Combining multiple vials into a pen cartridge

[JohannesSweden77]

I still have some 10mg vials sitting around, and I'd rather finish those off before I start dipping into my 60mg supply.

Since I'm using a pen that takes 3ml cartridges, and every injection I take is 5mg.

My thought was to reconstitute each 10mg vial with 0,5ml BAC and then load the cartridge. Does that sound reasonable? Is that how it's normally done?

Problem is, math is really not my strong suit.

0,5ml x 10mg x 4 vials = 2ml 40mg

0,5ml x 10mg x 6 vials = 3ml 60mg

Some might think this is a silly question, but I'm not the sharpest tool so yeah, thanks.

 

[lagadu]

Yeah, the numbers add up.

 

[eidos]

I've run into this same problem, and I've already tried it with Reta and SS31. Truthfully, the effort isn't justified.

Right now I'm experimenting with insulin syringes that I fill in advance and keep in the fridge, for vials where I pull 2 or 3 doses from each. As of now, I can't report anything definitive. One Tirz syringe went to waste: €4 gone! :-(

(That was the moment I noticed I'm still stuck in the habit of paying 50€ for every dose! Vive le grey)

 

[bbbilly]

I came across a video by peptide critic where he used 2ml and added it to the vials sequentially. He started with 2ml in the first vial, waited for it to dissolve completely, then pulled that mixed solution out and transferred it into the next vial, then the next, and so on until every vial was finished. That approach means you avoid the calculations you're doing and can simply treat 4 vials of 10mg each as 40mg in 2ml.

I'm aware there might be some detail about how much the filler contributes when combining multiple vials, but I'm not sure I'd even bother with that.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

bbbilly said:

I came across a video by peptide critic where he used 2ml and added it to the vials sequentially. He started with 2ml in the first vial, waited for it to dissolve completely, then pulled that mixed solution out and transferred it into the next vial, then the next, and so on until every vial was finished. That approach means you avoid the calculations you're doing and can simply treat 4 vials of 10mg each as 40mg in 2ml.

I'm aware there might be some detail about how much the filler contributes when combining multiple vials, but I'm not sure I'd even bother with that.

Alright, that works as an approach. It does sound like extra hassle with all the transferring, or perhaps it ends up being the same amount of effort as what I had in mind? Keep in mind I'm not the sharpest. 🫪

 

[BBA1969]

At a 5mg dose, your "0,5ml x 10mg x 4 vials = 2ml 40mg" works out to 8 weeks, which for Reta is IMO roughly where degradation starts to matter.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

BBA1969 said:

At a 5mg dose, your "0,5ml x 10mg x 4 vials = 2ml 40mg" works out to 8 weeks, which for Reta is IMO roughly where degradation starts to matter.

By the way it's Tirz, though I suppose that doesn't really change anything?

 

[BBA1969]

JohannesSweden77 said:

BBA1969 said:

At a 5mg dose, your "0,5ml x 10mg x 4 vials = 2ml 40mg" works out to 8 weeks, which for Reta is IMO roughly where degradation starts to matter.

By the way it's Tirz, though I suppose that doesn't really change anything?

Tirz is generally considered to hold up better, so an extra 2 or 3 weeks shouldn't be a problem.

What's the point of transferring to a pen instead of simply reconstituting and injecting straight from the vial? For a once-a-week injection, that just adds unnecessary work and danger.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

BBA1969 said:

JohannesSweden77 said:

BBA1969 said:

At a 5mg dose, your "0,5ml x 10mg x 4 vials = 2ml 40mg" works out to 8 weeks, which for Reta is IMO roughly where degradation starts to matter.

By the way it's Tirz, though I suppose that doesn't really change anything?

Tirz is generally considered to hold up better, so an extra 2 or 3 weeks shouldn't be a problem.

What's the point of transferring to a pen instead of simply reconstituting and injecting straight from the vial? For a once-a-week injection, that just adds unnecessary work and danger.

Not once a week — the schedule is 1 injection per 3 days.

 

[eidos]

JohannesSweden77 said:

bbbilly said:

I came across a video by peptide critic where he used 2ml and added it to the vials sequentially. He started with 2ml in the first vial, waited for it to dissolve completely, then pulled that mixed solution out and transferred it into the next vial, then the next, and so on until every vial was finished. That approach means you avoid the calculations you're doing and can simply treat 4 vials of 10mg each as 40mg in 2ml.

I'm aware there might be some detail about how much the filler contributes when combining multiple vials, but I'm not sure I'd even bother with that.

Alright, that works as an approach. It does sound like extra hassle with all the transferring, or perhaps it ends up being the same amount of effort as what I had in mind? Keep in mind I'm not the sharpest. 🫪

Transferring each vial's contents into the cartridge after adding buffer is the smarter approach. This isn't only because it mirrors what I did — it also lowers how much the peptide could get damaged. There might be a slight drop in contamination risk as well, though I'd need to work that through, and it's too hot at the moment for that kind of thinking.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

eidos said:

JohannesSweden77 said:

bbbilly said:

I came across a video by peptide critic where he used 2ml and added it to the vials sequentially. He started with 2ml in the first vial, waited for it to dissolve completely, then pulled that mixed solution out and transferred it into the next vial, then the next, and so on until every vial was finished. That approach means you avoid the calculations you're doing and can simply treat 4 vials of 10mg each as 40mg in 2ml.

I'm aware there might be some detail about how much the filler contributes when combining multiple vials, but I'm not sure I'd even bother with that.

Alright, that works as an approach. It does sound like extra hassle with all the transferring, or perhaps it ends up being the same amount of effort as what I had in mind? Keep in mind I'm not the sharpest. 🫪

Transferring each vial's contents into the cartridge after adding buffer is the smarter approach. This isn't only because it mirrors what I did — it also lowers how much the peptide could get damaged. There might be a slight drop in contamination risk as well, though I'd need to work that through, and it's too hot at the moment for that kind of thinking.

Yeah, that matched my thinking. There's something odd about repeatedly moving and combining it again and again. The end result doesn't change, yet following the approach I (and you) described just sits better with me. I'll handle that tomorrow morning, once it's not a million degrees right?