I just started on the Omnipod (training was yesterday) and all is going well so far. Here’s my question: the trainer showed me where to put everything in the Omnipod case and I was surprised that there was a place for an insulin vial. I always keep mine refrigerated. I know the insulin has to be at room temp when filling the pod, but do you leave it out of the fridge in between? Do you always carry insulin around with you? If so, does being at room temp affect its shelf life? Thanks!
I always leave my insulin in the frig (I don’t carry the case provided w/ the PDM). I take it out early enough to give it time to come to room temp before filling a new pod, then I put it back in the frig. Just from my personal experience through the years, I noticed that the various rapid-acting insulin analogs all have varying amounts of “stability” with temperature. I use Apidra right now but I think it’s been the most sensitive to higher temps. But for me the quicker onset of action and shorter “tail” have made it worth keeping compared to Novalog, which I thought was more stable at room temp.
I also don’t discard keep track of when I “open” a bottle of insulin so I don’t have any idea about th “28 day shelf life” that they all recommend. Personally I would not throw out insulin that’s been opened longer than 28 days but which has also been sitting in the frig save for a few hours every 3 days or so. But that’s just me. I think others may pay closer attention to the active/open shelf-life of bottles.
If I’m going to be travelling anywhere farther than about 1 hr away from home/work (I have insulin in the frig at both places) then I’ll carry insulin and a spare pod w/ me just in case…but even then I usually keep it in a frio pack so it stays cool no matter where I’m at. It’s probably just a personal preference item based on your lifestyle. Congrats on getting up and running w/ the pod too! Hope you like it 
I do not keep an insulin vial in my case. Since I switched from syringes to the Omnipod (about a year ago), I now always keep my insulin in the refrigerator. I do not bring the insulin to room temperature before filling a pod either (I didn’t know you were supposed to do this?). Prior to using the Omnipod, (back when I was using syringes) I kept my current vial of insulin at room temperature. My doctors said it was OK to do this for up to 30 days without a significant loss in efficacy.
I ALWAYS have my vial of insulin with me. Once they are opened they never see the refrigerator again. I usually go through a vial in about 15 days and have never had a problem with it. Even before I went on the Omnipod I carried my insulin with me and then it was often carried for a full month before I ran through the bottle. I have never had insulin go bad because it was out of the fridge to long. Especially with the Omnipod, if I have a pod fail on me I want to be able to fill a new one and get it on right away, not wait for insulin to get to room temperature or even worse, have it in the fridge at home when I’m away from home and need it. That’s just the way I do it.
Oh yes! I remove it a few hours before a pod change, which can be a bit inconvenient, but then again, so is diabetes!
I also always carry a vial around. Did that before the pod and continue to do that now. I feel wildly uncomfortable not having it just in case (before being on the pod, I once got stuck on a bridge just by my house for EIGHT HOURS and had left my pens of insulin in the fridge). I feel carrying it around now is even more important than while I was on MDI b/c if the pod fails, I have no back up Lantus going. I also tend to be on the move a lot (lots of after work activities, I take public transportation to work, etc.) and don’t want to get stuck without it. I’ve never had a problem with insulin going bad.
Once one of my vials of Apidra leaves the fridge, it never goes back. Never had a problem.
I refrigerate until opened, and then I keep it in a drawer or my shaving kit, if I’m traveling. It’s not a problem if you use it within 30 days – and probably longer, but that’s what they recommend.
It stays in the fridge until we open it and then it sits on my son’s supply shelf…unless he chooses to carry it with him (depending on where he’s going).
As I understand it long term insulin storage requires refrigeration , but once it’s opened you don’t need to refrigerate, as long as you are not leaving it in the hot sun or in a case in the hot sun. Or tanning with a bottle of insulin laying out in your belly button.
Perhaps someone with a scientific bent and an interest in accuracy could look up the ideal temperature range within which insulin needs to be stored for the longer term and the ideal temperature ranges beyond which insulin can lose it’s chemical structure and should be discarded if exposed for too long.
Which brings the question of how do you tan or spa with an omnipod? New discussion?
If I’m laying in the sun I just keep my pod in the shade, in other words I keep it from being exposed to direct sunlight. Works for me.
And the other day I went to a spa (first time for everything,) and lay for about 20 minutes in a hot spring, then did a mud bath (mud all over your body, let it dry in the sun, and then wash it off) and swam a whole bunch, (never did the steam bath)
Once I was done, the pod was still on and the insulin still worked at full strength.
P. S. I’ve had diabetes for over 30 years and injected insulin most of that time, and I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS (add another 300 of ALWAYS) carry my insulin and syringes with me. Can’t imagine any other way to do it, unless you stay at home all the time.
I keep unopened insulin in the frige. Once a vial is opened, it doesn’t go back. I always carry the vial in the OmniPod case. This is what I was advised years ago. As long as it’s kept at room temp. it’s fine. Then it’s good for 28 days. My granddaughter just went through her education; and was told the very same. I also carry additional syringes just in case of a pod failure–this has never happened away from home…but it’s a good idea just the same. Leaflet says to store below 86 degrees.
Amen Jay!!
Ann,
I do the same thing that Rebecca does and I have never had a problem. Prior to the OmniPod I was using a pen and it was not recommended to refrigerate once you started using. I use the same insulin Apidra.
Unopened bottles are in the 'fridge.
Opened bottles are in my OmniPod case. (I had a pod occlude as I pulled into my eye doc’s parking lot and changed the pod right there in the car)
Sometimes I think my Humalog loses effectiveness both near the end of a pod life, say after 48 hours or so, especially after 72 hours and also near the end of the bottle. I don’t have proof, it is just a feeling.
Once opened I always keep my insulin with me. If my pod malfunctions I have almost an hours ride home to replace it. My doctor also said once it’s opened it’s ok to keep it at room temperature.
I’ve had diabetes for 20 years and the only insulin I have ever refrigerated is unopened vials. And I live in Texas (oh, the heat!) and have never had a vial go bad. My endocrinologists have always said it’s an unnecessary step to refrigerate vials in use.