End of my first month on Lantus and Humalog… and learning SO much!
I realized about two weeks in that I needed to be more careful with lantus–keep refrigerated, clean syringe, don’t push air or insulin into the vial…and I’m doing that on the second bottle (First one went bad after about 5 weeks)
I didn’t think I would have to be so careful with the Humalog so I haven’t refrigerated it, and I have pushed insulin back into the vial…now at 6 weeks, I took normal dose (4 units) at lunch and had a salad with a medium apple which would have normally kept me under 130. Today, I rose quickly to over 200 and took another unit at 2PM. Now I am chilling at about 180.
First question: Is it safe to say, the Humalog went bad?
Second question: If I am as careful with the Humalog as I am with the Lantus, should I be able to expect a longer shelf life?
I sure would like to be able to use the entire vial of these insulins
No, it is not “safe to say” that the Humalog is bad.
I’ve used Humalog that has been opened and at room temp for months. 6 weeks with humalog at room temp is nothing to worry about. 6 HOURS in a hot, parked car is another story.
I’ve only been doing this insulin thing since 1978, so I think I know the ins and outs of insulin which does NOT mean that I agree with all the crap they print on the product, as they want to cover their butts.
Lantus can be very fragile. It is only claimed to be good for a month after being opened. It is recommended that you keep it at room temperature after opening. You can push air or insulin back in the vial as long as it is a new syringe. And while Humalog is more robust, it also is only supposed to be good for a month after opening.
You might do better with pens which contain 300 units rather than the 1000 in a vial. You’re much more likely to use the entire amount before the expiration date and the price is about the same.
I’ve had Lantus pens at room temp for more than a month without ill effect. Just saying. But I’m not claiming to either be an expert or suggesting that you will have similar results. Just recounting my experience. I’ve taken Lantus pens out of the fridge, used them ,had them at room temps for quite some time (days or weeks) put them back in the fridge and used them again MANY months later. Like WAAAY later, and they still work fine. Even when subjected to hot Las Vegas temps (but not in direct sun, or god forbid, been left in a hot parked car).
So, I decided yesterday that one “event” wasn’t enough to establish a pattern…and throw away a half vial of Humalog.
I took my regular dose of Humalog at dinner, and it worked much better…though didn’t last quite as long as it did when I first opened the vial.
From this I conclude the restaurant where I ate the salad must have put a heaping dose of sugar in their Greek vinaigrette (I really dislike when that happens and won’t return to eat there ever again ) AND I’m going to be a little more careful with the Humalog vial as I am with the Lantus to insure my ability to use everything in the vial.
Thanks, everyone, for your comments. Very helpful!
My wife has been an insulin dependent diabetic for 20+ years. She takes Humalog before every meal and Lantus once a day in the morning. In the last few days, she has had trouble with her blood sugar going much higher (275-315) in the afternoon, than normal. Today, it went into the 300s and has been staying there. She asked for my help in determining why this is happening. What we did was to look at the expiration date on the box lid of the Humalog, the date that she ordered it from the pharmacy, the expiration date on the box and the dispose of date on the prescription label put on by the pharmacy. What we found was that the dispose of date on the pharmacy label was exactly 12 months from the order date (or the date it was ready for pickup from the pharmacy). The expiration date on the box that the insulin came in, was a date several months to two years in the future. What we decided after comparing all the dates where the insulin should outdate (the pharmacy label date, the expiration date on the box) that the one year shown on the pharmacy label was the shelf life. It seemed that all the insulin that went past the one year holding period was losing potency and causing her to increase her factor and even to do adjustments if she could not ‘walk’ her blood sugar down. She had been using the expiration date on the box as her cut off date.
My question, does Humalog have a one year shelf life and then lose its potency? How long does it really last? What is the expiration date on the insulin box top? Is this the same with Lantus? How long does it last or keep its potency?
Not In-Use (Unopened) Room Temperature (Up to 86°F [30°C])
Not In-Use (Unopened) Refrigerated (36° to 46°F [2° to 8°C])
In-Use (Opened) (see temperature below)
10 mL multiple-dose vial
28 days
Until expiration date
28 days Refrigerated or room temperature.
3 mL single-patient-use Humalog KwikPen
28 days
Until expiration date
28 days Room temperature only (Do not refrigerate)
Lantus is about the same. Ignore the pharmacy dates. If any of their dates are longer than the date on the box report them to your state board of pharmacy.
There are lots of reasons why, as I like to day because my wife and I are nerds, the outputs don’t match the inputs. Waaaaaaaay down near the bottom of the list is a problem with the insulin itself, although it does happen. I once didn’t realize a refrigerator had a problem until our food was going bad really quickly. I had to dispose of a years worth of insulin. Here’s a good temperature logger. https://www.onsetcomp.com/products/data-loggers/mx100
