Hi SteveR

I am a Type 2, "graduated" to Lantus (one stick/day) & Metformin for some 2
years now. I have NO experience with syringes and was given an Aventis
Optipen Pro 2. I took to this with no problems whatsoever. Just dial up my
dose and inject into the belly area. If I happen to be out at stick time, I
don't even bother to roll up my shirt so couldn't be more discrete. The same
would apply if you are a thigh stabber.

You have already outlined many of your perceived advantages of a pen over a
syringe and I can only agree with you; plus other advantages you will
discover for yourself. (space in the box for a spare cartridge, spare
needles etc)

Personally, I would say go for a pen if you can. Best of health and control
whichever method you choose.

As you have already used a syringe try the pens for yourself. You can go
back at anytime you want to just ask them for a vial insteasd of the
penfills, you have already done the iffy bit :-). I doubt you will go back
to a syringe though. Get a pair of pens though in case one fails, always
have a backup.
I am pleased all went well though.
--
DaveT
T1 diagnosed 11/12/1955
BeefL & Lispro
DAFNE

The only disadvanmtage I know of with a pen is the inability to adjust bolus
to less than 1 unit, which might not matter for type 2, but probability will
matter for a type 1.

I did NOT say definitely, but only might.

Alan H

30 unit syringes get my vote

and when you prefill them (to say 25 units),
you can estimate a shot to .1 unit
(+/- .2 unit); only the last shot of
the syringe is uncertain due to the
uncertainty of just how far the
plunger actually goes in the 1st
unit of the syringe

why would anyone drag around a clunky
(not to mention expensive) insulin pen?
only reason i can think of is bad eyesight

i mean, not only are the pens clunky but
if you lose a pen (or damage it so it
can't be used), does the NHS give you
another one for free?  what about 2 or 3?

anyhow, i prefill my shirt pocket syringes
with either beef-neutral (slow) or
pork-neutral (somewhat faster),
i use both so i have that option.
the amount is most often only 5 units,
but if i'm doing something where
i want to for sure have insulin for
3+ days, i'll prefill 3 30's to up
to 25 units

neutral (also called soluble or R(egular))
is the most robust insulin for temperature
(see P.S.)

i've done this for the last 8 years with
no worries.  needless to say, i use the
same syringe multiple times until it is
empty and then snap off the tip (for
later safe disposal).  pretty doggone
convenient.  :)

don't worry about accidently pushing in
the syringe plunger when it's in your
shirt pocket; i've never had it happen.
i do fold a piece of ordinary paper up,
to hide the syringe(s) from ordinary view
of others

btw, it is very easy to get by with only
3 shots per day of beef-neutral coz it
has residual to about 12 hours.  i call
it "pseudo pumping"

bill t1 since '57 ex 8-yr pumper, beef-L 1x, simple MDI

P.S.

synthetic "human" insulin lasts close to
100 years with good refridgeration and
5% potency loss (same is true for pork and beef):

Jens Brange's '87 "Galenics of Insulin" has Table 16/p.59
time of storage of insulin preparations at various temperatures
until biological potency is reduced by 2% and 5% respectively

i believe that these are all (?) "human" insulins as beef and pork
appear (to me) to be either named directly or ref'd as "monocomponent"
(if i'm wrong about this, chances are someone will say so.  :))
another question is what brands were used for the SL and L and UL?
afaik, Actrapid and Rapitard are Novo.   one other point worth
mentioning is that prior to '87 Novo's "human" insulin was
semi-synthetic and not rDNA

   Insulin-prep     4° C         15° C        25° C          40° C
   Actrapid     36 / 92 yrs   5 / 13 yrs  12 / 31 months  5 / 14 weeks
   Semilente    45 / 115 yrs  4 / 11 yrs  7 / 18 months   2 / 5 weeks
   Lente        36 / 91 yrs   3 / 9 yrs   5 / 14 months   1 / 4 weeks
   Rapitard     22 / 55 yrs   3 / 8 yrs   7 / 17 months   3 / 7 weeks
   Ultralente   19 / 48 yrs   2 / 5 yrs   4 / 10 months   1 / 3 weeks

although UL (UltraLente) looks "weakest" here, another
chart in the book shows a similar table specific to
"breakdown "toxins"," and in that table the protamine
containing insulins (NPH and PZI) look "bad" (relatively
speaking :)) compared to the other insulins
(i think "Rapitard" (above) is a.k.a. NPH)

worth noting is that at 40C (slightly above body temperature),
Actrapid (aka "human"-Regular), lasts for 14 weeks with only
5% potency loss (zowie!)

finally, toxin build-up (due to age/temperature) have only been
a very minor issue with insulin over the 80+ years of insulin
(at least with regard to beef and pork and "human" insulins)

finally, it is likely that acidic insulins have a very
short shelf life, especially Lantus