I Dropped my Insulin Pen, Now What?

You dropped your pen, you don't know if its going to work accurately or not, so what next? 

Do not use your pen until you can test its function, or you could end up getting too much or too little insulin. Until you test and know for sure, use insulin syringes. Just remove the cartridge from the pen and use the syringe, just like you would with a vial of insulin. 

However, there's an easy test you can do if you have any Novofine pen needle tips. Even though I have switched brands over the years, I always keep at least a couple of dozen of them on hand, just for this purpose. You can use one with the outer cap on to test your pens accuracy. 

The method is given in the instruction booklet for Novopen users. You just put a tip on the pen, pull off the outer cap, then the inner cap. Dial up 2 units and do an air shot, then put the outer cap back on, and dial up 20 units. Holding the pen with the needle tip downward, push the button and do the shot into the outer cap. The insulin should fill the small area of the cover, and not go under or over that section. Its a test to make sure your pen works. This should work for any pen, as long as you use a Novofine pen needle tip.

You can go to this link and download the manual  http://www.novonordisk.com/diabetes/public/insulinpens/novopen4/manual.asp  

or use this screen shot of the relevant page of the manual.

If your pen fails this simple test, do NOT use it. Get a replacement asap and until then, continue to use syringes and the cartridges, without the pen.