Incorrect Insulin Storage

Take back & say not stored correctly. All insulin you get from a chemist should come from the fridge


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Agree with above.

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Yes take it back and raise your concerns, usually when I collect my prescription the bag with my needles, lancets and bg sticks will have a sticker on to say there's fridge items also, I'm always careful to note they they get my insulin from the fridge as I don't trust them.

I was told when changing onto the pump that the insulin needs to be stored in a cool place, if stored in the fridge remove 48hrs before use to restrict the amount of air bubbles. My chemist always got it from the fridge and there was all ways the fridge sticker on it.
When on mdi i used it straight from the fridge so I'm now really confused.

RichardJ said:

I was told when changing onto the pump that the insulin needs to be stored in a cool place, if stored in the fridge remove 48hrs before use to restrict the amount of air bubbles. My chemist always got it from the fridge and there was all ways the fridge sticker on it.
When on mdi i used it straight from the fridge so I'm now really confused.

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It should be stored in a fridge until use, once the cartridge / pen has been started it can be stored at room temperature but it must be used within a month. The OP would therefore have to use all the contents within a month from when they were placed on the shelf.

Boots should know better than that, take it back and complain to the pharmacist on duty.

Angie

Thankyou Angie thats cleared it up for me.

Did they give you a replacement batch from the fridge?

Glad they are going to look into it.

Angie

Hiya alohanicky!

Complain to Boots Head Office - there is a contact email address on their website. Although you noticed it and was therefore able to avoid that batch of insulin, many others might end up with ineffective insulin. The staff and pharmicist need training and this will not happen unless you report it to Head Office. I had a similar situation in Boots a few months ago, but luckily the Pharmicist himself realised as he went to give me my prescription and he cleared the shelf and ordered new stock.

I have previously used a batch of levemir that was not effetive and I spent a month with higher than normal levels and kept altering my dose etc worrying about what was going on. Eventually I tried a different batch and all went back to normal. I strongly suspect the insulin had been stored incorrectly at Boots but have no evidence of it.

I think we should always report incidence of incorrectly-handled insulin to make sure that staff in chemists get proper training. Our health is at risk from ignorance among chemist staff.

Smidge

Something very similar happened to me a few months ago when the pharmacist noticed the Apidra she was dispensing for me had been left on a shelf and was at room temperature. She was cautious about dispensing it even though I was more than happy to take it as insulin has an 'out of fridge' shelf life of 28 days. In the end she gave me one vial and I had to go back for another, when I used the vial which had been left out of the fridge at the pharmacy, the insulin worked perfectly well and my control was excellent.

Yes, my Lloyds pharmacy always gets it from the fridge when I pickup the main prescription

Mine too.