Insulatard Patient Counseling Information

Insulatard suspension for injection in pre-filled pen: Your FlexPen is a unique dial-a-dose insulin pen. You can select doses from 1 to 60 units in increments of 1 unit. FlexPen is designed to be used with NovoFine or NovoTwist disposable needles up to a length of 8 mm. As a precautionary measure, always carry a spare insulin delivery device in case the FlexPen is lost or damaged.
Maintenance: Your FlexPen is designed to work accurately and safely. It must be handled with care. If it is dropped or crushed, there is a risk of damage and leakage of insulin.
You can clean the exterior of the FlexPen by wiping it with a medicinal swab. Do not soak it, wash or lubricate it as it may damage the pen.
Do not refill your Insulatard FlexPen.
Preparing the Insulatard FlexPen: Check the label to make sure that the Insulatard FlexPen contains the correct type of insulin. Before the first injection with a new FlexPen, you must resuspend the insulin: A. Let the insulin reach room temperature before you use it. This makes it easier to resuspend. Pull off the pen cap.
B. Move the pen up and down twenty times, so the glass ball moves from one end of the cartridge to the other. Repeat until the liquid appears uniformly white and cloudy.For every following injection move the pen up and down at least 10 times until the liquid appears uniformly white and cloudy.
After the patient have resuspended the insulin, complete all the following steps of injection without delay.
Always check there are at least 12 units of insulin left in the cartridge to allow resuspension. If there are less than 12 units left, use a new FlexPen.
Attaching a needle: C. Remove the protective tab from a new disposable needle.
Screw the needle straight and tightly onto the FlexPen.
D. Pull off the big outer needle cap and keep it for later.
E. Pull off the inner needle cap and dispose of it.
Always use a new needle for each injection to prevent contamination.
Be careful not to bend or damage the needle before use.
To reduce the risk of unexpected needle sticks, never put the inner needle cap back on when the patient have removed it from the needle.
Checking the insulin flow: Prior to each injection, small amounts of air may collect in the cartridge during normal use. To avoid injection of air and ensure proper dosing: F. Turn the dose selector to select 2 units.
G. Hold the FlexPen with the needle pointing upwards and tap the cartridge gently with a finger a few times to make any air bubbles collect at the top of the cartridge.
H. Keeping the needle upwards, press the push-button all the way in. The dose selector returns to 0.
A drop of insulin should appear at the needle tip. If not, change the needle and repeat the procedure no more than 6 times.
If a drop of insulin still does not appear, the pen is defective, and you must use a new one.
Selecting the dose: Check that the dose selector is set at 0: I. Turn the dose selector to select the number of units you need to inject.
The dose can be corrected either up or down by turning the dose selector in either direction until the correct dose lines up with the pointer. When turning the dose selector, be careful not to push the push-button as insulin will come out.
You cannot select a dose larger than the number of units left in the cartridge.
Do not use the residual scale to measure your dose of insulin.
Making the injection: J. Insert the needle into your skin. Use the injection technique shown by your doctor or nurse: Inject the dose by pressing the push-button all the way in until 0 lines up with the pointer. Be careful only to push the push-button when injecting. Turning the dose selector will not inject insulin.
K. Keep the push-button fully depressed after the injection until the needle has been withdrawn from the skin. The needle must remain under the skin for at least 6 seconds. This will ensure that the full dose has been injected.
L. Lead the needle into the big outer needle cap without touching the big outer needle cap. When the needle is covered, carefully push the big outer needle cap completely on and then unscrew the needle.
Dispose of it carefully and put the pen cap back on.
Always remove the needle after each injection and store your FlexPen without the needle attached. Otherwise the liquid may leak out which can cause inaccurate dosing.
Caregivers should be most careful when handling used needles to avoid needle sticks.
Dispose of the used FlexPen carefully without the needle attached.
Needles and Insulatard FlexPen must not be shared.