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One month down!!

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robyn2211

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi there,

Recently diagnosed and finally feeling like I have got my head around dealing with my new daily life, although there is still alot left to learn.
several things and wondering if anyone can help?

1. on my prescription I get 1 box of Truapi and 1 box of Semglee, each containing 5 pens. However I don’t get through all 5 pens before the month expiration is up; maybe 1 or 2 max. i feel like its such a waste. Is there any options for smaller boxes or is donation of unused insulin possible?! Or do people just return the unused to the pharmacy for them to dispose of?!

2. I’ve got Freestyle Libre 2 and I constantly get notifications of ‘Signal Lost, Scan Sensor’ even though my phone is right by my side. changed my sensor and still it continues, been through my settings and can’t seem to get it sorted…help!! its driving me nuts.

thanks for reading this far and thanks in advance for any advice!!
 
Hi and welcome.

I am not sure why you feel you have to discard unused pens at the end of the month and order new. I believe most of us just order insulin when we need some more. For me a box of 5 will last me about 4 months for my quick acting, probably longer and my basal only needs a new script every 2-3 months. As long as you keep the unopened pens in the fridge then they will keep until the expiration date on them and I would be exceptionally surprised if it was just a month. To be honest I have never even looked at the expiry date on medication I obtained and even if it was a month out of date, I would still use it. It doesn't suddenly change or become toxic or anything, but I suppose there is the potential for it to perhaps lose a little bit of efficacy.

Can't help you with the Libre 2 as I use Libre 1 with a reader which is far more reliable. Lots of people seem to have issues with the Loss of signal alarm and there are numerous posts about it on the forum. Are you still getting high and low alarms. If so, just disable to loss of signal alarm. I believe the recent update to IOS 16.1.1 caused quite a few people to have problems with their Libre 2. You don't get problems like that with the reader. It's just simple and reliable, but it does mean you have another bit of kit to carry around. Get in touch with Abbott if you haven't and see what they say, but it might also be worth doing a "Libre 2" search on the forum as I am sure you will find plenty of posts about this issue.
 
You don’t have to use all the pens in a month @robyn2211 Keep them in the fridge and just keep out the one you’re using. If a box of 5 lasts you two months that’s fine. Just re-order them when you need them.

In fact, the best thing is to use re-useable pens and cartridges, where you keep your pens for years and just drop a new cartridge in like in a fountain pen. Less space and more environmentally friendly. They’re much better quality pens too and you can get half unit ones usually.
 
Welcome to the forum @robyn2211

I wonder if there might have been crossed wires about insulin expiry. The ‘in use’ pen is kept out of the fridge and is fine for 28 days. The other pens can be kept in the fridge and should be fine until expiry.

For Libre2, perhaps call Abbott and ask them for advice. They may even offer to send you a reader as an alternative?

Edit: Our posts crossed!
 
It will all become second nature soon
 
robyn2211 said:
Ah okay, with so much infomation to take onboard I may have misunderstood what I was told or got it mixed up. Thank you both for your help @Inka @rebrascora
Click to expand...
Yes there is a lot of information overload in the beginning and it can be really overwhelming. I found this forum was great for filling in the gaps where info from the nurse had gone in one ear and out the other or I had picked things up incorrectly.
It really is a goldmine of practical experience and knowledge here, so I really hope you find it as hugely beneficial as I have over the last nearly 4 years since diagnosis.
 
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