Metoject Pen

weejim1961

Mistakenly posted this in the wrong sub forum, and the kind team advised me to post it this section

I have been giving myself a methotrexate injection once a week for the last few years. Anyone else who has the same medication, will probably have been switched (like myself) to the new self injecting pen type injection (Metoject). Apparently this is the way to go and the other injection form has been discontinued. I got my first batch of 4 last week, and when I took off the yellow cap at the end, the needle shield seemed to be stuck to the device. no matter how hard I pushed the cap to start the auto injection nothing happened. I tried another one, and it worked first time. With this one when I took off the yellow piece at bottom of injection, I heard a click, and about a half inch of needle shield was showing, which moved when I pressed it on skin, then another click when I pushed the start cap, and the injection was administered without me feeling a thing. Has anyone else who have been moved to these pens lately, had any problems with them? I took the faulty one back to the chemist, as the needle shield is fused to the syringe. Hopefully it's just a one off faulty one, although I am going on holiday next week with the 2 left from the same batch.

barbara12

Hello weejim and welcome to the forum
sorry I wont be any help just wanted to welcome you, I know there are a few on here with the pens so hopefully they will be along soon..it must be scary when they break like that :roll: hope you can get another one for your holiday..

stickywicket

Hello and welcome to the forum I'm still on tablet meth. There has been a lot of discussion on here about the metoject pens as many dislike them but I don't think I've heard of anyone who had that particular problem. I do hope it doesn't happen again, especially while you're away.

weejim1961

Thanks for the welcomes, my doctor has given me a script for another 2 pen injections just to be on the safe side. It could have been worse, imagine if it was one of them pens, that one takes if they take a severe reaction to something, and it not working. When the second one worked it was fine, although I still prefer the other injections, as they were a lot smaller in size. But more importantly because you push the needle in yourself and then administer the drug yourself you know you have got the drug in your system. With the pen your relying on a spring pushing the needle and drug in, after you push a cap to start it. Personally I didn't find it very arthritic friendly, but then I have little power in one arm, so it just might be me.

dreamdaisy

I'm being moved to this new system because it's more convenient and possibly cheaper for others. :roll: I plan to keep back some of my proper syringe meth so I have a back up in case of mechanical failure such as this. I already use the pen type for my humira and I dislike the total lack of control that 'offers'. Now I'll have three things out of my control, two meds and one disease! DD

weejim1961

Good thinking DD, I wish I had kept some of my pre-filled injections over as I had 3 left when I got my batch of 4 new pen type. I used them up before I started the pen, thing is you don't expect these things to happen. Hopefully it was a one off. Although when I read through the whole leaflet, that comes in the box it didn't fill me with much confidence when I read

"Use your other hand to pull the cap straight off. The small needle shield comes off with the cap automatically, if not, use another pen and contact your doctor, pharmacist or nurse."

Told the doctor to give a script for an extra 2 to take on holiday, just to be safe, he gave me 4

stickywicket

Well done! Forewarned is forearmed I hope you have a good holiday

dreamdaisy

Don't you just love the assumption that one's hands are up to the job of de-capping these contraptions? :roll: I occasionally have to wait to do my humira until 'im indoors is indoors to de-cap for me. By then I'm more in the mood to decapitate the manufacturers. DD

toady

I had my first go at one of these yesterday.. what a performance.. :shock: Was expecting the shield thing to retract & stay there, & for it to be obvious that I had done it right ie a click or something to prove it. Instead I was a bit unsure I was doing it right and found the force of the springloaded shield trying to push back against the force I was exerting to hold it down (weed.. :roll: )

Also it felt right to hold the thing quite far down its barrel, ie like a pen, leaving my thumb way too far away to press the button, especially with what deformities I have in my right hand, so really I could have done with another hand free. Moving my grip further up seemed to make me stop keeping the required pressure. No way could I hold it in the manner of the diagram in the leaflet, and still press the button. Plus when my grip was worse ie couldn't curl my fingers well at all, I can't see I would have been able to do it, fullstop. Nasty old things I say. Hopefully I'll improve with practice.. case of having to!