HI ALL,
I AM INJECTING LEVEMIR AND JUST BOUGHT ALL MY INSULIN FROM GERMANY.mY ENDO DIDNT TELL ME THAT LEVEMIR CARTRIGES DONT FIT IN OTHER PENS …
I AM BACK1
TO DUBAI ANDDICSOVERED THAT THEY DONT SELL THE PEN FOR IT!
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHICH PEN I CAN USE FOR LEVEMIR CARTRIGES??? bESIDE THE NOVOPEN 3- 4 ?
I AM DESPERATED AND DONT SEE THE POINT TO BUY FLEXIPEN ; SINCE MY GERMAN ENDO SOLD ME INSULIN FOR ONE YEAR…!
Can you contact the Endo , who did NOT tell you , that levemir cartridges require one kind of pen and ask what he/she suggests ?
the problem is that my endo is the university clinic in duesseldorf / germany. while I am back to United Arab Emirates - Dubai.
They told me here that the pen doesnt exist / out of stock since more that 6 months…
Don’t they give you a pen with the cartridges? It just seems like they should. I would call novo-nordisk and see if they can help. As far as I know there is no “universal” pen…you would need a novopen for levemir. Also you may try an online pharmacy and if all else fails just use your insulin with a syringe …Here are directions on how to do it (there may also be directions with your cartridges) :
Pens with syringes
Pen cartridge with a syringe
If you need more precise doses than a pen provides, you must use a syringe. Many penfill cartridges can be used with syringes, just like small vials, but often require that you inject a similar volume of air into the cartridge every time you draw insulin. Once you’ve used a syringe on a cartridge, that cartridge should not be reinserted into a pen.
Disposable pen with a syringe
If you are stuck with a disposable pen (e.g. Novo Nordisk’s Flexpen), and need the extra precision of a syringe, things get a little tricker. You must inject extra air BEFORE you draw out the insulin.
Fill the syringe with air, empty it into the pen, then (with pen above syringe), suck the same amount of insulin back out. Do it this way whether you’re transferring to a vial, extracting 1ml at a time, or just using the pen every day as a vial.
Here’s why – as you remove the insulin from the Flexpen, the pressure inside the cartridge will drop, which will pull on the pen’s screw-and-plunger mechanism, which doesn’t expect to be pulled. (Just pushed).
Eventually, the screw-and-plunger will break, possibly contaminating the insulin. So you must try to keep the pressure inside the pen about neutral or a bit positive (pushing back on the screw).
Finally, don’t ever try actually using the Flexpen again as a pen once you’ve begun this process! It is practically guaranteed to break eventually. Possibly spectacularly.
Using a pen some days, and a syringe other days, has caused problems for some users. The dosages on the pen are not exactly the same as those shown on the syringe. If you must do it, keep one pen for syringe use, and another for pen use, and mark them clearly.
You also appear to have another problem- your caps lock is stuck.
Novo Nordisk still has them listed on their website here so I would assume if they still make the cartridges they would still make the pens also. Did you try other stores? Perhaps it was just that one that doesn’t stock them anymore…I dunno
what do you mean ??
I will do that ; once I resolved the pen problem… the endo who gave me the pen is diabetic himself ! Unacceptable…They gave me these other pens , which are only for Humalog…
It is saturday and in Dubai a weekend… I contacted NovoNordisk Headquarter and luckily they called the branch office representer in Dubai… They found a free pen ( sample pen ) inanother city… I am trying to find somebody to go and get it in the other city and bring it to me…
It is crazy that in a futuristic city as Dubai ; there is a lack of the most basic products!
Dubai is considered the second highest rate of diabetes worldwide…
Yes, you can draw the insulin out with a normal insulin syringe. Perhaps that is easier for you to find.
I never liked the pens. So I would use any insulin cartridge with a syringe.
Dear All ;
I managed to contact Novonordisk Europe ( they had left Novopen 3 sample pen in the Dubai Office; and it seemed as if they forgot to market it !!! ) Here they only subscribe the Oneway use Flexipen ( Poor Nature !!! )
Additionally to that ; I contacted my endo in Germany and they will send me the latest Novopen 4 to Dubai.
Thank all of you for your kind advise & support.
Great news! Glad it worked out for you!!
Hayaa:
I don’t know what pen you need, but I have a bunch of Novopen 3’s and 1.5’s. I would be willing to donate them all or mostly depending on what happens with me. The insurance company, after using the pump since April, 2008, decided that it wasn’t medically necessary!!! I don’t know what’s going to happen to this all.
Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI
Hurah , it paid off for you to be pro-active Havaa 
. best of health from Canada !..
Lois,
Unfortunately, we cannot endorse donation of prescription items in the community.
However, you CAN donate these to this group:
http://www.insulinforlife.org/navigate-to/contact-us.html
which is in a position to take donations of non-expired/unused insulin-related items.
Dear Lois;
that is very nice and thank you so much for your support.
I got a confirmation from my endo in Germany who already sent the pen. I hope it will arrive in the next days.
In the meantime I will have to inject my old Lantus Insulin.
I also have so many new unused spare pens / or unused insulin ; it would be great to find out where to send these items. Manny advised below…which is very helpful.
I always feel pitty for the unused staff I have…
Warm Rgds from Dubai;
Hayaa