While traveling home from vacation, I threw my lantus in my purse and forgot about it until this morning. It's been unrefrigerated for approximately 12 hours. Should I still use it?
Thank you!
If it was already opened vial or pen then it really doesn't matter, the prescribing information says you can keep it at room temperature for 28 days. In fact with the Solostar pen they tell you not to refrigerate it after opening. If this is an unopened vial or pen then the question becomes more complicated. Generally it will degrade in performance. This means that it may start to go bad before expiration, it may not last as long once opened or it may not generally perform as well. Typically it simply means that it won't last as long. Most likely the short amount of time out of the refrigerator did nothing to your lantus, it probably spent less than 12 hours at room temperature. I would just mark it with a permanent pen, pop it in the fridge and use it as soon as possible. Just keep an eye on it for any visible signs of clumping or degradation and lost of effectiveness. Chances are that everything is fine.
Thank you so much!