Lantus Storage Question

[MarkP]

Hi All,

Was wondering if anyone knew the best strategies for storing opened Lantus? I’ve tried in the fridge and out of the fridge but was wondering if anyone has optimized this.

Thank you

[Chris]

Not sure anyone has optimized. We store it out of the fridge once my son starts using it, and since he is also using a pump, it stays out of the fridge for at least 3 months with no change in its behavior. Perhaps @Eric has done some tests that he hasn’t released.

[MarkP]

I usually go with out of the fridge but I was traveling and although I kept the bottle cool it seemed to not work as well. Since then tried the fridge but didn’t think that was particularly good either. It seemed as though the number would drift a little higher and require more humalog.

Thank you!

[Eric]

@Chris

Perhaps @Eric has done some tests that he hasn’t released.

I have not used Lantus recently, but I still have some that has been in the fridge for years. It supposedly expired in 2015. I’d bet anything it will still work.

I have never actually had any insulin not work, including stuff that was extremely expired, baked in the car, left un-refrigerated, frozen, etc.

I can try it out sometime.

[Sam]

In my mind the real question pertains to it being opened…

All of us old school pros know that an unopened vial or pen is as good as new no matter how long expired… but is oxidation a factor after it’s been used? That I feel unsure of…

[bostrav59]

This brings up a corollary question - how does someone know if the lantus or insulin is not good?

I always thought it may turn cloudy if there are problems, but I’m not sure if I made that up…

e

[Chris]

I think that is a general type of advice for any clear injection liquid, but I certainly wouldn’t inject cloudy insulin. Other than that, I am not sure how you would know the Lantus is slightly off, because each day has so much variation on its own. If it didn’t work at all that would be easy to spot.

[TomH]

I’m new to all this, so no expertise. That said, I understood keeping Lantus or Novolog in frig could cause injections to be painful unless it was pre-warmed in your hands, etc.; true? Not true? I may have bought the advertisement that it was good for 28 days after starting use, so interesting to see comments the Lantus might be good for significantly longer (not sure if it applies to Novolog or not).

Would appreciate comments from anyone that “knows for sure” or has longer-term practical experience. While I’m not having to pay out-of-pocket (yet), would hate to waste and expensive product that I or someone else could use.

[Chris]

@TomH, so we have run personal experiments on this site with Novalog and Humalog. The 28 days is complete utter bullshit. We have frozen it and it works, we have purposely left it in cars in the summer, and we have used it many years past expiration having sat at room temperature for an entire year. Works fine. Here are the threads:

The Great Frozen Insulin Experiment....part 2

Well, in the great peanut butter cup experiment it appeared that the frozen insulin still worked, although its action curve was slowed. So it was suggested that we try again without administering food, to see what action the insulin had. We waited for a reasonably flat period, we were at 165 for about 45 minutes, and we administered 4 units of previously frozen and thawed Humalog. As you can see in the resulting Dexcom tracing, the insulin still works. It does appear to us to have a slightly…

"Car baked" insulin. An experiment for Irish

Recently several members have posted about keeping their insulin cold. forum.fudiabetes.org/t/overnight-camping-what-to-do-with-backup-insulin forum.fudiabetes.org/t/perfect-refrigerator-for-insulin-storage I think this is largely an unneeded burden on diabetics, and a lot of unnecessary overhead. Storing insulin in your fridge is fine, but it shouldn’t cause anyone any concerns. I kept insulin UNrefrigerated for months at a time when in college. And even after college I kept it in a “wallet”…

The great unrefrigerated (& expired) insulin demo

The long-time Unlimiteds have already seen this kind of stuff. But for newer members, I wanted to share it with a new demo. I am calling this a “demo” instead of an “experiment”, because really by now, there is no more experimenting. I know what is going to happen, I am just trying to show it. Perhaps you recall this one from last year: car-baked-insulin-an-experiment-for-irish That was a fun thread! And it was a little bit different, it was in a hot car in the summer for 4 days. But since …

[Chris]

My son pumps but uses Lantus for 50% of his basal, so the vial last a long time. He has left it sitting at room temp in his room for months and it works fine.

As far as cold liquid causing discomfort, we have found that to be true. You can warm it in your hand, or just let it sit out for the duration of your use and you should be fine either way in our experience.

[TomH]

Thanks for the references and experimentation everyone has done. I agree with the one poster about manufacturers. They have to test to certain FDA requirements, going beyond that cuts in to their bottom line with no return on investment. It takes pure researchers (and geeks like us) to figure it out. I remember asking my high school chem teacher what happens if you combine hydrochloric and sulfuric acids…her response: “I’m not sure…why don’t you try it!”

[ClaudnDaye]

@TomH

That said, I understood keeping Lantus or Novolog in frig could cause injections to be painful unless it was pre-warmed in your hands, etc.; true?

I take ours out of the fridge the moment we need a new pen, inject it into our sons POD immediately and he has never complained of pain post-shot. I used to warm it up but he didn’t seem to notice or care one way or the other so i discontinued warming it up. He’s 7 and we use Novolog.

[Chris]

@TomH

“I’m not sure…why don’t you try it!”

Funny, there is a limit to that adage. In graduate school I ended up in an engineering group (I am a chemist) and my first job after the engineers blew up a hood was to go through the put under lock and key anything they shouldn’t have access to without supervision. I found amongst other things 5 pounds of sodium stored incorrectly, fuming nitric acid, as well as the purest form of sulfuric acid you could buy. Needless to say my locked cabinet became full very quickly.

[jbowler]

@Chris

5 pounds of sodium stored incorrectly

Sodium, as in the metal that has to be stored in oil to be safe? How on earth did they manage to store five pounds unsafely?

[Chris]

They had it stored in a cabinet next to a bunch of solvents including carbon tet, and in a cabinet that was just below the water de-ionizing filters.

[bkh]

What could possibly go wrong with that arrangement…
Potential Darwin award prospects, I’d say.

[Chris]

That was kind of my thought as well. And after a small polymerization reaction done in too small a vessel blew the hood glass out, and stuck the reaction into the ceiling, I never was as comfortable in my lab as I was prior to that.

[jbowler]

The best one I ever saw, solely because of the embarrassment (potential job loss) value, was when the master got too adventurous demonstrating the thermite reaction. This is a chemical process which removes rust by converting it into heat using that famously flammable metal aluminum. Another master was very, very emphatic about not dropping water into the cauldron of molten aluminum that we used for casting in metalwork classes. First master ventured to substitute magnesium for aluminum; it worked, the mark on the ceiling in this case was black. That’s probably why I have a degree in inorganic chemistry.