What would be your ideal unit increments for your fast acting pen? - Page 2

Eddy · #16 (**permalink**) 04-20-2008, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funnygrl

1 unit drops me by 70

If you don't mind my asking: How much do you weigh, anyhow?!

(If you do mind my asking: I'm now in big trouble!)

shiftzor · #17 (**permalink**) 04-21-2008, 03:40 AM

1 unit drops me 5.5mmol/L (100 mg/dl) and i weigh 64kg, d*mmit those 0.5 people are winning

. I need my 0.25u 1.3mmol/L (24.73 mg/dl) corrections

.

ant hill · #18 (**permalink**) 04-21-2008, 04:19 AM

Would be fair to say that if you have small doses then the half and even smaller increments are needed?

I take too much insulin to benefit from having small increments like 30U Bolus is indeed large. so to have 31U would be what, Just 0.3% more. Not much of a difference.

Gary_W · #19 (**permalink**) 04-21-2008, 04:45 AM

I'm just wondering if part of the problem is 'how do you make a pen mechanism THAT fine?'. It could purely be an issue of mechanical engineering. Pens are made to a cost, and i wonder if the nuts and bolts side of things make it prohibitively expensive? I know that a pump will do 1/20th of a unit for bolus (and finer still for basal, I believe my Animas is capable of a delivery of 0.00125 units (minimum basal of 0.025u per hour, and it delivers that split into 20 even doses i.e. 0.00125 every 3 mins). However, that costs lots and has a precision motor / feedback from the motor as to exactly where the plunger is so it's possible. I wonder how possible it it to get accurate small doses in the confines of a pen?

Gary

Funnygrl · #20 (**permalink**) 04-21-2008, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy

If you don't mind my asking: How much do you weigh, anyhow?!

(If you do mind my asking: I'm now in big trouble!)

I weigh a lot. I'm 6 feet tall and strong and fat all in one. And we'll leave it at that.

Eddy · #21 (**permalink**) 04-21-2008, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funnygrl

I weigh a lot. I'm 6 feet tall and strong and fat all in one. And we'll leave it at that.

Hunh. I thought insulin sensitivity was based on mass and conditioning. Evidently there's more to it than that. Or you're conditioned enough that you're twice as sensitive as someone who's just a teeny bit shorter than you. Interesting. Thanks.

ant hill · #22 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funnygrl

I weigh a lot. I'm 6 feet tall and strong and fat all in one. And we'll leave it at that.

LOL Funnygirl, You're not alone as we just make sure that we cover the insulin and DO NOT FALL LOW!!!

Now where is that cure.

shiftzor · #23 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary_W

I'm just wondering if part of the problem is 'how do you make a pen mechanism THAT fine?'. It could purely be an issue of mechanical engineering. Pens are made to a cost, and i wonder if the nuts and bolts side of things make it prohibitively expensive? I know that a pump will do 1/20th of a unit for bolus (and finer still for basal, I believe my Animas is capable of a delivery of 0.00125 units (minimum basal of 0.025u per hour, and it delivers that split into 20 even doses i.e. 0.00125 every 3 mins). However, that costs lots and has a precision motor / feedback from the motor as to exactly where the plunger is so it's possible. I wonder how possible it it to get accurate small doses in the confines of a pen?

Gary

I guess the bigger issue is that they may not make an awful lot of money out of it as the market for such a device is small I would imagine, unlike a pump which is marketable to every diabetic. I definitely think it’s a combination of all of these factors, which sucks for people like me

.

Lizzie G · #24 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funnygrl

The problem with 0.25 unit increments is if you want 10 units it takes 40 clicks to get there. The max dose on the pen would need to be like 15 units.

0.5 would be ideal because you can get fine enough increments while still able to dial higher doses.

Actually, a pump is ideal

i hear what you're saying but couldnt you just have 2 different pens and you could use whichever suits your needs best on a given occasion?

shiftzor · #25 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lizzie G

i hear what you're saying but couldnt you just have 2 different pens and you could use whichever suits your needs best on a given occasion?

I think it would be better to change the feeling of the clicks, i.e clicks of whole units are stiffer than clicks of half units and then the 0.25 units is even less stiff. This would mean that racking up whole units would be easy however it would make it fidlier to rack up those less used half or quarter units. Might work.