Vaccines and insulin are two different animals; optimal temperature for each of these may be quite different. TBH, I have no idea whether this is true. But I put a great deal of faith in my woo theory that butter compartments know their true purpose, and they live up to it.
I suggest you devise a way to keep your insulin from falling out of your butter compartment. IMO, this would be your wisest course of action.
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We always called these âBoo-Boo Bunniesâ. I think that Boo-Boo Bunnies and butter compartments have something in common: they both keep things at a temperature that makes everything all better.
Isnât the purpose of the butter compartment to keep the butter a little warmer so the butter isnât too hard? I keep a thermometer in mind and itâs definitely warmer than the rest of the fridge⌠I assume thatâs by design
Also, if you donât already have any, get some of these. I give it my highest product endorsement of diabetic âstuffâ. I drop all the time and they donât break with these.
Sam, you are stating the obvious. I believe that it is exactly this slightly warmer temperature that prolongs the potency of insulin. Plus the butter compartment fairies keep a watchful eye on things.
Watching my daughterâs father break not one but two precious vials of Apidra in fairly rapid succession because the butter compartment in the fridge of the hotel popped open when he yanked the fridge door open still failed to prompt me to purchase some of these cushiony sleeves. Sometimes I am slow to learn a lesson. Please excuse me while I hop on over to Amazon.com.
I donât think any diabetic has ever been smart enough to buy one of these BEFORE they broke insulin. Our level of smartness is always inversely related to how many we break before we get one. Cheer up. Iâve broken more than you ever will in your lifetime. 
I am possibly the dumbest one here!
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Everyone should have at least one of each!
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The important stuff in my fridge is FOOD!
I also have 2 vials of Humalog plus one 3 ml pen cartridge of Lantus - expiry date 2009. This makes is VINTAGE and therefore worth more if I decide to sell it on eBay.
I have (in my two fridges), Humalog, Levemir, Tresiba U-100, Tresiba U-200, NPH and Regular. I also have 4 months worth of Dexcom sensors. None of this is in the butter compartment. I keep my butter compartment for my stockpile of about 5 lbs of grass fed Finlandia butter which has be on sale lately for $2/lb. What is it with European butter these days? Why is it so cheap?
Apidra and Lantus pen cartridges and 1.5 vials of Apidra. Yes, the opened boxes are kept in the butter compartment with a stick of butter squeezed in.
The SHTF stash of Humulin R & NPH was thrown out 1 year after itâs expiration dates after building up a stash of Lantus.
Thatâs remarkably cheap. We would typically pay around ÂŁ1.50 for a 250g pack which is equivalent to $3.30 per lb. You can sometimes find it discounted, or at one of the discount supermarkets for ÂŁ1 per pack ($2.20 per lb)
I have never heard of butter from Finland. Most of the butter in the UK is either British/Scottish, French, Irish, Dutch or Danish. Come to think of it, I donât ever recall seeing any food products from Finland in the shops over here. I wouldnât have thought Finland would be ideal for dairy cattle as you would have to keep them indoors during the winter.
Looking at your link, hormone treatment (and routine antibiotic food supplements) for animals are illegal under EU rules (and quite right too IMHO)
Yes, but part of it is that I am also cheap. I use coupons and stack them.
Wow - what a stash! You are definitely prepared - ZA or other calamity.
After youâve opened the insulin - how long can you keep using it? Just curious.
And about the expiration date, how long past the expiration date have you used the insulin and found it to be still effective
?
I have actually used it 2 years past expiration, just to see if it works, and itâs fine. The 2 year expired insulin seemed perfect to me! And the same for the 28 day open rule. I have used it several months past the 28 day opening, and it worked fine.
I suspect the expiration rules are just FDA requirements, like they have expiration on things like bottles of water.
Keep in mind, these are not ideal things to do, and I am not advising anyone to use them for regular treatment. But if you find yourself in a jam with a choice of NO insulin or OLD insulin - trust me, the âoldâ would be a treasure!
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Thank you!
I have an old bottle of novolog, one barely used Levemir pen that I was contemplating discarding. I think I will keep them for a ZA situation or a major hurricane.
Whatâs in my fridge today?
Death, decay, and two flavors of insulin: Tresiba and Apidra.
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WaitâŚyou keep your Dexcom sensors in your fridge? Am I missing something here? 