OK so I dropped my bottle of three week old Humalog on the hard concrete yesterday. My heart skipped a beat as it fell in slow motion, but it didn't shatter, so I went ahead and used it for the rest of the day. Blood sugars were fine. I did notice a slight smell of insulin on my hands after I injected.
Yuck…I freekin hate that smell.
I didn’t think nothing of it until today, when I noticed that putrid smell as my bottle rested on my desk at work. I took a closer look, and I notice a slight hairline fracture in the bottle. Damn it.
So now my bottle of H is back on my desk nicely patched up with the finest scotch tape money can buy. Yes…scotch tape.
The smell is noticeably lighter now, but I wonder if I should just chuck this vial and sacrifice it to the insulin gods. I hate losing insulin this way, and I am tempted just to hold on to it until I notice that it doesn’t work.
I think I know what I “should” do, but what would you do?
haha I like the idea, and the tape is the bast part (I would have used duct tape)… but I would chuck the bottle. I only break bottles on tile floors, must be somthing in that grout crisscross that makes me fumble.
Dear Dino. Ironic that we hate the smell of stuff that keeps us alive. Smell is everything to my belowed friend a very hairy one. It may be a ludicrous idea but as a former research engineer I would keep on using it. The fact that it ouzed out means the vial was under positive pressure and resealing it why my favorite repair stuff although duck tape is better for most other things may have save it’s sterility. .Then again if the s==t is bad and you can go into Keto-acidosis if it does not work may be not a good idea. My bg would not likely go above 300.
I would fill a bunch of syringes with insulin and leave them in the fridge. Or get a new vial and transfer the insulin into it (though I have heard that this is not super good for the insulin). I think that you are right about what you “should” do. But throwing away insulin feels like throwing away gold to me!
Insulin smells like band-aids. But I’ve never really found it gross. A family member had a diabetic miniature pinscher who was never warm toward me until he had to start taking weekly insulin injections. I am still convinced he could smell it through my pump. He was always comfortable curled up next to me on the side where I was wearing it. Go figure.
I would probably keep using it but maybe see if the pharmacy and/or insurance co-pay plan would sell me another without having to pay full price for it. I don’t know about you guys, but I use every drop of the two bottles my insurance will pay for each month.
Personally I would toss it, assuming you have enough padding in your prescription to keep you covered. If not, you might see if you can get your doc to increase your prescription so you never have to stress - I know, it’s the principle of wasting insulin, but better to be safe I think.
I agree, the smell is nasty. Sometimes I worry that I walk around smelling like a giant Band-Aid and am just used to it
Dino-
First off, I’m totally like Joe, when I drop mine, I drop on tile and they always break! AND… I HATE the smell of insulin. Nasty!
Personally, I’d give the doctor a call. I’m a total cheapskate too and I’d try do my best to find a way to keep it, but sometimes my doctor keeps vials in her office and in bad scenarios she’ll give me one. Just a thought…
Worst case, the doctor might know what the consequences would be for using the insulin in the cracked vial.
But, when you find an answer or if once you’ve made a decision, please share!
Erin
That is my new favorite tudiabetes.com quote of all time. I’m calling my T-Shirt guy right now to get it printed up…let me know your size and I’ll send you one
The scotch taped bottle of H juice is still working remarkably well I know I should just probably chuck it, and I do have four spares in the fridge. But I’m keeping it, fractured or not. I’ll just leave it at home for home use only and I’ll opened up a seperate “travel” vial of Humalog. When it stops working or when I notice that it’s turning my skin green, then I’ll get rid of it.
Maybe
I just hate wasting insulin. I’ve moved jobs a lot and I am always stashing and rationing bottles because I never know when I’ll be out of insurance, changing doctors, etc. Those times early in my career when I was paying for insulin out of pocket…man I can still remember that look on the pharma tech’s face like, “damn you gotta spend all that?!” Those were rough times, and a broken bottle meant a lot.
Just a couple months ago I was in a pinch (usually get insulin by mail order but forgot to place the order)…so had hubby run to costco to get the one GOLDEN bottle of humalog…I opened the box, slipped out of my hand and on to the tile floor…OMG I balled! It was like this whole emotional guilty thing because 1) money was tight already 2) costco would not replace it because of presciption policy thing or another 3) hubby had to go back to costco because my sugars were high and I did not feel like driving…geezzzz
anyhoooooooo insulin smells like band-aids I would totally BUY! hate that smell
I like the idea of filling up syringes and putting it in the fridge … of course “proper” would be to toss but can totally understand how hard that is to do
I kinda like Kristin’s idea, I usually carried prefilled syringes with me instead of the vials when I went somewhere. I hate wasting insulin too!
To me insulin doesn’t really smell like bandaids that much, it has a much more metallic smell to me, but I definitely know what it is when I smell it. No other smell quite like it
I, too, hate to waste insulin. I also hate infection and possible death. THROW IT AWAY!!! If it’s three weeks old, you probably have only 1 more week to go (since insurance companies only allow a month’s supply at one time).
If the crack allows insulin to seep out, other “things” can creep in! Granted, insulin smells terrible in the first place, but I wouldnn’t depend on smell to let you know that you may be injecting a possibly lethal gern/sickness into your body. Waiting to see if you feel funky is NOT the way to go. I used to do volunteer work in hospitals and they were always harping on sterile things and infectious things. Enough to give you the willies.
My first reaction to reading this was the same as Joe’s…duct tape over scotch tape!!!
I use the pens and I keep them in cases too!!! I feared that if I had them in a pocket without a case I would break them. I love the half bike handle idea. I also remember reading a post a while back about something MelissaBL posted about a vial cover that allowed you tell the difference between quick and long acting insulin. I wonder if that offered any protection to the vial as well. I love bugging my GP for samples… My endo rarely gives anything away except the occasional meter. Good luck !!!
FWIW, a CDE told me once that you shouldn’t keep prefilled syringes around b/c insulin degrades really quickly in plastic - but I’m sure it’s fine for at least a few days since pump reservoirs are.
I know I should just probably chuck it, and I do have four spares in the fridge. But I’m keeping it, fractured or not. I’ll just leave it at home for home use only and I’ll opened up a seperate “travel” vial of Humalog. When it stops working or when I notice that it’s turning my skin green, then I’ll get rid of it.