I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD Ultra-Fine
syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to use
with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5 mm Pen Needles
that I use with my Humalog pens and are the same length as the
syringe needles I was using before.

Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I get a bad
stinging immediately after I inject the insulin. It hurts so
bad that I have a hard time holding the pen in place for 5-10
seconds as I was instructed to do. I never get this stinging
with Humalog pen injections and never got it with Lantus
injected with syringes. I have tried injecting in the same
spots I used with the syringes but it still stings.

The stinging is worse right after injecting and slowly goes
away in about a minute. I called the PA, she told me that
Lantus stings sometimes for some people. After I told her I
kept the Lantus pen in the refrigerator between uses, she said
to make sure the Lantus was warmed to room temperature before
injecting . I tried that this morning but it did not help,
even with warm Lantus I got the stinging.

Madison Type 1

don't keep the pen in the fridge

Lantus will last 28 days unrefridgerated and you should have
used it up by then

also, move to a smaller/shorter needle for your Lantus

the pharmacy can order in shorter needles for the
pen........ kate
--
Join us in the Diabetic-Talk Chatroom on UnderNet /server
irc.undernet.org --- /join #Diabetic-Talk More info:
http://www.diabetic-talk.org/
http://www.diabetic-talk.org/freeveggies.htm I have no medical
qualifications beyond my own experience. Choose your advisers
carefully, because experience can be an expensive teacher.

"Madison" <madison_satonospam~yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:XWqle.2451$7p.1406~fed1read06...
  > I recently switched from injecting Lantus with
BD Ultra-Fine syringes to
  > injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
Cartridges. I was given some
  > 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to use with the
Lantus. These are longer than
  > the 5 mm Pen Needles that I use with my Humalog
pens and are the same length
  > as the syringe needles I was using before.
  >
  > Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I
get a bad stinging
  > immediately after I inject the insulin. It hurts
so bad that I have a hard
  > time holding the pen in place for 5-10 seconds
as I was instructed to do. I
  > never get this stinging with Humalog pen
injections and never got it with
  > Lantus injected with syringes. I have tried
injecting in the same spots I
  > used with the syringes but it still stings.
  >
  > The stinging is worse right after injecting and
slowly goes away in about a
  > minute. I called the PA, she told me that Lantus
stings sometimes for some
  > people. After I told her I kept the Lantus pen
in the refrigerator between
  > uses, she said to make sure the Lantus was
warmed to room temperature before
  > injecting . I tried that this morning but it did
not help, even with warm
  > Lantus I got the stinging.
  >
  > Madison Type 1
  >
  >

"Madison" <madison_satonospam~yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:XWqle.2451$7p.1406~fed1read06...
  >I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD Ultra-Fine
  >syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
  >Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to
  >use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5 mm Pen
  >Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the same
  >length as the syringe needles I was using before.
  >
  > Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I get a bad
  > stinging immediately after I inject the insulin. It hurts so
  > bad that I have a hard time holding the pen in place for
  > 5-10 seconds as I was instructed to do. I never get this
  > stinging with Humalog pen injections and never got it with
  > Lantus injected with syringes. I have tried injecting in the
  > same spots I used with the syringes but it still stings.
  >
  > The stinging is worse right after injecting and slowly goes
  > away in about a minute. I called the PA, she told me that
  > Lantus stings sometimes for some people. After I told her I
  > kept the Lantus pen in the refrigerator between uses, she
  > said to make sure the Lantus was warmed to room temperature
  > before injecting . I tried that this morning but it did not
  > help, even with warm Lantus I got the stinging.
  >
  > Madison Type 1

Hi Madison,

I've had this from time to time and there seems to be no
pattern to it. Sometimes it stings and sometimes not. I'm not
even sure if it's related to a particular batch. Have you
tried pushing the plunger a little slower?

On Thu, 26 May 2005 14:10:25 -0700, "Madison"
<madison_satonospam~yahoo.com> Huffed and Puffed the following
into the madness of usenet:

  >I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD Ultra-Fine
  >syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
  >Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to
  >use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5 mm Pen
  >Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the same
  >length as the syringe needles I was using before.
  >
what gauge were your syringes?

the pen needles, are they made by the same people who made the
pen or are they made by another company? I use generic BD pen
needles with no problems.

Mâck©® Type 1 since 1975 http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org
http://www.diabetic-talk.org http://www.insulin-pumpers.org

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President right or wrong, is
not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public." ...Theodore Roosevelt

(o o) --ooO-(_)-Ooo--------------------

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I
like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Madison wrote:
  > I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD Ultra-Fine
  > syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
  > Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to
  > use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5 mm Pen
  > Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the same
  > length as the syringe needles I was using before.
  >
  > Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I get a bad
  > stinging immediately after I inject the insulin.

Ever since I started using Lantus I have noticed a slight
stinging when I inject. Nothing that causes me too much
discomfort but I do notice the difference between Lantus and
Humalog that I use for bolus. Could have something to do with
the consistency of Lantus, if you notice when filling a
syringe it seems to be "thicker" or at least seems that way
because it fills the chamber slower. If the pain becomes too
much for you then you definitely should discuss this with your
doctor. Personally, the slight stinging is just one more minor
annoyance that I learned to just grin and bear it...well maybe
not so much grinning.

Best, Kurt

"Ma¢k" <youknow~yourenutty.com> wrote in message
news:if8d911sd3dkgcpno6smogm31ipgmm0nbd~4ax.com...
  > On Thu, 26 May 2005 14:10:25 -0700, "Madison"
  > <madison_satonospam~yahoo.com> Huffed and Puffed the
  > following into the madness of usenet:
  >
     >>I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD Ultra-Fine
     >>syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
     >>Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to
     >>use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5 mm Pen
     >>Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the same
     >>length as the syringe needles I was using before.
     >>
  > what gauge were your syringes?
  >
  > the pen needles, are they made by the same people who made
  > the pen or are they made by another company? I use generic
  > BD pen needles with no problems.
  >
  > Mâck©® Type 1 since 1975

The needles I use with the Lantus pen are BD 31 gauge, 8mm. I
do not think it is the needle causing the stinging. I do not
feel anything until I start pushing the plunger, then it
starts stinging.

I wish I could try the old syringes with Lantus but I do not
have a vial of Lantus, only the cartridges. I started on the
Lantus pen when my last vial of Lantus expired.

Fester said that he sometimes gets stinging with his Lantus.
He suggested I should inject the Lantus slowly tomorrow and
see if that helps. I am going to leave the Lantus pen with an
open cartridge out of the refrigerator. Tiger Lily told me to
keep it out and after reading over my instructions, they say I
can leave an open cartridge out for 28 days.

Madison

  > Madison wrote:
     >> I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD
     >> Ultra-Fine syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with
     >> 3-ml Lantus Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen
     >> Needles to use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5
     >> mm Pen Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the
     >> same length as the syringe needles I was using before.
     >>
     >> Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I get a bad
     >> stinging immediately after I inject the insulin.
  >

To begin, I don't inject so please factor that in. But I
remember you said the pen needles were longer than the syringe
needles. So I have to ask, is it possible you're going through
the fat layer and impinging on the underlying muscle? We know
you're athletic and don't have a lot of sub-q fat.

Just a thought, Peter G.

There are a few different reasons why Lantus will sting when
injecting. First, it is extremely acidic. Have a look at the
drug insert and I think you will find an amazingly low Ph. The
other reason why it can sting is because there are insulin
crystals forming around the injection. Lantus, in very basic
laymen terms, consists of crystalized insulin dissolved in an
acid. When you inject, your body neutralizes the acid and
allows the crystals ro reform in the fatty tissue where they
slowly dissolve and enter your blood stream.

Now, as to stopping the sting. When I first started, I had
some injections that brought tears to my eyes they stung so
bad. I quickly found that warmed Lantus seems to hurt less.
I'm not talking room temp, I'm talking body temp. After I draw
a dose, I warm it to near body temp by holding it in my mouth
(like a pencil) or in my hand until it no longer feels cool.
If you have switched to a pen, I'm not sure how you would do
this or if you would want to. Lantus will keep for nearly 30
days at room temp, but I doubt it would appriciate being
heated every evening. I also find that injecting in the outer
thigh seems to sting much less that anywhere else. Lastly, a
very slow injection seems to help me as well. I start the
injection and if it starts stinging, I just stop pushing the
plunger and wait until it subsides. Once it does, I continue.

HTH

jlutes, T1, USA

"Madison" <madison_satonospam~yahoo.com> wrote in
news:XWqle.2451$7p.1406~fed1read06:

  > I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD Ultra-Fine
  > syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with 3-ml Lantus
  > Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen Needles to
  > use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5 mm Pen
  > Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the same
  > length as the syringe needles I was using before.
  >
  > Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I get a bad
  > stinging immediately after I inject the insulin. It hurts so
  > bad that I have a hard time holding the pen in place for
  > 5-10 seconds as I was instructed to do. I never get this
  > stinging with Humalog pen injections and never got it with
  > Lantus injected with syringes. I have tried injecting in the
  > same spots I used with the syringes but it still stings.
  >
  > The stinging is worse right after injecting and slowly goes
  > away in about a minute. I called the PA, she told me that
  > Lantus stings sometimes for some people. After I told her I
  > kept the Lantus pen in the refrigerator between uses, she
  > said to make sure the Lantus was warmed to room temperature
  > before injecting . I tried that this morning but it did not
  > help, even with warm Lantus I got the stinging.
  >
  > Madison Type 1
  >
  >
  >

"jlutes" <coras~jlutes.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9663513532FE6corasjlutesnet~151.164.30.42...
  > There are a few different reasons why Lantus will sting
  > when injecting. First, it is extremely acidic. Have a look
  > at the drug insert and I think you will find an amazingly
  > low Ph. The other reason why it can sting is because there
  > are insulin crystals forming around the injection. Lantus,
  > in very basic laymen terms, consists of crystalized insulin
  > dissolved in an acid. When you inject, your body
  > neutralizes the acid and allows the crystals ro reform in
  > the fatty tissue where they slowly dissolve and enter your
  > blood stream.
  >
  > Now, as to stopping the sting. When I first started, I had
  > some injections that brought tears to my eyes they stung so
  > bad. I quickly found that warmed Lantus seems to hurt less.
  > I'm not talking room temp, I'm talking body temp. After I
  > draw a dose, I warm it to near body temp by holding it in my
  > mouth (like a pencil) or in my hand until it no longer feels
  > cool. If you have switched to a pen, I'm not sure how you
  > would do this or if you would want to. Lantus will keep for
  > nearly 30 days at room temp, but I doubt it would appriciate
  > being heated every evening. I also find that injecting in
  > the outer thigh seems to sting much less that anywhere else.
  > Lastly, a very slow injection seems to help me as well. I
  > start the injection and if it starts stinging, I just stop
  > pushing the plunger and wait until it subsides. Once it
  > does, I continue.
  >
  > HTH
  >
  > jlutes, T1, USA
  >

My morning Lantus injection was almost painless. I had left
the Lantus pen out so it was at room temperature. I tried to
push the plunger slowly, it is harder to do that with the
pen than it was with the syringes. I only had a little
stinging just as the last Lantus was injected and that
quickly went away.

I am fairly sure it was the temperature and speed of injection
that was causing the stinging. Thanks everyone for the
suggestions and ideas.

Madison Type 1

I was switched from Ultrtlente to Lantus over a month ago.
When I inject the Lantus, I sometimes experience the same
stinging that Madisen describes. I keep my vial of Lantus in
the refrigerator, from now on I'll let it warm in the syringe
for a while before injecting. Maybe that will eliminate the
occasional discomfort.

So injecting Lantus is like injecting acid, no wonder it
stings.

TerryR

"jlutes" <coras~jlutes.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9663513532FE6corasjlutesnet~151.164.30.42...
  > There are a few different reasons why Lantus will sting
  > when injecting. First, it is extremely acidic. Have a look
  > at the drug insert and I think you will find an amazingly
  > low Ph. The other reason why it can sting is because there
  > are insulin crystals forming around the injection. Lantus,
  > in very basic laymen terms, consists of crystalized insulin
  > dissolved in an acid. When you inject, your body
  > neutralizes the acid and allows the crystals ro reform in
  > the fatty tissue where they slowly dissolve and enter your
  > blood stream.
  >
  > Now, as to stopping the sting. When I first started, I had
  > some injections that brought tears to my eyes they stung so
  > bad. I quickly found that warmed Lantus seems to hurt less.
  > I'm not talking room temp, I'm talking body temp. After I
  > draw a dose, I warm it to near body temp by holding it in my
  > mouth (like a pencil) or in my hand until it no longer feels
  > cool. If you have switched to a pen, I'm not sure how you
  > would do this or if you would want to. Lantus will keep for
  > nearly 30 days at room temp, but I doubt it would appriciate
  > being heated every evening. I also find that injecting in
  > the outer thigh seems to sting much less that anywhere else.
  > Lastly, a very slow injection seems to help me as well. I
  > start the injection and if it starts stinging, I just stop
  > pushing the plunger and wait until it subsides. Once it
  > does, I continue.
  >
  > HTH
  >
  > jlutes, T1, USA
  >
  >
  >
  > "Madison" <madison_satonospam~yahoo.com> wrote in
  > news:XWqle.2451$7p.1406~fed1read06:
  >
     >> I recently switched from injecting Lantus with BD
     >> Ultra-Fine syringes to injecting with an Opticlik pen with
     >> 3-ml Lantus Cartridges. I was given some 31 gauge, 8 mm Pen
     >> Needles to use with the Lantus. These are longer than the 5
     >> mm Pen Needles that I use with my Humalog pens and are the
     >> same length as the syringe needles I was using before.
     >>
     >> Almost ever time I inject with the Lantus pen, I get a bad
     >> stinging immediately after I inject the insulin. It hurts
     >> so bad that I have a hard time holding the pen in place for
     >> 5-10 seconds as I was instructed to do. I never get this
     >> stinging with Humalog pen injections and never got it with
     >> Lantus injected with syringes. I have tried injecting in
     >> the same spots I used with the syringes but it still
     >> stings.
     >>
     >> The stinging is worse right after injecting and slowly goes
     >> away in about a minute. I called the PA, she told me that
     >> Lantus stings sometimes for some people. After I told her I
     >> kept the Lantus pen in the refrigerator between uses, she
     >> said to make sure the Lantus was warmed to room temperature
     >> before injecting . I tried that this morning but it did not
     >> help, even with warm Lantus I got the stinging.
     >>
     >> Madison Type 1
     >>
     >>
     >>
     >>
  >

"TerryR" <terryr619nospam~yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:as-dnZS1RJhNJwrfRVn-gA~giganews.com...
  >I was switched from Ultrtlente to Lantus over a month ago.
  >When I inject the Lantus, I sometimes experience the same
  >stinging that Madisen describes. I keep my vial of Lantus in
  >the refrigerator, from now on I'll let it warm in the syringe
  >for a while before injecting. Maybe that will eliminate the
  >occasional discomfort.
  >
  > So injecting Lantus is like injecting acid, no wonder
  > it stings.
  >
  > TerryR
  >

I am sure it is the temperature. When I was using the 3/10cc
syringes, I would fill the syringe, then go into the bathroom
to inject it in my rear. That gave the Lantus time to warm up
in the syringe before the injection. It never did sting with
the syringes.

After I switched to the Lantus pen I was keeping the pen in
the refrigerator and it was still cool when I injected. It
felt almost like a bee sting when I injected it.

My advice would be to let the filled syringe sit for a while
to warm to room temperature before injecting.

Madison Type 1