InPen Review (2018-19 Version)

I first heard about the InPen in December of 2018. If you've never heard of it, it's pretty much the smartphone of insulin pens.

An easy-to-use pen that not only helps calculate your doses but also keeps track of injection data. When paired via Bluetooth® with the smartphone app, the InPen delivery system keeps tabs on how many units you received at your last injection, when you took them, and other helpful information. - companionmedical.com/inpen

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It was so new to the market that most insurance companies didn't even know what it was. During my next Endocrinologist appointment I handed her a brochure for the InPen asking if she would give me a prescription. She was skeptical because she had never heard of it and it was not FDA certified (at the time). However, 3 months later at my next appointment she remembered the InPen and told me she did a lot of research and would recommend it for me.

In April of 2019, I signed up to receive my InPen while at the Austin JDRF typeonenation summit. The InPen/Companion Medical specialist at the booth informed me that they had a special ($99 per year) for people (like me) who's insurance did not cover it. I jumped on that offer! Your Endo will also need to prescribe U100 insulin cartridges and disposable needles for the InPen. It is only available at this time for Humalog and Novolog short-acting insulins.

Favorite Features

My favorite thing about the InPen is how it tracks Active Insulin or Insulin On Board (IOB). Since I use multiple daily injections (MDI) as my diabetes management it is crucial for me to know how much insulin is still in my system before I workout, go on a long walk, hike, go shopping, or pretty much any activity that keeps me moving over 30 minutes.

Occasionally, I forget what time I took insulin and how much I actually gave myself, so I knew I would be a great candidate for the InPen. That's the main data it calculates! The InPen app interface features a half circle design with times of the day. Little circles appear at the exact time of the dose and the circle is filled with the unit amount. The circles start out as solid blue and slowly become grey as the active insulin runs out.

My second favorite feature about the InPen is the long acting insulin dose reminder. IT SAVES MY LIFE. Literally. I occasionally forget to take Tresiba around 9PM, but the InPen app notifies me each day. You can totally customize what brand of long acting insulin you take, how many units, and the time of the reminder.

It's a half unit pen!!! I absolutely love being able to dose half units and was already using a half unit pen I was given from a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). The InPen is smaller and prettier - I chose the color blue because its my favorite. InPen is also available in Grey and Pink.

Least Favorite Features

I have to admit, I never use the dose calculator. I guess I don't trust it because I'm always guessing the amount of carbs in my food. Having a nutritional facts break down is a luxury most of the time. I know my body better and how it responds to different foods. So, I trust my judgement more than the calculator. Still, I highly recommend this feature for people pump users who are use to that feature and wish to take a pump break.

The InPen does connect to Apple Health. Devices compatible with Apple Health include:

Accu-Chek® Aviva Connect
Accu-Chek® Guide
AgaMatrix Jazz Wireless 2
Contour Next One
Dexcom G5®
Dexcom G6®
iHealth Smart
One Drop Chrome
One Touch Verio® Flex
One Touch Verio® Sync

Sadly, the InPen app doesn't display my glucose reading very well. Major lag time. It is currently displaying my glucose reading from 3h and 4m ago. Disappointing, but I wear a Dexcom G6 so I usually check my glucose reading on my Apple Watch 5 or the Dexcom app.

Changing the cartridge is annoying. Putting the cartridge into the pen itself is very easy, but it requires you to dial the pen back down which takes a minute or two. I have to hold the black doser so it won't keep winding open while I twist the black dial back down in order to insert a new, full insulin cartridge. Hope this makes sense! Kind of hard to explain.

Overall, I would highly recommend the InPen for anyone! Since it is so new, I anticipate some of the features I dislike to improve. I also hope that the InPen will become more popular among insurance companies so I could get it at a cheaper price. The pens' batteries are only good for 1 year and mine is coming up on the 1 year mark, and I plan on ordering another if everything works out!

Get Your InPen here: https://www.companionmedical.com/inpen

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