Return pens to fridge?

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Stephen C

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Type 2
I will be flying from UK to Asia next year on a journey that will take 24 hours. I will need 4 Lantus Solostar pens for the time that I will be away - 35 days. Can the pens be returned to a fridge after I have kept them in a Frio wallet for the whole day of travelling? The patient leaflet says pens not being used should be stored in a fridge; pens in use can be stored for a maximum of 28 days if below 30C.
 
Yes, they should be fine, it’s what I do when I’m travelling. If they’ve been out for more than a day, when I come to use them, I just bear in mind that they were out of the fridge for a while, and watch towards the tail end of the pen that the insulin still seems to be acting on my blood sugars as normal, and if I think it may have lost a bit of potency, I start a new one early.
 
Robin said:
Yes, they should be fine, it’s what I do when I’m travelling. If they’ve been out for more than a day, when I come to use them, I just bear in mind that they were out of the fridge for a while, and watch towards the tail end of the pen that the insulin still seems to be acting on my blood sugars as normal, and if I think it may have lost a bit of potency, I start a new one early.
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All 4 pens will have been out of the fridge for 24 hours and kept at the Frio temperature somewhere between 18-26C. Three will then be put back in the fridge so the last one will be 5 weeks old. I think I will ask the manufacturer, Sanofi.
 
Stephen C said:
All 4 pens will have been out of the fridge for 24 hours and kept at the Frio temperature somewhere between 18-26C. Three will then be put back in the fridge so the last one will be 5 weeks old. I think I will ask the manufacturer, Sanofi.
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Sanofi are going to tell you to chuck them. They can’t afford to get sued if by chance the pens had cooked while out of the fridge. I’m just saying what most people do, keeping one eye on cost to the NHS, not what’s necessarily the strictly correct manufacturers guidance!
 
Yes I would happily do this while travelling. Make sure you have plenty of supplies with you, and DON’T put insulin in the aircraft hold - it needs to be in hand luggage (buried in the middle would offer some protection from cabin ambient temp, but not sure Frio would be as effective there).

Enjoy your trip!
 
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