Pep Pen aka insulin pen peptide pen information

[jas0441]

I don't think I have found all of the information in one place on using peptide pens aka insulin pens. I thought it might be useful for someone out there to have this.

Using an insulin cartridge pen you first need to fill the cartridge with your peptide. That then is inserted into the pen itself. After you load the cartridge, for each injection you will need to add a needle to the end. You then use the dial on the side of the pen to select how many units you want to give. When you are ready to give the injection you push the part of the pen where you dialed your dose.

Why I love this method:

• You are not injecting yourself with the same needle that you just used to draw up your dose - something I absolutely HATE doing and refuse to do if at all possible.
• Drawing up units has less room for error.

Instructions on filling the cartridge:
It is much easier to see than to try to describe. This is a great video.

Instructions on adding the filled cartridge to the pen:

Where I bought my pen:
AliExpress for about $17. There are numerous suppliers on AliExpress selling these. If you want to buy domestic there are people re-selling these. I am sure google can help you there or maybe others have suggestions.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807070917206.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.53.60d01802SbMzr5&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Needles I bought:
You will also need needles - I preferred a 5mm length but there are also 4mm and 8 mm.

Amazon.com

Cartridges:
Are one time use. Current best price I could find for a pack of 10 or 20.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805971733507.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.17.15091802MW9LQY&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Reconstituting syringe:
Also you will need syringes for reconstituting. I prefer 3 ml syringes - gauge and needle size does not matter very much imho. I get whatever my work has available I can find from other sources.

Thank you so much for posting this! Very helpful. I did exactly what he described and could not find the cartridge holder inside the pen because I screwed it instead of pulling the cap off! Complained to vendor, tried to find a replacement, etc. until I finally figured it out, doh!. Wish I had watched this first.

 

[GimmeABreak]

I feel the test I did with an empty vial and an insulin syringe is pretty accurate. If I push out .5ml and suck up .5ml where is the margin for error other than maybe a film water on the sides and bottom of the vial.

I (currently) don't own a mg scale and as others have said I think the accuracy is sus for any that are reasonably priced on Amazon.

 

[nonyabizznez]

1/10 of a gram is 10mg

Huh? I'm confused

 

[GimmeABreak]

Thanks for your reply. Can you post photos of your pens and cartridges please? I did exactly what you did and I am constantly getting under dosed by about 7+iU
Both my pens and cartridges are directly from china.
Maybe my cartridges are crap?

Are you sure there are no air bubbles in the cart? Even a small bubble will throw the dose off.

Make sure to prime the needle first by pushing through a unit or two, i don't do this when dosing but for this test I made sure it was primed.

Also, you have to wait after pressing the plunger, there is a lag from the time you finish pressing it to the time the cart plunger stops moving of about 5-15 seconds. This is important to remember while dosing too.

Maybe you just have a dud pen. It's not like these things are manufactured to highest standards, they are cheaply made to keep the cost down.

 

[exploitedworkerbee]

I feel the test I did with an empty vial and an insulin syringe is pretty accurate. If I push out .5ml and suck up .5ml where is the margin for error other than maybe a film water on the sides and bottom of the vial.

I (currently) don't own a mg scale and as others have said I think the accuracy is sus for any that are reasonably priced on Amazon.

Yeah I didn’t mean to question the accuracy of your method, was just overthinking it. Thanks for doing the test

 

[GimmeABreak]

Yeah I didn’t mean to question the accuracy of your method, was just overthinking it. Thanks for doing the test

No worries, I actually just learned the other day that 1ml of water weighs the same as 1mg of mass. How f-ing easy is that!

 

[ZakAP]

1/10 of a gram is 10mg, so even cheap scales can easily measure it quite accurately. But volumetric measurements are usually more precise when going under 1 gram

^is incorrect

Huh? I'm confused

1 gram = 1000 mg.
1/10 of 1 gram (1000mg) is 100mg.

 

[GimmeABreak]

^is incorrect

1 gram = 1000 mg.
1/10 of 1 gram (1000mg) is 100mg.

True American's will never understand the metric system. It's ingrained in our blood!

 

[stickfigure]

^is incorrect

1 gram = 1000 mg.
1/10 of 1 gram (1000mg) is 100mg.

Not correct, sorry, missed a zero, 1/10th is 100mg, 1/100th is 10 mg. Cheap scales do work, but volumetric is better. It's also better to type when fully awake 😂

 

[ZakAP]

True American's will never understand the metric system. It's ingrained in our blood!

I absolutely love the metric system. It makes so much more sense. Fractions of an inch? Ugh. Give me mm/cm any day. But I use it - I can understand if you never need it and then have to figure something out.

 

[ZakAP]

Not correct, sorry, missed a zero, 1/10th is 100mg, 1/100th is 10 mg. Cheap scales do work, but volumetric is better. It's also better to type when fully awake 😂

In my world missing a 0 can kill someone - probably why I check even easy math like 3x. I totally get typing stuff when not fully awake (or caffeinated!)

 

[nonyabizznez]

In my world missing a 0 can kill someone - probably why I check even easy math like 3x. I totally get typing stuff when not fully awake (or caffeinated!)

Thanks for the clarity 🧐

I wasn't confused but like how you used a simple equation to point out the error. I bet some of the reconstitution threads get your BP up (like mine)... "How many 10mg doses are in a 3ml vial?"

 

[ZakAP]

Thanks for the clarity 🧐

I wasn't confused but like how you used a simple equation to point out the error. I bet some of the reconstitution threads get your BP up (like mine)... "How many 10mg doses are in a 3ml vial?"

100%. They make me cringe so hard. I get not being a math expert but some of those lack even basic common sense.

 

[Peevee]

Just an update, I checked the calibration on one of my pens today. I have several, both V1 and V2 models, and tested with a V1.

I loaded a spent cartridge with tap water, installed a used needle (nice not to have to worry about sterility), removed the air from the cart and primed it. I popped the top off of an empty 3ml vial and injected/squirted 10u, 40u, 50u dosages. I then sucked up each dosage of the water with a .5cc insulin syringe. All three measurements were spot on.

If anyone has a more accurate way to test pen dosage please offer upgrades on my process. I will probably test my other pens the next time they are empty.

Thanks for doing this and sharing the results

 

[Peevee]

I’m new to these pens. I finally got 8mm needles after getting the wrong ones several times.

How do you keep from leaking medications out after injecting? I’m assuming I should leave the needle inserted longer than I did after injecting but thought I’d ask

I’m using v2 but I have savvios on order

 

[stickfigure]

Are you concerned with leaking from the needle or injection site? For injection site one technique is to pull skin to a side before inserting the needle, and releasing after the needle is removed from injection site. The movement of skin 'seals' the site. For the needle itself, I find that more premium needles with thinner walls and consequently larger bore like BD and EasyTouch leak more than generic ones. Peptides we use are cheap enough to not worry about 0.01ml leaking from the needle or a dozen units lost in dead space of the cartridge.
Btw, having a small bubble in a cartridge actually helps use more peptide and as long as you hold the pen horizontally or with needle at the lowest point, you are not at serious risk if injecting air. Even if you inject it, you'll most likely be fine - you have to inject hundreds of units into major blood vessels to cause serious harm

 

[Peevee]

Are you concerned with leaking from the needle or injection site? For injection site one technique is to pull skin to a side before inserting the needle, and releasing after the needle is removed from injection site. The movement of skin 'seals' the site. For the needle itself, I find that more premium needles with thinner walls and consequently larger bore like BD and EasyTouch leak more than generic ones. Peptides we use are cheap enough to not worry about 0.01ml leaking from the needle or a dozen units lost in dead space of the cartridge.
Btw, having a small bubble in a cartridge actually helps use more peptide and as long as you hold the pen horizontally or with needle at the lowest point, you are not at serious risk if injecting air. Even if you inject it, you'll most likely be fine - you have to inject hundreds of units into major blood vessels to cause serious harm

I honestly can’t tell where it is coming from, probably a bit of both. I’ll try your suggestion thanks.

 

[GimmeABreak]

I honestly can’t tell where it is coming from, probably a bit of both. I’ll try your suggestion thanks.

Make sure there are no air bubbles in the cart. It's common to see a drop or so come out of the needle after injecting but more than that it's either air or you are not waiting 10-15 seconds after you stop pushing the plunger to withdraw the needle. Even a small air bubble will cause issues.

 

[ZakAP]

Are you concerned with leaking from the needle or injection site? For injection site one technique is to pull skin to a side before inserting the needle, and releasing after the needle is removed from injection site. The movement of skin 'seals' the site. For the needle itself, I find that more premium needles with thinner walls and consequently larger bore like BD and EasyTouch leak more than generic ones. Peptides we use are cheap enough to not worry about 0.01ml leaking from the needle or a dozen units lost in dead space of the cartridge.
Btw, having a small bubble in a cartridge actually helps use more peptide and as long as you hold the pen horizontally or with needle at the lowest point, you are not at serious risk if injecting air. Even if you inject it, you'll most likely be fine - you have to inject hundreds of units into major blood vessels to cause serious harm

Z-track? Dang. I have not heard that used since nursing school. We only ever did that for IM injections. Edit - not even "did" - were just taught that. Edit again - I do not think it would be beneficial to use this method for subcut injections. You would have to be so careful that you were not displacing the skin/subcutaneous fat. I think there is a reason this is not standard practice.

 

[ZakAP]

I’m new to these pens. I finally got 8mm needles after getting the wrong ones several times.

How do you keep from leaking medications out after injecting? I’m assuming I should leave the needle inserted longer than I did after injecting but thought I’d ask

I’m using v2 but I have savvios on order

Leave it in for several seconds (yes as Gimme said above) after you administer the full dose. It sometimes takes the pen a sec to keep up - it can lag a bit.

 

[Peevee]

Side question. I ordered some cartridges from aliexpress linked in the first post but they don’t say they’re sterile and I didn’t notice until after I purchased. Any reason I can’t steam sterilize them in my pressure cooker? 👀 A sort of poor man’s autoclave

Obviously I’ll check the indicator in the package to see if they are sterile, if it has one.

 

[GimmeABreak]

Side question. I ordered some cartridges from aliexpress linked in the first post but they don’t say they’re sterile and I didn’t notice until after I purchased. Any reason I can’t steam sterilize them in my pressure cooker? 👀 A sort of poor man’s autoclave

Obviously I’ll check the indicator in the package to see if they are sterile, if it has one.

Sterilizing carts (the right way) is a process. I have never done it but there are threads here and on other sites that explain how to do it correctly. With sterile carts costing like $1 each, I'll let the people with proper autoclaves do it for me.

 

[Peevee]

Sterilizing carts (the right way) is a process. I have never done it but there are threads here and on other sites that explain how to do it correctly. With sterile carts costing like $1 each, I'll let the people with proper autoclaves do it for me.

Eh. Fuck it. I’ll steam it in a pressure cooker for 15 mins and hope for the best then. I have 60 of them coming

 

[Superfluous]

My amateur opinion (based on years of working in a kitchen - then also becoming an amateur alcohol brewer and constantly needing to sterilise equipment to stop bacterial infections in fermentation process) is that zapping them in something like a pressure cooker, or even a microwave boil (if they can handle it) will kill almost all bacteria. Then your bac water should stop extra bacterial growth once they are filled (just like fermented alcohol stops a brew going bad) - it's how the equipment is stored in between sterilisation and filling that would be the gap where potential infection can happen.

I think my main worry would be what other crap outside of bacteria I'm injecting myself with (chemical residue from the manufacturing process etc)

 

[Peevee]

I got my aliexpress vials linked in the first page. There’s a sticker from the seller on the bag saying they’ve been sterilized but the packets indicate neither heat nor steam sterilization so I’m autoclaving a batch in my pressure cooker. I’ll update with results after the first batch is done and cooled

Any amateur mycologists are probably familiar with pressure cooker sterilization as it works well for substrate so mold doesn’t take hold before your mycelium can

 

[Peevee]

Seemed effective. I ran it an hour at the highest pressure setting, 15psi probably. I got impatient and cooled them too fast. That caused a few stoppers to blow and a few seals to pop. If I lose a few of the 60 or something vials, that’s ok

 

[GimmeABreak]

Seemed effective. I ran it an hour at the highest pressure setting, 15psi probably. I got impatient and cooled them too fast. That caused a few stoppers to blow and a few seals to pop. If I lose a few of the 60 or something vials, that’s ok

Shouldn't the sterile indicator be black if it was sterilized? From what I read its common for the stoppers/plungers to pop out using a pressure cooker or autoclave. You have manipulate them back in without breaking the sterile pack they are in.

 

[Peevee]

Shouldn't the sterile indicator be black if it was sterilized? From what I read it’s common for the stoppers/plungers to pop out using a pressure cooker or autoclave. You have manipulate them back in without breaking the sterile pack they are in.

They never go completely black even on the ones I have that have been autoclaved.

The plungers don’t pop out if the seal is intact and they’re cooled slower.

 

[exploitedworkerbee]

This topic has been covered in nauseating detail on many platforms, no need to reinvent the wheel. I recommend you pop over to Meso and read the 28 page thread “Refillable Injector Pen.”

 

[GimmeABreak]

They never go completely black even on the ones I have that have been autoclaved.

The plungers don’t pop out if the seal is intact and they’re cooled slower.

I buy mine pre-sterilized (because I am THAT kind of rich) and they are pretty close to black. Yours are probably ok as long as you are not pinning someone with a compromised immune system, I think you will be fine.