Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rye on April 5, 2011 at 6:13pm

I am going to say I think this is a JB special...lol...I have never heard of insulin not needing to be refrigerated unless it was in the pen form and it was already used once. If it was just plain on insulin in a vial I think you were using it wrong to being with. I am happy to hear however that you discovered when the insulin works best for you. :)

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on April 5, 2011 at 6:51pm

I always keep my stash in the fridge and agree that it works better, particularly @ the end of a bottle. I think it gets a bit fried, even at reasonable room temperatures. When I did MDI, I'd save some empty bottles to use for portable purposes on hot days.

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Permalink Reply by Sophia'smommyLori on April 5, 2011 at 7:06pm

my dtr is on a pump and we use vials of insulin and must carry one with us all the time (at room temp)....not to mention the insulin in the pump is obviously at room temp for the 3 day duration of the pump and it "seems" to work fine but there ARE times when I wonder if at the end of the bottle is it working as well as when it was fresh....

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Permalink Reply by Trudy on April 5, 2011 at 7:08pm

Hi JB. My Apidra absolutely has to be kept in the fridge after opening. I transport both my Apidra vial and Levemir pen in an insulated bag with ice, three seasons of the year. Losing a pen or a vial after two weeks of use drives me crazy, but it happens. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on April 5, 2011 at 9:26pm

I use Apidra and I haven't noticed any change from the day I open it to when it's empty.. I don't cart mine around with me though, once a vial is open, unless I go out of town, it just sits next to the sink in the master bathroom. I use up a vial on average in 12-14 days, so it's rare that I have a vial open for longer than that... I go through 2 1/2 to 3 bottles a month after what is wasted (and I no longer feel the need to suck out the last few drops in a vial either).

Now, I *can* say that I have notices significant changes in potency/action between different lot numbers... for example I had a bunch set to expire in September of this year that seemed to be a bit "slower" than I had been experiencing and I needed much more of it to bring down high #'s. Changing to a lot # that expires 12/2011 and things are back to what was 'normal' before I started using the 9/2011 batch. I tend to have 4-6 vials of any one lot number, so I can get a consistent stretch before I need to worry about differences.. typically a new lot # will mean minor changes in basal rates and I:C.. so it's nice to be prepared to make those changes rather than wondering what the heck is going on with my #'s.

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Permalink Reply by Bug74 on April 5, 2011 at 7:11pm

Johnben, you are SPECIAL!!

I keep mine in the fridge and use about a bottle a month. I'm on the pump. I notice a marked increase in the potency of a brand new bottle of insulin. It seems to last about two set changes (I change every two days).

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Permalink Reply by Laura on April 5, 2011 at 8:48pm

I kept my daughter's Humalog out when she was first diagnosed. The doctor said in order for this to work you have to keep it in a place where there are no temperature fluctuations. It worked fine, but if I didn't have the new vial at the end of 28 days I would notice her BG going up. Now I keep it refrigerated and it works fine for at least an extra week if I need it to.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on April 5, 2011 at 9:01pm

New insulin vials are always more potent. Unopened vials should be refrigerated. Every time the seal is punctured, it degrades a bit. I keep mine refrigerated (used or new) or cool (used) in a Frio wallet. Even though opened insulin doesn't technically need to be refigerated, I think keeping it at the same consistent temp helps.

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Permalink Reply by Trisha01 on April 5, 2011 at 9:12pm

Hello Mr. Johnben,

You are special! But....I've been doing the same thing, for the past three months. Always towards the end of the month, yes, my Bg's have been going higher as well. I started a couple of days ago with keeping the vials in the fridge again. Thanks for your post, it confirmed what I had thought.

Trisha

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Permalink Reply by Johnben. on April 5, 2011 at 9:31pm

This is confusing to me. Not long ago it it was stated here that keeping it in the fridge would just not work as well as when it was kept out. It was said that unopened bottles only should be kept in the fridge. So after 50 years of keeping and using the insulin in the fridge even after opening I tried to keep it out after opening.
Yes, 50 years ago we had fridges already....LOL. Confusing, confusing... Thanks for all the replies. Back into the fridge again.
JB.

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Permalink Reply by Sue59 on April 6, 2011 at 2:14am

Just from a different perspective, I use Apidra and the OmniPod insulin pump. I have been told to use room temp insulin when filling the pods, so yes I keep my opened insulin vial at room temp. But even before using the pump, I kept the opened vial at room temp.

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Permalink Reply by T1Forever on April 6, 2011 at 7:48am

I am a pump user. I have been instructed to leave the insulin at room temperature. The reason is that if the insulin is cold when a cartridge is filled, the insulin will "shrink" and cause air bubbles in the cartridge, which is not good. I only use about 20 units of insulin per day, so a bottle lasts me a while. I have never noticed any differnce in the action of the insulin.

By the way, when I used Lente some 40 years ago, I was also told not to refrigerate the bottle I was usingt. I was told it mixed better at room temp.

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