I've been storing my insulin in FRIO pouches on my 2-3 month backpacking trip

[benhc99]

I am on a 2-3 month backpacking trip in Asia and have been storing my insulin in FRIO pouches, I have plenty of insulin but just realising that it keeps insulin at room temp mostly and therefore my insulin for month 2 or 3 will degrade will it not? I'm quite concerned, looking for advice from someone who has done something similar or has more knowledge on it than me.

 

[urbanracer]

I am on a 2-3 month backpacking trip in Asia and have been storing my insulin in FRIO pouches, I have plenty of insulin but just realising that it keeps insulin at room temp mostly and therefore my insulin for month 2 or 3 will degrade will it not? I'm quite concerned, looking for advice from someone who has done something similar or has more knowledge on it than me.

I think there's an official response and an anecdotal response to consider.

Oficially, our insulin only lasts 28 days once taken out of the fridge (but I have been talking to people in USA and the patient information leaflet in the same brand of insulin tells the user they only have 21 days, so make of that what you will).

Anecdotally, I have found that my long acting (Levimir) insulin doesn't seem to be doing much after a few weeks away but I have not observed any noticeable decline in performance of short acting Humalog in the same time period. Quite how long it will last, I couldn't tell you.

Also - I advise you to look after your test strips if you have any. I had a tub of a strips start giving crazy readings after they had been exposed to a couple of weeks above the recommended storage temp 30°C. Took a while to isolate this too, because I initially thought that my insulin was degrading when my blood sugars were stubbornly high. Opening a new tub of strips sorted out the issue.

As somebody who visits Philippines frequently, I find that obtaining insulin can be a bit hit and miss. Whilst a doctor will tell me that my insulins are (technically) available, actually getting them from a pharmacy is whole different ball game. It might be a good idea to have a look around at where you can obtain your insulin before you actually need it.

Good luck.

 

[benhc99]

Thank you for your response, ive now moved all my insulin to a cooling box with ice packs. And when im at hostels storing it wherever I can find a fridge. As for the test strips I will keep it in mind, im using libres currently which are working well but have just read that they also need to be stored within certain temperatures ahah.

Lets say you have your insulin out of the fridge for a day or two and then put it back in, do you know if the degradation process has begun and cannot be stopped? Or can I save it?

 

[benhc99]

The insulin wasnt exposed to high temperatures but also wasnt being actively cooled

 

[urbanracer]

It does seem as though once degradation starts it cannot be stopped.
I take my insulin out of the fridge, pop it in a Frio, travel to Philippines, and transfer it to the sister-in-laws fridge at the destination. From my experience this does not seem to make much difference to the 28 day rule as my Levemir is dropping off after this time.
This hasn't always made sense to me as I kinda expected degradation to be paused if insulin was put back in the fridge but it seems that is not so. Again - just my experience and other people may have a different story to tell.

Over time, there have been quite a few discussions about traveling with insulin. I looked back but couldn't easily find what I was looking for. Not sure if this thread will be any help to you.