[Diabetes-talk] Problems With the Count-a-Dose?

[Everett Gavel]

Hello All,

I've recognized some serious issues with my 
Count-a-Dose usage, and am wondering if anyone 
else has recognized similar issues? I don't know 
if i should just order a new one, or bypass it and 
use another method if it's perhaps more widespread 
and not just, hopefully, my current product.

I bought a new Count-a-Dose a few years ago, after 
the patent was bought by the new maker. I wanted 
to support their efforts to help blind diabetics, 
y'know? I've recently come to realize that for who 
knows how many years while I lived alone my 
Count-A-Dose may have been malfunctioning.

I've been married about a year and a half now, and 
I've now gotten into the habit of asking my wife, 
who can see just fine, to verify that the correct 
amount of units have gone into the thing, as well 
as checking for air. I've known for a long while 
now that the clicks are sometimes irregular, 
sometimes soft and unsure, and sometimes easy to 
recognize as a 'click,' or, a unit of insulin. But 
I didn't think much of it. It always seemed pretty 
much okay, not too unreliable I guess. But since 
having someone sighted around to check the 
results, I've been frustrated over time to find 
that I may have not only been injecting wrong 
amounts, and quite often it seems, air rather than 
insulin. It's happening a lot more than is safe to 
monitor one's insulin properly, safely. I hate 
feeling like I need sighted assistance, but do not 
feel confident in the ability any more, with this 
current product, to do it myself.

Now, before jumping to conclusions and thinking 
I'm just an idiot or something, please understand 
that I do pay pretty strict attention to putting 
in the same amount of air that i'm about to remove 
from each bottle of insulin. Still, I have a hard 
time getting all insulin, all the time, back into 
the syringe. If you simply attribute it to user 
error, I'll struggle to not argue that point 
(smile). But I also realize it may well be 
something *I'm* doing wrong. So I'm simply asking, 
has anyone else who used or uses the Count-a-Dose 
with bottles of insulin, had any issues they've 
recognized?


Thanks,
Everett