BariatricNurseD said:

Dead space is the answer to the missing dose.

I am going to disagree with reconstituting low as a general rule. More diluent, more punctures, more in-use days at room temperature, and the stability trade-off is real. Precision is not the only variable being optimised.

Ask again with the specifics and you will get a better answer than this one.

ricardo_MIA said:

I reconstituted a 10mg vial with 2ml of bacteriostatic water and I want someone to check my unit arithmetic before I draw anything, because I keep…

Peptide calculator app recommendation for dosing arithmetic: I use DoseRight to calculate reconstitution volumes and injection doses. Eliminates math errors completely.

Input: vial size (mg), desired concentration (mg/mL), prescribed dose (mg)
Output: BAC water volume (mL), injection volume (units on insulin syringe)

A math error with injectable medication can mean underdosing or overdosing. Use a calculator every time until the math becomes second nature.

Dr.SurgeonPGH said:

I am going to disagree with reconstituting low as a general rule.

Bacteriostatic water quality matters for dosing arithmetic reconstitution. Not all BAC water is created equal:

• Should contain 0.9% benzyl alcohol as preservative
• Must be sterile and pyrogen-free
• Should come in a sealed, intact vial
• Check expiration date — yes, BAC water expires
• Store at room temperature, protected from light

I buy from a reputable medical supply company, not Amazon marketplace sellers. The $3 savings isn't worth the infection risk from unverified BAC water.

A narrower follow-up, since the general answer is now clear:

How much material I am losing to dead space, and whether that explains why a 10mg vial gives me nine usable draws rather than ten?

OP back with an update, since a thread like this is useless without one.

Resolved. I wrote mg, ml and mg/ml on the vial in marker and did the division in that order, and the two of us now get the same number every time.