, if you need to inject yourself with several analogs, one of which is Lantus, and you
only have one needle, then use that needle for all of them. Whatever the disadvantages of this might
be, they'd be nowhere near as bad as missing out half you insulin or analog.

--
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany) Email: [email hidden]; to decode, wherever there is a repeated
letter (like "aa"😉, remove half of them (leaving, say, "a"😉.

Alan Mackenzie wrote in message ... (. . .(snip). . .

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Never, never, never use a Lantus needle with any other type of insulin. Steph

Why not? . . .(snip). . .

Does anybody have any negative experiences caused by using the same needle for Lantus and
something else?

--
Alan Mackenzie

Mixtures of Lantus and other insulins form precipitates. They are reputed to clog the needle.

My sister-in-law's control improved after she stopped using the same syringe for Lantus and Humalog.
She is on psychiatric meds so Lord knows what was, and is going on but I suspect air shots with a
clogged syringe.

Regards
Old Al

Alan, I've responded below, with a little snipping.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You are supposed to replace a needle after one use. However, I know hardly any diabetics who do.
I will use a needle 2 or 3 times. But, I don't let them sit overnight. (No, I don't know
why...everyone has their quirky little habits.) Because I take 3 injections in the morning
(Humalog, Lantus, and a study medication) I use 3 different needles, and then mark the Humolog
and study medication needles for reuse.

What a hassle!

Yes, it is a hassle. It is also a pain in the ass, leg, and stomach : ) But, I cannot mix the
Humolog and Lantus in the same needle. Also, I take the study med just before I eat. (I'm talking
the food is on the plate, and I am about to sit down.) I take it just before I eat because it makes
me queasy if I take it earlier.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Never, never, never use a Lantus needle with any other type of insulin. Steph

Why not? Would it kill you? [Those were rhetorical questions]

No, it wouldn't kill me. But, it wouldn't do much for me either. I'm not sure if the mixing of
Lantus with Humolog reduces the effectiveness of the Lantus or of the Humolog. I think it messes up
the Humolog because my endos have told me NOT to inject Lantus and then to use the same needle for
Humolog. (I believe that even the residue from the Lantus can reduce other insulins' effectiveness.)
I've seen several good explanations in this newsgroup as to the how and whys, but I don't recall the
chemistry behind it.

Quoted message said:

This quoted paragraph sounds rather like the syringe manufacturers' "Never, never, never use a
disposable syringe more than once.".

No, I wasn't quoting anyone. I was simply emphasising my point. I've seen the ads regarding reusing
syringes, and how the needles becomes blunted. Those pictures don't bother me. The point here is to
not mix with Lantus. I mix and reuse my syringes when dealing with Humolog and Humilin N.

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have any negative experiences caused by using the same needle for Lantus and
something else?

I would say, if you need to inject yourself with several analogs, one of which is Lantus, and you
only have one needle, then use that needle for all of them. Whatever the disadvantages of this
might be, they'd be nowhere near as bad as missing out half you insulin or analog.

Fortunately, I've never found myself in that situation. I don't know what I would do. I
would probably take the Humolog as often as necessary, until I could get to a pharmacy to
get more syringes.

I would mark my Lantus syringe with a different color, and reuse it if I took more than one
injection of it a day. But, since I have my own weird rule of not letting a used syringe sit
overnight, I use a fresh one every morning.

Steph (in Texas)

Quoted message said:

--
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany) Email: [email hidden]; to decode, wherever there is a repeated
letter (like "aa"😉, remove half of them (leaving, say, "a"😉.

Is there any method for calculating the amount of insulin you need to inject. My Dr has set me up to
take 6 units of Humalog, 5 minutes before a meal. What if my sugar is very high then or what if I am
going to eat a meal with more than the usual carbs, can I adjust my dosage and by what increments?
Again, thanks to all who responded to my original inquiry.

Quoted message said:

Yes, it is a hassle. It is also a pain in the ass, leg, and stomach : ) But, I cannot mix the
Humolog and Lantus in the same needle. Also, I take the study med just before I eat. (I'm talking
the food is on the plate, and I am about to sit down.) I take it just before I eat because it makes
me queasy if I take it earlier.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Never, never, never use a Lantus needle with any other type of insulin. Steph

Why not? Would it kill you? [Those were rhetorical questions]

No, it wouldn't kill me. But, it wouldn't do much for me either. I'm not sure if the mixing of
Lantus with Humolog reduces the effectiveness of the Lantus or of the Humolog. I think it messes up
the Humolog because my endos have told me NOT to inject Lantus and then to use the same needle for
Humolog. (I believe that even the residue from the Lantus can reduce other insulins'
effectiveness.) I've seen several good explanations in this newsgroup as to the how and whys, but I
don't recall the chemistry behind it.

Doesn't bother the Humalog, but the Lantus will precipitate out if you mix it. Lantus is soluble
only at acid Ph, most other insulins are somewhere near neutral ( The N in NPH stands for NEUTRAL )

Lantus's long run time is a result of it precipitating out AFTER injection, when it is
reasonable well scattered. So the behavior of Lantus will be impacted severely by mixing it with
any other insulin.

Humalog if mixed with standard mid acting insulins such as NPH reacts with the NPH. The potency is
not lost, but the run time is altered to look much more like NPH then Humalog, so there is an HPH
like version of Humalog available that can be mixed, and won;t react.

get that information from your doctor. some folks here take it upon themselves to play doctor.
ignore their "help". I'm telling you this for YOUR protection.

dave

Bob said:

Is there any method for calculating the amount of insulin you need to inject. My Dr has set me up
to take 6 units of Humalog, 5 minutes before a meal. What if my sugar is very high then or what if
I am going to eat a meal with more than the usual carbs, can I adjust my dosage and by what
increments? Again, thanks to all who responded to my original inquiry.

Bob wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Is there any method for calculating the amount of insulin you need to

inject.

Quoted message said:

My Dr has set me up to take 6 units of Humalog, 5 minutes before a meal.

What

Quoted message said:

if my sugar is very high then or what if I am going to eat a meal with more than the usual
carbs, can I adjust my dosage and by what increments? Again, thanks to all who responded to my
original inquiry.

Good grief, another diabetic who found a medical support system which assumes that angels will
come down from heaven and help the patient gauge his insulin requirements.

Some answers:

Rule of 1800

IF you are in reasonable bG control and IF you are shooting Lantus or
Ultralente as basal, divide your total daily units of insulin into 1800.

That number is a rule-of-thumb "first guess" (and usually a d*mn good one BTW) of your mg/dL insulin
sensitivity.

Now use that number to knock down spikes, i.e.

If that number happens to be 45, and you are at 180 mg/dL, then

(180 - 100) = 80, 80/45 ~ 2, shoot 2 units of Humalog

Rule of 450

IF you are in reasonable bG control and IF you are shooting Lantus or
Ultralente as basal, divide your total daily units of insulin into 450.

That number is a rule-of-thumb "first guess" (and usually a d*mn good one BTW) of your gram carb per
unit of insulin sensitivity.

Now use that number to calculate your Humalog-dose-before-a-meal.

Suppost that number is 13,

My meal has 65 gram of carb,

65/13 = 5, shoot 5 units of Humalog

Sliding scale Control means you add the "high bG correction" to the "gram carb per unit of insulin"
calculation.

i.e., Suppose this guy described above is at 180 mg/dL and wants to eat 65 gram of carb

He should shoot 2 units to knock down the spike and 5 units to handle the carb, total = 7.

Hint: Shoot, then wait 30 - 45 minutes before eating. Knock the before-meal spike down before you
add the after-meal spike. The ADA calls this "Leading"

These are very conservative, empirical rules-of-thumb. In general, you keep notes and figure out
your exact sensitivies. Most people will end up shooting a bit more insulin then these rules-of-
thumb call for.

Also, if you have really high bG, the mg/dL per unit of insulin sensitivity is affected. You get an
artificial form of Insulin Resistance and must shoot extra insulin to compensate. If I am over 200
mg/dL, I shoot extra. How much extra is something I figured out by trial and error, just like you
will have to.

Hint: Hook up with a CDE nurse. They know insulin much better than the docs. You can find one at a
Diabetic Support Group Meeting. Check your local hospitals for Support Group meetings. I attend 3 a
month in two cities.

Keep coming back. Many of us have learned this stuff "The Hard Way".

Regards
Old Al

Bob, The really short answer is: 1u of Humolog = 15g of carbs 1u of Humolog = 50 point drop in sugar

So, if you need a 50 point correction in your sugars, and are going to eat 45g of carbs, you would
take 4u of Humolog.

Now, the above is a VERY general rule of thumb. Everyone is different. It depends on you,
exercise, your basal requirements, food, and everything else in the world. (sickness, stress, are
you resistant to insulin, how much basal you take, what kind of basal you take, when you take
your basal, are you in decent control, is there a lot of fat in your meal, etc) It is much more
complicated than the short answer. You should discuss your personal insulin requirements with
your doctor.

Steph

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there any method for calculating the amount of insulin you need to

inject.

Quoted message said:

My Dr has set me up to take 6 units of Humalog, 5 minutes before a meal.

What

Quoted message said:

if my sugar is very high then or what if I am going to eat a meal with

more

Quoted message said:

than the usual carbs, can I adjust my dosage and by what increments?

Again,

Quoted message said:

thanks to all who responded to my original inquiry.

Thanks Matt. I knew someone out there knew which was affected and why. Steph

"matt weber" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yes, it is a hassle. It is also a pain in the ass, leg, and stomach : ) But, I cannot mix the
Humolog and Lantus in the same needle. Also, I

take

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the study med just before I eat. (I'm talking the food is on the plate,

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am about to sit down.) I take it just before I eat because it makes me queasy if I take it
earlier.

Quoted message said:

> Never, never, never use a Lantus needle with any other type of

insulin.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Steph

Why not? Would it kill you? [Those were rhetorical questions]

No, it wouldn't kill me. But, it wouldn't do much for me either. I'm

not

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sure if the mixing of Lantus with Humolog reduces the effectiveness of

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Lantus or of the Humolog. I think it messes up the Humolog because my

endos

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have told me NOT to inject Lantus and then to use the same needle for Humolog. (I believe that
even the residue from the Lantus can reduce

other

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

insulins' effectiveness.) I've seen several good explanations in this newsgroup as to the how and
whys, but I don't recall the chemistry behind it.

Doesn't bother the Humalog, but the Lantus will precipitate out if you mix it. Lantus is soluble
only at acid Ph, most other insulins are somewhere near neutral ( The N in NPH stands for
NEUTRAL )

Lantus's long run time is a result of it precipitating out AFTER injection, when it is reasonable
well scattered. So the behavior of Lantus will be impacted severely by mixing it with any other
insulin.

Humalog if mixed with standard mid acting insulins such as NPH reacts with the NPH. The potency is
not lost, but the run time is altered to look much more like NPH then Humalog, so there is an HPH
like version of Humalog available that can be mixed, and won;t react.

Bob said:

Is there any method for calculating the amount of insulin you need to inject. My Dr has set me up
to take 6 units of Humalog, 5 minutes before a meal. What if my sugar is very high then or what if
I am going to eat a meal with more than the usual carbs, can I adjust my dosage and by what
increments? Again, thanks to all who responded to my original inquiry.

Humalog is a fast-acting insulin. I use a similar one (Novolog) myself. I find that it can give me
lows very quickly if you use too much and/or don't eat enough. I also find that it can sometimes
wear off too quickly when I'm eating a mixed meal (grains, meats, vegetables, etc.) and I end up
with a spike 2 or 3 hours later. For example, I've checked my blood sugar one hour after such a meal
and it was 58, then checked it again two hours after the meal and it was 132. I find that if my
blood sugar is high one hour after finishing the meal, then I have usually not injected enough of
the novolog, since the two hour reading is usually higher than the one hour reading.

That said, I believe you need to get some better advice, from your doctor or some other
professional. If you're going to use fast-acting insulins, you must eventually figure out what
works by a trail and error process of keeping track of how much you eat and inject and what were
the results.

I suspect 6 units would be too much if your starting out with a blood sugar of 105 and decide to
give the atkins diet a try. On the other hand, if you decide to pig out at waffle house, it probably
wouldn't be enough.