Mixing two bottles of the same insulin together?

So the other night I went to re-load my pump and i realized i didn't have enough insulin in the vial. and i only had one other vial of novorapid that i had left in the fridge about a month and a half ago even tho it had barely anything in it. I ended up mixing the two bottles together to make the 200units.

i don't think i ever did that with shots, since the needle was so much smaller and i could get almost every last drop of the vial..but the pump cartridge needle is so huge, i got more air than insulin when i tried.

does anyone else do this? have you noticed anything weird happen with your levels? i mean..i know it's the same insulin but they were bought at different times(one bottle before I started the pump, the other bottle long after i started the pump), so maybe not even from the same batch?

I've done it before..during emergencies haha. You'll be fine. I've used insulin thats been in my fridge for 2-3 months after i opened it..but thats humalog..I'm sure its the same for novorapid. My pharmacy is really nice to me when I need an emergency supply of insulin..probably because I'm silly and used to drop bottles all the time. Insulin is insulin. Just try to test as much as you can for the next day or two. Or until you reload your pump (48 hrs? right? I'm still a pen girl). Now I use pens so I don't really have that problem. I know that lantus doesn't work as well after 28 days...but you're not on that so you're fine.

[quote user="MCurran"]

I've done it before..during emergencies haha. You'll be fine. I've used insulin thats been in my fridge for 2-3 months after i opened it..but thats humalog..I'm sure its the same for novorapid. My pharmacy is really nice to me when I need an emergency supply of insulin..probably because I'm silly and used to drop bottles all the time. Insulin is insulin. Just try to test as much as you can for the next day or two. Or until you reload your pump (48 hrs? right? I'm still a pen girl). Now I use pens so I don't really have that problem. I know that lantus doesn't work as well after 28 days...but you're not on that so you're fine.

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haha awesome. I'm surprised in 16years of taking shots, I don't remember ever mixing two bottles except when i was on N and R and i took them together in the morning and dinner.

i've got 48hours left, it's every 3days. so far my levels have been perfect which is weird, probably why i'm questioning mixing the two. i've been 5.8 since 230am haha

N and R! Oh my gosh those days are so far behind! When I was diagnosed in 1991 (I was 3), I was put on that regime until I was 14. It was not fun! And my parents had to weigh my food and count calories and exchanges!

 

It was kind of nice though because I was always skinny and barely gained any weight during my adolescence! The weight I gained was like 5 pounds...and I would freak out (I'm only 5ft tall and 120 now) because I thought I was getting super fat! HAHAHA.

 

Now I love carb counting! Its so easy! Speaking of which, I'm heading off to PF Changs to meet my friend for lunch. How long have you had the betes?

i never did the exchange thing really, but i was on N and R until about 3 or 4 years ago. Then I switched to Lantus and Novorapid and my control tightened up within a week! I went from almost always being on the higher side, to getting more normal numbers with the snap of my fingers. haha.

this is my 2nd year of carb counting though, and i hate it with a passion. such a pain in the ass. i never pay attention to carbs and that stuff in food, and i dont deal with math and measurements well so it's really hard for me.

I used to be on pens before I got my pump. When I started on my pump I had 4 or 5 pens left that I didn't need. When my vial got low I would empty a pen into it and use it in my pump. I didn't notice any difference in my numbers.

N abd R were the worst i lost my bottle of insulin while i was away over the summer and had to buy my old friend R at the store it was a not so nice trip down memory lane lol

i mix insulins if im on my last dose of lantus i will fill my needle with whatevers left in the vial then opena new vial and finish my dose..never had a problem

Im surprised u dont like carb counting that has been the biggest key in getting my sugars under control... then again i cant cook for my life so i eat mostly prepackaged stuff.. if i was to eat pasta right now i would still just guestimate by looking at it :)

[quote user="Evamarie"]

N abd R were the worst i lost my bottle of insulin while i was away over the summer and had to buy my old friend R at the store it was a not so nice trip down memory lane lol

i mix insulins if im on my last dose of lantus i will fill my needle with whatevers left in the vial then opena new vial and finish my dose..never had a problem

Im surprised u dont like carb counting that has been the biggest key in getting my sugars under control... then again i cant cook for my life so i eat mostly prepackaged stuff.. if i was to eat pasta right now i would still just guestimate by looking at it :)

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carb counting is annoying for me. mostly because my fixed doses are only 1 or 2 units more or less than what i give myself each meal when i carb count...i also try to avoid packaged food, never payed attention to that kinda stuff anyways, so having to try and remember how big a cup portion of pasta is and how many carbs are in it...when i didn't know that to begin with and i have WAY more important stuff to fill my memory with..drives me nuts. takes me WAY longer to get ready to eat now and as a result, my levels haven't changed at ALL since carb counting.

i do that alot lol. it'll be fine.

For 67 years, when I get to the end of a vial and there's not enough to satisfy my need, I have always drawn the rest of what I need from the new vial, mixing them (sort of) in the syringe, no matter whether the syringe was for one injection or for insertion into my pump. I've never had a problem doing this.

Tom

i mix all the time. when i was switching insulins i mixed humalog and novolog. that's probably a no-no, but i wasn't going to waste what was left in the bottle. i can't imagine it would hurt anything.... the effectiveness of the older bottle might be less, but i would think that's about the extent of it. i squeeze every last drop out of those bottles!

I do it all the time.  as long as one bottle is not going bad.  other than that you should be fine, I have never seen any problems with my levels from mixing this way.  you may want to be sure that you wipe the bottle tops and needle down with an alcohol wipe but other than that you should be fine.