My husband accidentally left a lot of unopened insulin on top of the ice chest instead of in it for at least 4 hrs. Am I doomed?
No problem at all. I never put opened vials back into the fridge. This means that the vials stay at room temperature (72 degrees) for 2 weeks until they are used up. I only had a bad experience once when room temperature was about 100 degrees for a week. This insulin did not make it.
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Thanks Helmut. I never refrigerate opened insulin either, but this is 3 months of unopened insulin. Probably $2,000 worth of insulin. It was ridiculous to bring this much insulin, but on the Oregon Coast we are always supposed to have extra supplies because it is earthquake and tsunamis territory.
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Marilyn, I still wouldn’t worry about it. Assume that the insulin now will go bad 4 hours earlier after opening. I would not make any contingency plans. The option to change history is not on the table anyway.
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Oh please, please,please can’t I change history? Forgot my gym shoes too. I am on a roll.
I find that acknowledging that the past cannot be changed provides enormous relief. I have gone through too many “What if I had …”. I now realize that I only have 2 options: Torture myself or not torture myself. Stated this way it sound less reasonable to choose the first option.
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No. It is fine. I am positive.
Mail order insulin is fine spending up to 28 days at room temperature unopened before they even start talking about it’s recommended handling after it’s receivef by the customer. Unless it was unreasonably hot, like over 110 degrees in your house, it is certainly fine
The whole refrigeration thing is totally overblown… I travel all the time for a living and ALWAYS leave enough insulin outside the fridge in case the fridge were to malfunction and ruin my insulin… been doing it for years
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Be sure to read the NovoLog® FlexPen® Patient Instructions for Use. Unopened pens and vials at room temperature (below 86°F / 30°C ) can be kept for 28 days. Unopened pens and vials that have been refrigerated (36°F to 46°F / 2°C to 8°C) can be kept until expiration date.
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been there , I can imagine your panic at the thought of replacing the insulin for such a thing.
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Thanks Tony. Reading that info is actually the first thing I did. That is what upset me, because I had 3 months of insulin exposed to much warmer temperatures. Hopefully it hasn’t lost potency.
As long as they are not frozen they should be fine. Warmer is better than too cold.
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