Has anyone here moved from using syringes to a pen?
- Thread starter PeptideGeeeeek
- Start date
scottboyington2
Explorer
Which pen do you use to inject that thick, tasty nectar?!
FunkyWhales78
Explorer
Filled my V3 pen for the first time today, using tirzepatide. I figured I had it all sorted out, yet I wound up wasting time fiddling around and I completely overlooked my filter while doing it! 
So now I'm considering which small stands I could 3d print, plus other accessories that might make things easier.
That said, I feel way better about how it all works now, and I'm confident the next round will go more smoothly. I've got TB500 and BPC157 ready to load once the next pen shows up. I was hoping to get a few done today, but I only had the one pen — probably for the best, since tackling another one soon, after giving it some thought, will work out better.
Biggest takeaway: those tiny 32g short needles are fantastic!
So now I'm considering which small stands I could 3d print, plus other accessories that might make things easier.
That said, I feel way better about how it all works now, and I'm confident the next round will go more smoothly. I've got TB500 and BPC157 ready to load once the next pen shows up. I was hoping to get a few done today, but I only had the one pen — probably for the best, since tackling another one soon, after giving it some thought, will work out better.
Biggest takeaway: those tiny 32g short needles are fantastic!
Took the plunge on a set of V4s. I wasn't sure a pen would really change much, but wow, I was wrong. Personally, the difference is huge. I still have plenty of syringes, yet I'm planning to get additional pens so I can rely on them full-time.
jmikes
Explorer
Give the gangulin pen a shot. It works as a spring-loaded auto injector. It costs more. I own two V-2 pens along with 1 gangulin.
pepsrjstsmllproteins
Explorer
This is something I'd genuinely like to learn more about. Which needle gauge do you go with, and what does the entire process involve?
Are you filling the pen cartridges on your own? If that's the case, do you have any firsthand knowledge about the empty pen cartridges sold by AE — specifically regarding how sterile and high-quality they are?
One more thing: have you run into any problems where the rubber stopper degrades or dissolves?
desinr-gal
Explorer
Once you set the dose, the plunger won't go past that point.
spanky2026
Explorer
A (maybe dumb) pen question aimed at the experts: in a video I watched, a guy inserted an empty cartridge into his pen so he could pre-purge it, with a vent needle attached, and used the pen to push the stopper up. Once it's at that point, is it possible to fill the cartridge while still in the pen? I've simply never come across anyone doing it that way, but I wondered why not?
spanky2026
Explorer
Disregard that! Turns out the answer is out there: filling can happen with it attached to the pen, though you'll need to briefly twist the pen apart to reset the spring once you've used the pen for pre-purging. Picking up something new every day.
View: https://youtube.com/shorts/BzCNlTGzVGg?is=f7EUE7lLVJsLvnHA
Not long ago I actually wrote something about this. I had a cartridge I was filling, and for a vent needle I was using a diabetic syringe (I ended up with roughly a zillion of them after inheriting them from a nursing home).
There was a debate going about whether that vent needle ought to have a filter attached, so I tried to settle it by leaving the plunger in place, figuring it would climb as the cart filled. It stayed put. The stopper got blown right out the bottom of the cartridge, and roughly 1/3 of my 'tides went all over the bar with it.
A person here mentioned that if I'd been filling it while it was in the pen, that wouldn't have occurred. They were correct, and that's exactly how I do it now.
PeptideGeeeeek
Explorer
Bookmarked! This is really helpful!
scottboyington2
Explorer
Same here, so I went looking on amazon and the biggest gauge I could find for pens was 29g. When it comes to oil, the smallest I've gone with is 25g.
FunkyWhales78
Explorer
Yep. Doing a dry run with nothing but tap water turned out to be a smart move, since I made the very same mistake.
These days I load it with the cart already in the pen.
Good thing your mistake didn't cost you much!
My approach was never going to work. I had a 0.5ml diabetic syringe, and I figured keeping the plunger in place would keep things sterile. What I failed to consider was that I was forcing 1.5ml into the cartridge; looking back, a 0.5ml syringe clearly couldn't hold that much.
In the end, it didn't matter at all!
FunkyWhales78
Explorer
What's the reason for such a thick gauge? For me, one big plus of making the switch is getting to use 32g needles that stay sharp because they never have to pierce a vial.
Wow, that was worth watching. I've already filled 3, so I figured I had the hang of it, but I really like how they raise the bottom of the cart up first, which means a venting needle isn't necessary.
I might be missing something, but doesn't that approach let air reach the sterile cartridge? When the stopper gets pushed upward, doesn't the vial's bottom end up open to the air before you go ahead and fill it? Or have I got it wrong?
Just A Cat
Explorer
It never stops surprising me how much effort people will invest in getting a pen ready... simply because they think syringes require too much work.
If it shows up already in a pen, the pen is the simpler option.
If it shows up in a vial, the syringe is the simpler option.
Still, at the end of the day, go with whatever brings you happiness. Happiness matters more.
If it shows up already in a pen, the pen is the simpler option.
If it shows up in a vial, the syringe is the simpler option.
Still, at the end of the day, go with whatever brings you happiness. Happiness matters more.
spanky2026
Explorer
The reason I like a pen isn't that I find syringes too laborious — it's that, after the pen has been prepared, injecting myself becomes so much simpler. Sure, getting it ready takes a minute. I picked one up for my daily KPV, and I'm on the verge of switching my Tirz over to a pen as well. My take is that with a good-quality pen, once you've given it a try, you won't want to go back. That's just my humble opinion, naturally
Troposphere
Explorer
That's exactly what I think too. Once a cartridge needs filling, I take a seat and prepare one for every pep in my current stack, like a batch production line.