Has anyone here moved from using syringes to a pen?

[Justatechdude]

Daily use: pens.

Weekly use: syringe.

I’ve also moved my TRT over to a pen for daily micro dosing. I load the cartridge with a week’s worth, then toss it and start a fresh onez

 

[TazaTaza]

Seven-Toez said:

I worry that a pen would break on me and dump the entire vial in one go.

Getting the plunger to move would take a great deal of push.

Not long ago, bl00d ended up flowing back into my cart, ruining everything inside, and I wound up tossing the entire cart. The one upside was that just 2 d00ses remained in it. Even so, it was a lousy situation.

I had no idea something like that could even happen. Must have been bad luck and I caught something with the needle. So now pens come with a fresh worry for me, though I keep taking the chance anyway.

Once that happened, I went back to syringes for that particular pep for some time

 

[Milotic]

Just got my first pen going yesterday! Honestly it felt enjoyable and kind of thrilling like I was doing lab work haha. That said, the thing I appreciate about syringes is being able to actually watch the amount you're pulling, while with a pen you're trusting that the units are right.

The pen is only for peps I take every day or several times a week; anything else and I'll stick with a syringe

 

[sheilarae74]

I keep going back and forth on this. Pens are what I reach for when I'm pinning every day. My plan is likely to set the pens aside for my Dad and stick with syringes for myself. Managing pens for 2 people is a hassle I'd rather not take on.

 

[PeptideGeeeeek]

Justatechdude said:

Daily use: pens.

Weekly use: syringe.

I’ve also moved my TRT over to a pen for daily micro dosing. I load the cartridge with a week’s worth, then toss it and start a fresh onez

That basically captures it! I’m considering getting a pen as well.

 

[Alex_9327]

MisterM. said:

I can't stand Syringes, and the only time I reach for one is to reconstitute the Peps. One single Syringe use was all it took before I jumped straight over to the Pens. Right now my Fridge holds 4 Pens: 2 are mine and 2 belong to my wife, covering Tirz, Reta, plus 2 Pens loaded with GHK-CU.

Using the Pen is something we both really like — it's effortless and doesn't hurt, thanks to those short, thin needles at 32G 4mm & 31G 5mm.

Since you store them all in one place, do you put labels on the pens so you can tell which is which?

 

[MisterM.]

Rosco P. Coltrane said:

For everyday use, pens are fine. But when it comes to reta, I don't have enough faith in their precision, so I stick with a syringe for that.

Both yes and no. It is true that many pens out there aren't precise. Still, you can check a pen beforehand: take an empty vial, put in 3ml of water, and run a test. If the pen is good and accurate, it should deliver exactly 297-300 units/clicks with under 1% variance.

From what I've found, a solid, tested pen gives you dosages that are more accurate than what you get from a syringe.

@Alex_9327

No, all 4 of my pens are different. My wife keeps two extra "feminine pens" in Purple and Red, while mine are Grey & Blue. On top of that, the GHK-CU fluid is Blue, so it's easy to tell which is Tirz and which is GHK-CU. If every pen were identical, then yes, labeling would be necessary.

 

[Shittersfull]

Each has its own advantages, as far as I'm concerned. For my dialysis pep (ghkcu) I reach for a pen, while everything else gets done with syringes. Since I filter all of it, and sterile pen cartridges cost me less than sterile vials do, plus pen tips come cheaper than syringes, the pens end up being the cheaper option over time, in my opinion. That said, my glp will never go in through a pen. What I want is the certainty of steady dosing that an insulin syringe gives me.

 

[Blueeyedme]

For my daily shots I now use a Gansulin, and it's great. The weekly GLP still gets a syringe, though.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

Shittersfull said:

Each has its own advantages, as far as I'm concerned. For my dialysis pep (ghkcu) I reach for a pen, while everything else gets done with syringes. Since I filter all of it, and sterile pen cartridges cost me less than sterile vials do, plus pen tips come cheaper than syringes, the pens end up being the cheaper option over time, in my opinion. That said, my glp will never go in through a pen. What I want is the certainty of steady dosing that an insulin syringe gives me.

One way to build confidence: load a cylinder with water, then weigh whatever comes out. Since the screw is calibrated, as long as you locate carts you trust, you ought to be fine.

Alternatively, stick with split usage and stay content. Back when I was measuring just a few units from an oil based vial, a pen didn't give me a secure feeling.

 

[Shittersfull]

Foggy-Hollow said:

Shittersfull said:

Each has its own advantages, as far as I'm concerned. For my dialysis pep (ghkcu) I reach for a pen, while everything else gets done with syringes. Since I filter all of it, and sterile pen cartridges cost me less than sterile vials do, plus pen tips come cheaper than syringes, the pens end up being the cheaper option over time, in my opinion. That said, my glp will never go in through a pen. What I want is the certainty of steady dosing that an insulin syringe gives me.

One way to build confidence: load a cylinder with water, then weigh whatever comes out. Since the screw is calibrated, as long as you locate carts you trust, you ought to be fine.

Alternatively, stick with split usage and stay content. Back when I was measuring just a few units from an oil based vial, a pen didn't give me a secure feeling.

That makes sense, and I could try it. My confidence would go up, sure, but it would still only reach 95%. With a syringe, on the other hand, I'm $100% confident.

 

[MisterM.]

Shittersfull said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

Shittersfull said:

Each has its own advantages, as far as I'm concerned. For my dialysis pep (ghkcu) I reach for a pen, while everything else gets done with syringes. Since I filter all of it, and sterile pen cartridges cost me less than sterile vials do, plus pen tips come cheaper than syringes, the pens end up being the cheaper option over time, in my opinion. That said, my glp will never go in through a pen. What I want is the certainty of steady dosing that an insulin syringe gives me.

One way to build confidence: load a cylinder with water, then weigh whatever comes out. Since the screw is calibrated, as long as you locate carts you trust, you ought to be fine.

Alternatively, stick with split usage and stay content. Back when I was measuring just a few units from an oil based vial, a pen didn't give me a secure feeling.

That makes sense, and I could try it. My confidence would go up, sure, but it would still only reach 95%. With a syringe, on the other hand, I'm $100% confident.

Everyone's mileage differs. In my case, a pen delivers a more precise dose than a syringe does. When you use a syringe, you can't ever land exactly on the ml/Unit mark. With a quality, accurate pen, you load the recon into your Cartridge. Take peps mixed with 3ml BAC as an example. Then the math goes like this: Tirz 30 tested at 32,70 MG :300 Units =0,109 MG per Unit. Since I need 5MG, I dial 46 Units/Klicks. So far it's working nicely. Add in that pen needles hurt less, and I see no reason to go back to an Insulin Syringe.

 

[FunkyWhales78]

My pen showed up earlier today. Since I leave for vacation tomorrow, there's no sense in mixing a vial just to try it out. Still, I was shocked at just how tiny a 5mm needle is. Looking back, I suspect I've been injecting too far in, always pinching the skin first. I have to admit, I was curious enough that I stuck myself with it just to see. Barely registered anything.

 

[miss-sanne]

CNCCurrency said:

miss-sanne said:

Syringes are something I really can't stand. After drawing the peps, the needle tends to get somewhat blunt, which means more force is needed to get through my skin at 50 years old, lol. A pen, on the other hand, is simply effortless to put together and to use.

I was under the impression that skin gets thinner with age?

Yeah, it does—though perhaps less so around the belly?

Not sure, maybe my menopause skin is just odd lol

 

[loopymcgee]

diplomat said:

I initially went for the pricier auto-injector options when I decided to get a pen, and I picked up 3 different ones to test. Every single one jams partway through the shot...I can't tell whether it's the plunger getting sticky, the thin needles I'm using, or maybe how thick the solution is, but they all halt mid-dose.

These days I stick with basic (V2?) pens, or the 2$ throwaways. When I supply the force myself, no jamming happens!

...plus I really like how sharp the needles are, since I've never come across a rubber stopper.

Pens you throw away after use?

 

[Calm Logic]

loopymcgee said:

diplomat said:

I initially went for the pricier auto-injector options when I decided to get a pen, and I picked up 3 different ones to test. Every single one jams partway through the shot...I can't tell whether it's the plunger getting sticky, the thin needles I'm using, or maybe how thick the solution is, but they all halt mid-dose.

These days I stick with basic (V2?) pens, or the 2$ throwaways. When I supply the force myself, no jamming happens!

...plus I really like how sharp the needles are, since I've never come across a rubber stopper.

Pens you throw away after use?

Yep, the inexpensive plastic kind of pens.

 

[Redz]

Syringes get the job done without fuss and without extra expense, so a pen doesn't seem worth paying more for.

 

[HouseCat]

For anything daily or 2-3x/wk I reach for pens, while weekly tirz still goes through syringes. That said, in a few weeks I'll start using a pen for weekly Elora. Before trusting any pen, I check its accuracy by filling a cart with water and pushing that into a syringe.

The appeal of pens for me: injections go fast, and awkward spots such as the derrière are simpler to reach. Because the needle never pierces rubber, it stays very sharp. What I appreciate about syringes is that nothing needs preparing. Even so, pen prep doesn't strike me as difficult — mostly clearing air out of the cart and clicking until drops appear, then after several shots I add a spacer so the cart gives me as much as possible.

 

[Troposphere]

My move over to pens is almost finished. I use a pen for KLOW every day, GH every day, and MOTS-C twice a week.

Another pen should arrive next week, which I'll use for Reta.

 

[sheilarae74]

HouseCat said:

For anything daily or 2-3x/wk I reach for pens, while weekly tirz still goes through syringes. That said, in a few weeks I'll start using a pen for weekly Elora. Before trusting any pen, I check its accuracy by filling a cart with water and pushing that into a syringe.

The appeal of pens for me: injections go fast, and awkward spots such as the derrière are simpler to reach. Because the needle never pierces rubber, it stays very sharp. What I appreciate about syringes is that nothing needs preparing. Even so, pen prep doesn't strike me as difficult — mostly clearing air out of the cart and clicking until drops appear, then after several shots I add a spacer so the cart gives me as much as possible.

My situation is the reverse. Pinning in that area is tough for me, even with my Convipen. My last GHK-CU cycle wrapped up 5 days ago, and my butt still has sore spots. This round I went with 8mm needles too. Syringes have never given me trouble, which is odd.