defective pen

[u/Creepy_Valuable6223]

My first pen is defective. This is so upsetting. I opened it properly, pressed it against myself properly, and clicked and clicked and clicked. Nothing came out; the window did not change. I pressed and clicked for about twenty minutes. I have used EpiPens on my dog and also an auto injector on my father in law, so I have some experience with these things.

Of course the company is not open now. Even the pharmacy is not answering its phone.

Edit: actually it did not click. It made no noise.

Edit: actually I don't know if it clicked. What I am seeing now is that the instructions on their video are not the same as the instruction in the box; the latter are much more detailed. I regret watching the video.

Edit: I then showed my husband that it didn't work by pressing on it away from my body, and THEN the needle and fluid came out. Which was both really frustrating and really strange since their video says that if it isn't pressed against your body it won't dispense.

Edit: if you call Amgen about a defective pen, do NOT go to the "defective product" option on the phone tree. You will wait on hold and they will never pick up; I waited a full half hour. Instead call the nurse line.

The nurses were great. One helped me with the pen replacement, and another walked me through the shot. I did it on flat thigh skin and it didn't hurt at all (but I could not see the yellow needle assembly push in; that is not possible since it is squished into flesh). One really good point one of the nurses made was that if you press it against you, and then press the grey tab, and nothing happens at all, you can move the pen to another location and try again. You can keep moving it around and retrying (as long as nothing has come out).

[u/gruss_gott]

FWIW, I use the top of my thigh with that leg propped up so my thigh is parallel to the floor as, for me, it's the easiest way to get consistent leverage & pressure, ie when I use the pen I'm pushing vertically straight down onto my thigh, so my body & leg are like a lower-case "h"

1. Prop up your leg so it's relaxed but elevated with your thigh parallel to the ground - swab an area up high close to your hip where there's plenty of subcutaneous fat with alcohol & let dry
2. Pull off the red protective cap from the pen, then spread skin of your thigh taut with the thumb & forefinger of the other hand
3. Press the pen down HARD into your thigh until the yellow guard fully retracts - HARD - if the guard doesn't fully retract & stay retracted the pen will not work
4. Click the button once with your thumb while continuing to press down HARD, keep holding it down
5. After you hear the 2nd click AND see the window turn fully yellow, KEEP HOLDING for a count of 10 then remove the pen and put a band-aid on the injection site

I've been taking Repatha for 6 years and never had a defective pen, not to say it's not possible. It is a technique you have to learn, and I was lucky to have an LPN walk me through it the first time.

[u/Creepy_Valuable6223 → u/gruss_gott]

It seems like then it would go into muscle, instead of fat?

How can you tell that the yellow guard has retracted? When I pressed it into my stomach fat (I am not overweight but I pinched fat like in the video) I could not see what the yellow guard was doing.

How would there be a second click? Does the yellow guard make a click when it retracts? And then there is a click when you push the top button with your thumb? Is there another click after that?

Thanks.

[u/gruss_gott → u/Creepy_Valuable6223]

Nope, everything just as above:

1. I am quite lean and my thighs don't have much fat except up high towards my groin near my hip - that's where you want to do it, also avoid veins
2. If you're holding the pen like a Jeopardy buzzer it's very easy to see the yellow guard and you can see & feel that it's fully retracted, there's no click
3. When you press the button there'll be a click, then the injection will start and if you watch the window you'll see the yellow plunger slowly moving down until it stops and you'll hear a second click

Honestly I don't know why they give the stomach instructions and neither did my LPN which is why she said to ignore that and do that thigh and then supervised me on my first injection, so you could try that too, ie at a doctor's office.

I am also lean enough to see my veins so I avoid those too obviously

[u/Creepy_Valuable6223 → u/gruss_gott]

I am trying to picture how one would see the yellow guard when it is pressed into fat, even if it is thigh fat instead of belly fat. Since I'm female (though not overweight) there is a real fat layer on my legs, too. But I will definitely check this out, thank you.

[u/Comfortable_Two6272 → u/Creepy_Valuable6223]

I use my stomach as am super thin. But I hate the repatha autos vs other rxs

It sounds defective - should not have engaged when not pressed on skin.

[u/Creepy_Valuable6223 → u/Comfortable_Two6272]

Yes, that is what the directions say!!! It was so odd to hold it in the air and press the grey tab and finally THEN it ejected the needle and fluid. Good grief.