Refilling cartridges: Frugal or Stupid?

[HouseCat]

I want to reconstitute some GHK-Cu 50mg later today and plan on using 6mL BAC both to make my unit dose not super small and to mitigate some of the sting. I plan on using a pen, so 3mL is the max I can load into a cartridge. For the other 3mL, I could load those into a second cartridge or…

Store it in a 3mL vial, and then when my current cartridge is done, reload from the vial to the cartridge. Why and I thinking of this? To save on cartridge use: I have a lot of sterile 3mL vials and not that many cartridges. I buy carts from goodlifesupplies because I trust their sterility, but I also will have to pay a shipping fee to get more since I don’t have any big orders coming up. My main concern would be the sterility of putting the aliquot into my just-finished cartridge since pen needles are double sided. But if that’s a valid concern, wouldn’t there be sterility problems during the use of cartridges in general, especially toward the end?

Is this vial storage idea frugal problem solving or insomnia-induced idiocy?😜

 

[tcpnomad]

You really should not be reusing vials or cartridges. They both get pierced every time you inject, and the recommended practice it to discard them after 28 days of use (but most people use them till they are used up).

 

[BBA1969]

Seems like a very bad idea. How do you want to get the plunger back down? And since the inside of the vial has been long time exposed to fridge air, sterility is no longer. I would rather take my chances with cheaper cartridges of Ali.

 

[BrightCandle]

You don't reuse carts, vials, needles, syringes or filters they are all disposable one time use things. Every action increases the risk of contamination and the timer on bacteria growth starts the moment you pierce.

 

[Turbo-Farmer]

Your cartridge will leak. The self healing stopper in the cartridge will get weaker and weaker until it leaks out into your pen. I have seen it happen, more often with cheap needles.

I have had to transfer from one compromised cartridge to another to save an expensive blend.

In the end consumables are much cheaper than the peps, and safety is paramount.

 

[deluge]

I had to re-use several cartridges when the sled dog team got delayed with my delivery, last deployment.

Much like you can re-use needles if you must, (again, sled dog issue), it's not recommended, but desperate times, desperate measures, and so on. (Again, I point to the 30+yr Nurse who told me outside of the peptide world, nobody switches needles every day on daily injections).

I had no issues, but now that the sled dogs have delivered my resupply, I went to new cartridges. New needles too!

I dilute my 100mg of GHK-Cu with 6ml BAC water. I do this by injecting 3ml into the vial, suck out 1.5ml, and filter it into a cartridge. Then I pull another 3ml water and put 1.5ml into the cartridge, and 1.5ml into the vial. Store the vial in the fridge, to filter into the next cartridge when needed.

 

[Mochizuki0124]

#1 these peptides are already cheap af unless you're buying from the scammy resellers. So why be cheap on everything else? You're not just messing with the sterility, you're also messing with the efficacy.

#2 you probably won't die from it, junkies share needles and some of them outlive us. At this point some of us might as well be junkies.

So which one are you?

 

[eidos]

The side near the piston is no longer sterile.

On YouTube, there's a beautician with long nails who pushes the plunger to fill the cartridge without using a venting needle. 🤮

I bought some cartridges on AE three months ago, and I'm still alive (well, I think so). I'm searching for brands that sell several thousand items. (I have HDRSMTMED, but there are others.).

The only issue is that half of them have the plunger installed upside down. It works with some pens, but with others it gets stuck.
That brings the cost of the cartridge to about $1 when you buy them in packs of 100.

 

[HouseCat]

So why be cheap on everything else?

This is very true. And also thinking of the hassle of pulling the stopper back, I might as well not cheap out since I’m not in a dire sitch like how @deluge was. Good call.

now that the sled dogs have delivered my resupply, I went to new cartridges. New needles too!

Glad you got your supplies! I know you were hoping your wife would send the right things; she must know your pep habit well😊 I watch a lot of Life Below Zero (arctic reality show-Sue is my fave!) so I am very intrigued by your life there, especially since you’re a New Yorker too! Definitely the most interesting reverse “snow bird” lifestyle!

Just for curiosity, how did you pull the plunger back on the cart? Tweezers?

 

[HouseCat]

the inside of the vial has been long time exposed to fridge air,

In the end consumables are much cheaper than the peps, and safety is paramount.

(And everyone else) Thank you all for talking sense into me. I will defs use 2 carts today. Insomnia / extreme fatigue definitely affects my reasoning!

I bought some cartridges on AE three months ago

This is AliExpress? Sounds like a good deal! Do they come in autoclaved bags? Haha look at me worried about the autoclave bags/sterility after a good sleep whereas before I was contemplating being foolish 😂

 

[eidos]

#2 you probably won't die from it, junkies share needles and some of them outlive us. At this point some of us might as well be junkies.

I would never take a junkie as an authority on health. Not even those with a doctorate, and I've known several, who have no teeth...

You can reuse the same needle several times − between 8 and 12 times on average (yeah, I found the mdash − on my keyboard, I feel smarter − like an AI). The thinner it is, the better. But sometimes it bends: ouch.

In another thread, I posted some pretty microscope photos of needles after each pin. Yuck. But do whatever you want.

In the early ’90s, needles started being coated with varnish. It was a selling point BD used to promote them to pharmacists (with photos too). It's when they come out that they tear off cells.
The best needles available right now have a 5 bevel pointy end. Less pain.
I find Embecta (BD) needles for €0.15 each. I don’t hesitate to replace them.

 

[Mochizuki0124]

I would never take a junkie as an authority on health. Not even those with a doctorate, and I've known several, who have no teeth...

You can reuse the same needle several times − between 8 and 12 times on average (yeah, I found the mdash − on my keyboard, I feel smarter − like an AI). The thinner it is, the better. But sometimes it bends: ouch.

In another thread, I posted some pretty microscope photos of needles after each pin. Yuck. But do whatever you want.

In the early ’90s, needles started being coated with varnish. It was a selling point BD used to promote them to pharmacists (with photos too). It's when they come out that they tear off cells.
The best needles available right now have a 5 bevel pointy end. Less pain.
I find Embecta (BD) needles for €0.15 each. I don’t hesitate to replace them.

It was a question of whether you're #1 or #2. Not really justifying the junkies lol.

 

[eidos]

This is AliExpress? Sounds like a good deal! Do they come in autoclaved bags? Haha look at me worried about the autoclave bags/sterility after a good sleep whereas before I was contemplating being foolish 😂

Yes, AliExpress.

They come in sterile pouches. There’s a mark (a black band) indicating that they’ve been steam-sterilized. They comply with CE and ISO standards.

I’ve used about a dozen of them in three months; if there had been any endotoxins, I would have noticed it a long time ago.

These are basic borosilicate glass models without a silicone coating, but that’s not a problem at the concentrations we use: less than 0.1% of the peptide will get adsorbed onto the glass walls.

 

[eidos]

It was a question of whether you're #1 or #2. Not really justifying the junkies lol.

I'll choose answer #d

 

[HouseCat]

I found the mdash − on my keyboard, I feel smarter

I love a good m dash—very Dickenson 😊 ( yeah I know they were likely a result of posthumous editing but they—along with the semicolon—are some of my fave punctuation marks!)

 

[randompersonrandom]

I order carts from thepeppen, five for five bucks. It says they're sterile. Maybe they are and maybe they're not, but they're a hell of a lot more sterile than one that's been sitting in my fridge for thirty-five days full of KLOW and getting pierced every day.

 

[eidos]

I love a good m dash—very Dickenson 😊 ( yeah I know they were likely a result of posthumous editing but they—along with the semicolon—are some of my fave punctuation marks!)

Oh! Your mdash is bigger than mine. Maybe it's just a ndash on my kb. :-(

I prefer dashes to parentheses, but my associates never let me use them in web content.
And I've never quite figured out how to use semicolons in English.
... It looks to be a frustrating day!

 

[deluge]

Just for curiosity, how did you pull the plunger back on the cart? Tweezers?

I did get my supplies! And even the correct needles. (the Gluco-Bend 32ga were what caused my needle dilemma. Luckily, she grabbed the box of EzTouch 31ga instead. The EzTouch go in smoother Than the 32ga Gluco-Stabs, and I've never folded one over while trying to give myself a pin, either).

I just used the pressure of the incoming liquid to push the plunger back. I dribbled a few units of BAC Water into the backside of the cartridge, so it didn't stick as it slid back.

Again, not recommending re-using cartridges. But if it's that or quitting cold-turkey, it worked out fine for me. Sled dogs be damned...