• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

to fridge or not to fridge??

megan

megan

Well-Known Member
Messages
369
Location
weymouth
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
dishonesty and ********
thought i'd post a new one after reading someone elses response....my old diabetes team always told me to keep my insulin i was using, out of the fridge......it could stay like this for a month...not likely though as a pen gets used up in a lot less time than that...

so what do you guys do and think about this???.......
 
Keep the Insulin you are not using in a fridge, and once it is opened and in use it should remain at room temeperature so long as it remains between the temperatures which are shown on the packaging or PIL (patient Information Leaflet).

this is the response I made in a different thread about this subject.

Once you begin using the Insulin it should not be kept in the fridge. Injecting cold insulin can be uncomfortable, so keep the insulin you are using at room temperature. It is generally safe to store insulin at room temperature for up to four weeks.

As Sue pointed out earlier, the Insulin should only be kept in the fridge prior to opening the package.
Store your spare insulin supplies in the fridge to keep it fresh.

Once it is opened and in use it is kept at room temperature only..........not between 2 - 8 deg, that is much too cold.

Don't expose insulin to strong light or heat, such as the sunlight in a car or the heat of a sauna. Insulin loses its effect when it is stored at temperatures above 25 -30°C (77°F-86°F).
Click to expand...

Ken
 
megan said:
thought i'd post a new one after reading someone elses response....my old diabetes team always told me to keep my insulin i was using, out of the fridge......it could stay like this for a month...not likely though as a pen gets used up in a lot less time than that...

so what do you guys do and think about this???.......
Click to expand...

Megan,

As a type 1 myself, the advice Ken (cugila) has posted is spot on, keep all your insulin in the fridge except the one you are using, which should be kept at room temperature and away from direct sunlight and heat sources, ideally insulin should be taken out of the fridge 1 hour before using also.

Nigel
 
Ages ago, a specialist in insulin told me that you can tell when the clear insulins are 'off' because they go cloudy. Is that still true, does anyone know? I know it was true of actrapid but I am now on humalog/lantus and I don't know if it still holds.
 
Snodger I was wondering that too the other day, I rang the NovoNordisk number and they said that if the insulin was cloudy it was 'off' but it might be 'off' without being cloudy. So you just have to keep an eye on how long it's been at what temp really.
 
Ive been advised to keep mine in the fridge all the while and that having it out when I am out and about is ok..
Insultard is defo cloudly, cant speak for the other long acting ones.

funny how the advice you get from health care professionals can vary so greatly..
 
PaulReilly73 said:
Ive been advised to keep mine in the fridge all the while and that having it out when I am out and about is ok..
Insultard is defo cloudly, cant speak for the other long acting ones.

funny how the advice you get from health care professionals can vary so greatly..
Click to expand...


It is funny, I agree. It's a pity they cannot get it right. :roll:

The information you have been given is incorrect..........the information I posted about the storage of Insulin IS correct. You get the correct information here. We pride ourselves on it. :)

Ken
 
Read the patient information leaflet for the insulin, it says exactly what cugila says. It's good practice to always read the leaflet with any medication just in case.
 
cugila said:
The information you have been given is incorrect..........the information I posted about the storage of Insulin IS correct. You get the correct information here. We pride ourselves on it. :)

Ken
Click to expand...
[/quote]

The kicker for me is tho! This information I was given was LW whilst on a DAFNE course in the spot set aside to discuss the myths and legend of medication, medical staff advise etc and that in general the GP's dont know enough to give you advise to be self sufficent!! :roll:
 
Oh well. That's nothing new then........we regularly have to post the right info for people. I just hope it was a mistake in the interpretation and not what they think is right ! If it was what they think is correct, maybe you should get them to join the Forum. I am sure they might learn something from us simple Diabetic's......... :twisted: :wink:

Ken.
 
touchais!!! (don't know if thats how you spell it but i know what meant to say!)

my gp def needs to join these forums...not only does he not have enough information to be helpful, he doesn't have enough to be safe....yet he has the added charm of being arrogant enought not to know that and still talk at me!

if only he knew more he would be embarrassed at himself!

my new referral is in his hands...lets hope he doesn't have any smart ideas about this! :evil: :?
 
We should get more doctors on here. Then we could gang up on them! It's hard to point out to doctors when they're talking b******s. And when you find the confidence to point it out, they just think you're being a mentalist hypochondriac who has self diagnosed off the Internet! But they'd have to pay a bit more attention if everyone told them... :-)
 
badmedisin said:
We should get more doctors on here. Then we could gang up on them! It's hard to point out to doctors when they're talking b******s. And when you find the confidence to point it out, they just think you're being a mentalist hypochondriac who has self diagnosed off the Internet! But they'd have to pay a bit more attention if everyone told them... :-)
Click to expand...

I agree, had a few doctors in my time with diabetes who's knowledge of my condition was questionable, but thankfully my gp now has his finger on the pulse and is very well informed on all matters to do with diabetes and anything else. The trouble is I sometimes have to wait 2-3 weeks for a appointment with him, it would seem I am not the only one with the same view!

It always makes me laugh, there are doctors in my practise who I have had dealings with over the years and would not want to see, however the receptionist always says that these doctors have spaces available the following morning.......................I wonder why! :roll:

Nigel
 
Ive started to leave my active insulin out of the fridge but am not seeing the benefitd..
It still stings sometimes when it goes in and im not using the same sites over and over nor using a funny angle.

Thoughts peeps??
 
PaulReilly73 said:
Ive started to leave my active insulin out of the fridge but am not seeing the benefitd..
It still stings sometimes when it goes in and im not using the same sites over and over nor using a funny angle.

Thoughts peeps??
Click to expand...

Paul,

What size needle are you using, if you are using 8mm needles try changing to 5mm instead, I changed last year and find it much more comfortable! :)

Nigel
 
Hello

I was given 5mm to start with which was a disaster as I just bruised badly instead, then to 6 with not much chnage and then to 8mm.
I was advised by the dafne team that a chap that was on the larger size should be using 7mm and above..

i threw out all my 5mm so i havent got a prescription to retry and it feels like a waste to get a whole box as an experiment.
also it is randomn when it hurts so i cant back my findings up with time of day or the area that hurts etc..
 
You said it stings when it goes in, do you mean when the needle goes in? That happens to me, I assume when I hit a nerve or something.
 
Bit of both.
Sometimes its when it goes in, sometimes its when it dispenses... I thought maybe i just had oversharp needles or worse relatively blunt ones..
 
Is it only stinging sometimes, not others? Coz sometimes, no matter what, it just does sting. :(
I usually find that massaging the spot can make the stinging go away faster. It also helps just to know that you aren't doing anything wrong, it's just a part of life.
 
Back
Top