Insulin - Pen Cartridges vs. Vials

Something that comes up fairly often in our Facebook group Diabetic Dog Owners is the small amount of insulin used for some dogs. Since insulin has an expiry date of 28 – 42 days after puncture for some of us, we throw a lot of insulin away.

Over the 4.5 years that Lucy was diabetic she got 6 units of insulin twice per day. I used Novolin N and purchased it from Walmart, I paid $24.88 per vial but only used approximately 504 units every 42 days. I was throwing away 496 units every 42 days.

Pen cartridges hold a smaller quantity of insulin are used with insulin pens. Today I am going to go over pen cartridges and insulin pens so grab a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage and let’s get to it!

Vetsulin and Caninsulin Vetpens (U40 insulin) are available in two models, the Vetpen 8 allows for ½ unit dosing and the Vetpen 16 doses in full units only. Each vial is 2.7 ml and holds 108 units.

NPH Insulin Pens (U100 insulin) are isophane insulins and are available at most pharmacies.

Here in the United States, we can also get insulin at Walmart for a much lower price when purchasing Novolin N since they have a contract with Novo Nordisk for special pricing.

Remember, if you decide to use the Kwikpen or Flexpen you need to use the proper length pen needles! 8 mm (5/16”) are the minimum size that should be used on our dogs, their skin is thicker than where humans inject insulin, so the 4 mm, 5 mm and 6 mm pen needles are not suggested to use. To read more about syringe size please click  here.

Since the Humulin N Kwikpen and the Novolin N Flexpen only dose in full units you can use a regular U100 syringe with the cartridges, you just draw up insulin like normal. Insulin cartridges have the same rubber stopper that vials of insulin use.

I hope today’s blog has helped you with the differences between insulin pen cartridges and insulin vials. If I had been able to get the Novolin N Flexpen it would have saved so much insulin!

Happy Fall!

Until next week, stay comfy and caffeinated!

If you are looking for a Facebook community to join for support, I have proudly been an admin in Diabetic Dog Owners for almost five years. You can also join Canine Diabetes Support and Information on Facebook as well.

Be sure to join the PetTest family on Facebook and Instagram. PetTest has fun, interactive posts AND they have fabulous giveaways every week!

Do you need pen needles? PetTest has them!

https://shoppettest.com/advocate-pen-needles-31g-x-8mm-100-box/

Protect your insulin with a Vial Safe vial protector!

https://shoppettest.com/vial-safe-for-pets-insulin-protective-case-3-pack/

Syringes for U40 and U100 insulin!

PetTest U-40 Insulin Syringes 31G, 0.3cc, 5/16" (8 mm) - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-pettest-u-40-insulin-syringes-31g-3cc-5-16-100-box/

PetTest U-40 Insulin Syringes 31G, 0.5cc, 5/16” (8 mm) - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-pettest-u-40-insulin-syringes-31g-5cc-5-16-100-box/

Advocate U-100 Insulin Syringes 30G, 0.3cc, 5/16" (8 mm) - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-syringes-30g-3cc-5-16-100-box/

Advocate U-100 Insulin Syringes 30G, 0.3cc, 1/2" (12.7 mm) - https://shoppettest.com/advocate-u-100-insulin-syringes-30g-3cc-1-2-100-box-1/

For a printed version of this blog, click here.