Never did this before &, yea, it was stupid.
Took an Apidra injection. Capped the syringe. Was on the phone & gave myself Levemir using the same syringe. I had a second (new) syringe on the counter with the used one & wasn’t paying attention.
Have I now ruined the vial of Levemir? Anyone know if I can continue use it, or do I have to get a new vial? Not even close to the Levemir needing replacement & I hate to have to pay out of pocket for a new one.
I’m not an expert on this, but I believe if you had done it the other way around your would be in trouble (with your apidra), but you are probably find. The binding formulations of lantus and levemir that make them act as a basal can taint rapid insulins and even in small quantities make their action unreliable. In your case, I believe you should be fine. I do know that you cannot mix levemir in a syringe with rapid, but again that is because the rapid acting insulin will have a variable action.
Perhaps others more experienced in these matters can pipe in.
I once bought a battery-powered fridge to take with me on vacation just because I did not know how long insulin would stay potent. I know now that this was a waste of money. Consider conducting a science experiment. Test your bg a little bit more often than you usually would. I bet that you will not notice a difference.
Thanks, Brian.
I’ll be testing a lot to see how badly I screwed up. Not a problem to correct during the day.Worried about Levemir I take before bed. Guess I’ll find out:)
I vaguely remember something about cleaning syringes to reuse them & being cautioned about keeping used cleaned syringes for different insulin separate. Of course, I could have contaminated it just by putting a “dirty” needle in the vial. I wouldn’t be a good junkie!
Thanks, guys!
Danny, I drove with my car from Germany to Morocco (Africa sounds more impressive). This was in 1979. The car had no A/C. I drove with windows down. I was caught by surprise when I held my arm out of the window and it felt like warm water. This does not happen in Germany.
What felt like warm water, your arm, the air outside your car or the insulin? I’m with Danny on this sort of thing. You can’t just bring this stuff up without telling us the whole story, we want pictures and if you got a tattoo during the adventure, you have to show it to us.
No, rapid-acting insulins do not contaminate other insulins. So, you do not have to worry at all.
Marina
Thank you, Marina!
If you are still worried about it, call your pharmacist. They are usually quite knowledgeable about this stuff, and much more accessible than doctors.
Good idea–thanks.
bsc, when I held my arm out of the car window while driving it felt like I had put my arm into a bucket of warm water. It was the strangest thing to have the body sensation of warm water while knowing that it was not so.
Gerri, sorry for drifting off topic.
The tangents are often more interesting than the topic. That had to have been the oddest sensation.
Everyone was right. My screw up didn’t effect the Levemir.
I really have to agree. All we do around here is talk about diabetes and insulin. How often do we have a chance to hear about Helmuts “On The Road” adventure, see all those pictures and see that interesting tattoo that he still can’t remember how he got.
Helmut, please realize I am joking.