I’m wondering about other peoples experience with Novolog pens. Mine become ineffective after about 2 weeks - though they say they should last 30 days. It takes much more insulin to bring my bs down. If I start a new pen at the 2 week point, I’m back in business. Anyone else have this experience?
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Not me. I have used NovoLog pens that have been out of the refrigerator for months and they still work.
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No that never happened to me. I was using a vial recently that had been in the fridge but which was expired 4-5 months ago and my bg kept going up to 160 no matter what I did. I ended up changing out my inset, cartridge, insulin just in case. Usually I can’t tell for sure what’s going on and when I’ve thought it was the insulin things always normalized.
How are you storing your pens? They are sensitive to temperature and light. If your novolog has been unknowingly frozen it will also be trashed and may not last. If your insulin is not stored in a fridge below 47 deg F (like a fridge not working well) then that may also reduce it’s life. Novolog is said to be ok in a pump reservoir at temperatures at 98.6 deg F or below for 6 days. If you carry your pen around all day in your pocket it may be at body temperature for long periods of time and you may reduce the life of the pen. They say to store the pen at “room temperature” and what they mean is at a temperature of 86 deg F or below. Sorry for all the details, it is just the insulin suppliers have all these silly statements about how fragile the insulin is.
We definitely do not have this problem w Novolog. Caleb used a vial out of the fridge for weeks without issue. Apidra was a different story.
Thank you for the detailed response. Storing pens in the refrigerator until I use them - the fridge temperature is good. No freezing or real warmth since they are not against my body but truly at room temperature. I thought maybe someone on here would have a similar experience. Strange.
Thank you.
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How ong have you had T1? It could be a simple case of your insulin needs changing. If you have had your Dx for a short time, that is the most likely culprit. After close to 40 years with T1, I still have to confirm that my pump settings (for corrections, meals and basal) are still correct.