Cartridge Stopper Inserted at an Angle?
- Thread starter WLBLD
- Start date
Yes. I still haven't sorted it out, though it needs doing. Right now I'm somewhere remote, so my backup cartridges aren't within reach, and I can't get anything shipped in either. (What I do have on hand: a few spare diabetic syringes, filters, and BAC water.)
My plan is to let a little BAC water trickle along the bottom edge of the cart, then push some air in through the top so the stopper shifts downward slightly. After that, I'd give the cart another go.
The other choices are waiting 2 months until I rotate back, or drawing the cart's contents into diabetic syringes and returning to the old-school injections.
Neither one appeals to me.
My plan is to let a little BAC water trickle along the bottom edge of the cart, then push some air in through the top so the stopper shifts downward slightly. After that, I'd give the cart another go.
The other choices are waiting 2 months until I rotate back, or drawing the cart's contents into diabetic syringes and returning to the old-school injections.
Neither one appeals to me.
I just got mine filled. Maybe I failed to align the plunger inside the pen correctly. It hadn't occurred to me to verify that earlier. Or could certain cartridges be defective? Not sure, haha. This is my first time dealing with it
I suppose the “proper” remedy would involve drawing every bit of the 'tide out with a 3ml syringe, fitting a filter onto it, and transferring the contents into a fresh cart.
Which vendor's carts do you have? As far as I can determine, mine came from Amazon. The pens, meanwhile, are sourced from peppens.com.
Which vendor's carts do you have? As far as I can determine, mine came from Amazon. The pens, meanwhile, are sourced from peppens.com.
Picked up a batch from a vendor. Honestly, I suspect it comes down to how I filled the pen cart. Next time I really need to make sure the rod that presses the stopper upward is sitting dead center. Pretty sure this was my own slip-up and I just wasn't watching closely enough. Not sure though, ha ha
Another one got stuck on me this morning — that makes 2. I freed it using the exact approach I mentioned earlier; it did the trick on both occasions. A little BAC water applied beneath it, followed by forcing 10 units of air through the cartridge's top to break it loose.
Yes, I realize this approach isn't exactly sterile. Where I live, though, it's the only option I've got for now, and probably will be for a while.
Yes, I realize this approach isn't exactly sterile. Where I live, though, it's the only option I've got for now, and probably will be for a while.
eidos
Explorer
In about 50% of regular cartridges, the moving seal / plunger gets put in the wrong way around. The thicker end is supposed to face the piston side. Compare it with a standard insulin syringe to see this. With some pens, the piston gets enough force that this extra friction does not cause a problem. It works with the Ergo2 and V3, but not so well with the Gansulin or V1, never with the V2s.
If that turns out to be the cause, is taking it out and putting it back in the way to go? Once you do that, doesn't it stop being sterile? This is so annoying! I need to look and find out whether that's what's going on (or whether the plunger/stick/whatever you call it on my pen is simply not centered)
eidos
Explorer
No, that's too much hassle.
I'm hanging on to the cartridges for future pen experiments, or in case I ever end up injecting the whole contents (still haven't worked out which pep for that ;-)
It doubles what they cost, but I've seen them at roughly €40 for 100. Cheaper than the one in the photo already.
eidos
Explorer
They arrived packed one per sterile wrapper, and a plastic bag held 10 of them. Out of that batch of 10, I went through each one. With any luck, the following bag will yield over 5 usable ones. Testing how they calibrate against various pens is something I’d like to do eventually, though there’s no rush.
