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Why is my insulin pen not working?

Author

Olivia House

Updated on March 08, 2026

Why is my insulin pen not working?

Faults which could occur to an insulin pen can include: Broken or cracked insulin cartridge holder. Needle not screwing onto the insulin pen correctly. Dose units counter not moving or moving incorrectly.

Hereof, what happens if you don't Prime insulin pen?

Priming your Pen Prime before each injection. Priming your Pen means removing the air from the Needle and Cartridge that may collect during normal use and ensures that the Pen is working correctly. If you do not prime before each injection, you may get too much or too little insulin.

One may also ask, why is my insulin not working properly? Insulin resistance is when the insulin that you produce, or the insulin you inject, doesn't work properly. This can mean your blood sugar levels increase. Insulin resistance can happen if you have too much fat around your stomach, but it doesn't only affect you if you're overweight.

Additionally, how do you know if an insulin pen is bad?

If you're seeing sudden surging high blood glucose readings when you start a new vial or pen and you can rule out dietary changes, changes in activity level, and/or changes in stress level, you may have bad insulin. Call your doctor for advice, and call the manufacturer so they can replace the insulin.

How do you get air out of an insulin pen?

To remove air bubbles, tap the syringe so the air bubbles rise to the top and push up on the plunger to remove the air bubbles. Recheck the dose and add more insulin to the syringe if necessary. Remove the needle from the insulin bottle. Carefully replace the cap on the needle.

Do you have to pinch the skin when giving insulin?

Insulin shots should go into a fatty layer of your skin (called “subcutaneous” or “SC” tissue). You do not have to pinch up the skin unless you are using a longer needle (6.8 to 12.7 mm). Small children or very thin adults may need to inject at a 45-degree angle. Wait 5 seconds before pulling out the needle.

Do you have to Prime insulin pens?

Prime the insulin pen. Priming means removing air bubbles from the needle, and ensures that the needle is open and working. The pen must be primed before each injection. To prime the insulin pen, turn the dosage knob to the 2 units indicator.

Can you use insulin straight from the fridge?

Although manufacturers recommend storing your insulin in the refrigerator, injecting cold insulin can sometimes make the injection more painful. To avoid this, many providers suggest storing the bottle of insulin you are using at room temperature. Insulin kept at room temperature will last approximately 1 month.

What happens if there is an air bubble in an insulin injection?

An air bubble in an insulin syringe poses no direct health threat. If you inject air into your body along with your insulin, it won't kill you because you are injecting the insulin into the fat layer under the skin, not directly into a vein.

How often should you change insulin pen needles?

Insulin pen needles should be used only once; they should be removed and discarded after an injection.

Can you use insulin pen needles more than once?

Today, it is recognized that reuse of insulin needles is not uncommon, even among younger patients who did not have the personal history of having once used glass syringes with detachable needles. The most common reason for reuse of insulin needles is not cost.

Can you dial back an insulin pen?

A person may dial in the correct dose, put the needle into the skin correctly, but instead of pushing the button at the end of the pen to inject the insulin, dial the dose back to zero. This would result in no insulin being injected.

What if there is blood in my insulin pen?

Insulin pens must never be used for more than one person. Regurgitation of blood into the insulin cartridge can occur after injection [1] creating a risk of bloodborne pathogen transmission if the pen is used for more than one person, even when the needle is changed.

What happens to insulin if it's not refrigerated?

Insulin kept out of the refrigerator will not poison you or even make you sick. It just means that your insulin will not work as well or deliver its full potential dose. In simple terms, if your blood sugar is high, and you use the insulin that has been kept out, your blood sugar may not be lowered.

Why do you have to throw away insulin after 28 days?

But insulin in vials can be kept at room temperature up to 28 days. A: All the insulin manufacturers recommend throwing out the rest of the insulin in the vial, because they cannot guarantee the insulin is still good.

How long can insulin be out of fridge?

Insulin products contained in vials or cartridges supplied by the manufacturers (opened or unopened) may be left unrefrigerated at a temperature between 59°F and 86°F for up to 28 days and continue to work.

Can insulin lose its effectiveness?

At room temperature, the degradation of insulin is an approximately linear function. At elevated temperatures, insulin loses chemical potency, which is accelerated as the temperature increases. For example, at room temperature (77°F), insulin will lose <1.0% of its potency over 30 days, or <0.03% potency lost per day.

What are the side effects of bad insulin?

What are the side effects of taking insulin?

Low blood sugar.
Weight gain when you first start using it.
Lumps or scars where you've had too many insulin injections.
Rash at the site of injection or, rarely, over your entire body.
With inhaled insulin, there's a chance your lungs could tighten suddenly if you have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Do insulin pens expire?

Insulin has two expiration dates. One expiry date is printed on the bottle or pen, which is one year after the purchase date. This expiration date is only valid if the insulin is unopened and stored properly. The other expiration date is 28 days after opening the insulin.

Should I keep my insulin pen in the fridge?

Keep unused bottles, cartridges, and pens of insulin in the refrigerator (between 36°F and 46°F). If stored properly, these will be good until the expiration date listed on the insulin. Keep insulin cartridges and pens that you're currently using at room temperature (between 56°F and 80°F.)

Is cloudy insulin bad?

If regular insulin becomes cloudy, throw it away, says the ADA. It has lost its effectiveness, and won't keep your blood sugar from getting too high. If your insulin is a mix of regular and NPH or ultralente insulins, you may be getting NPH or ultralente in the bottle of regular insulin.

How do you know if insulin is working?

Everyone is different, but the average blood glucose levels for an adult, before a meal, is usually between 70–130 mg/dl, and less than 180 mg/dl one or two hours after a meal. If your tests are consistently falling into these ranges, it's likely a safe bet to say that your diabetes medication is working.

Why is my blood sugar high even with insulin?

It might be because they're afraid of low blood sugar, or they're nervous about needles. You might feel more comfortable by slowly increasing your insulin dose. Consider an insulin pump or pen, if you don't like needles. Whatever the cause of your blood sugar highs, work closely with your doctor to find a solution.

Is 30 units of insulin a lot?

Generally, to correct a high blood sugar, one unit of insulin is needed to drop the blood glucose by 50 mg/dl. This drop in blood sugar can range from 30-100 mg/dl or more, depending on individual insulin sensitivities, and other circumstances.

What happens when your body rejects insulin?

In people with insulin resistance, the cells are unable to use insulin effectively. When the cells cannot absorb glucose, levels of this sugar build up in the blood. If glucose, or blood sugar, levels are higher than usual but not high enough to indicate diabetes, doctors refer to this as prediabetes.

What causes sudden insulin resistance?

While genetics, aging and ethnicity play roles in developing insulin sensitivity, the driving forces behind insulin resistance include excess body weight, too much belly fat, a lack of exercise, smoking, and even skimping on sleep. As insulin resistance develops, your body fights back by producing more insulin.

Can a diabetic pancreas start working again?

Researchers have discovered that patients with type 1 diabetes can regain the ability to produce insulin. They showed that insulin-producing cells can recover outside the body. Hand-picked beta cells from the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas.

Is insulin bad for kidneys?

As long as the pancreas produces enough insulin and your body can use it properly, blood sugar levels will be kept within a healthy range. A buildup of glucose in the blood (hyperglycemia) can cause complications like nerve damage (neuropathy), kidney damage, and eye problems.

How many units of insulin is normal?

How much insulin do you need? In type 1 diabetes, most people need a total of 0.5 - 0.8 units of insulin per kilogram of body weight each day.

How do you correct insulin resistance?

How to Reverse Insulin Resistance and Prediabetes

Choose a Whole Foods Diet. Try to eat complex carbohydrates.
Eliminate Sugary Drinks and Simple Carbohydrates. Simple sugars alone don't cause diabetes, but they do contribute to insulin resistance and overall poor health.
Increase Fiber Intake.

What can you do with an empty insulin pen?

Once the needle is removed, pen devices can be safely disposed of in household trash. These devices should not be recycled. Vials and Cartridges: Empty insulin vials and cartridges can be disposed of in household trash. Do not recycle these items.

What happens if you accidentally inject insulin into a vein?

Instead of the insulin being gradually absorbed into the circulation from tissue, it is immediately available in the bloodstream. This results in abnormally high insulin levels that can cause a rapid drop in blood sugar levels—hypoglycemia. If left untreated, hypoglycemia may lead to unconsciousness.

What happens if you accidentally inject air into muscle?

Injecting a small air bubble into the skin or a muscle is usually harmless. But it might mean you aren't getting the full dose of medicine, because the air takes up space in the syringe.

Where do you inject insulin pens?

Where to inject insulin

Abdomen. The preferred site for insulin injection is your abdomen.
Thigh. You can inject into the top and outer areas of your thigh, about 4 inches down from the top of your leg and 4 inches up from your knee.
Arm. Use the fatty area on the back of your arm, between your shoulder and elbow.

How do you inject insulin pen without pain?

There's a simple technique to make injecting yourself with insulin easy and pain-free. The basic steps are to locate a fatty site so that you can inject the insulin into a layer of fat under the skin; hold the needle like a dart; and pierce the skin rapidly — speed is key!

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