Crooked Cartridge?

Sure, the issue's still there and I ought to handle it. Being stuck way out here leaves me without any backup cartridges or ways to order replacements. I did bring a few basics though like extra insulin needles, some strainers, and sterile water. My plan is to let a drop of that water run along the cartridge bottom then push in some air from the top to nudge the plug lower before testing it out. The other choices are hanging around for a couple months until the next chance or pulling the stuff into needles for the usual manual shots, but neither sounds good to me.

Maybe the right way to handle this is drawing every bit of liquid from the old cartridge using a three milliliter syringe, running that through a filter, then moving it all into a replacement one. What cartridges does everyone else have? The ones I own came from a big online retailer, as best I recall. My pens came from a specialized site.

Earlier today another one got stuck for me. I cleared it using the technique I mentioned previously and it succeeded both times. I added a little BAC water to the lower part then forced ten units of air in from the upper section of the cartridge to free it. I realize this isn't the most hygienic approach. Given my current isolated situation it is the only thing I can manage for now.

I notice that around half the usual cartridges arrive with the rubber seal flipped the wrong direction. The wide portion needs to face the side where the piston pushes. Comparing it to an ordinary insulin syringe makes the orientation obvious. Certain injectors supply enough pressure to move the piston despite the added drag. This setup works fine in a couple models but struggles in others and fails completely in particular versions.

You verify the alignment isn't off every single instance prior to installing the cartridge and reserve any off ones to test at some point in the future?