Yes, many times. The “opened” thing is meaningless for pens and vials.
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My son uses pens, vials, and penvials until they are empty regardless of how long it takes to empty. He is storing them at room temperature in his dorm and is having zero issues. We sent him to college with enough insulin to go an entire year in case he had trouble getting his scrips filled. Also, he uses a pump with a small amount of injectable basal insulin so those vials last a really long time since 50% of his basal is coming from the pump.
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That’s what I did. The only thing that went into my fridge when I was in college was beer.
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I really appreciate this thread and the updates, as I have an insulin hoard downstairs in the beer fridge–my insurance last year was paying for both pens and vials and you bet your ass I was taking both as I didn’t have any sort of copay at the time. I think I have 15 boxes of Novolog and 9 boxes of Levemir pens, plus 10 or 12 Novolog vials upstairs.
…which turns out to be a good thing because I have a bad lot of Novolog that clearly had something happen to it, as my blood sugar was almost impossible to control for nearly 2 months (using a pump) and then when I opened a vial with a different lot number, everything pretty much went back to normal. So I have 2 vials that are completely unusable.
And then I developed an abscess at the last place I had an infusion set with the bad lot that necessitated a trip to the ER Saturday evening because I’m immunocompromised and am already on powerful prophylactic anitbiotics. So now I have a wee incision I’m trying to heal and more powerful antibiotics for the next week and change.
I’ve filed a report with the FDA, but I need to call Novo Nordisk and file a report with them as well. And try to get at least the two remaining vials of that lot replaced (I’d rather all 4 of them be replaced, the 2 I used and the 2 I didn’t).
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Wow, sorry to hear about the abscess, that doesn’t sound good. I suspect you will have no problem at all getting the vials replaced. I am also sure they will want the other vials back to inspect. Good luck with the healing and the antibiotics.
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Literally a week after I celebrated one year of not being hospitalized (I wasn’t admitted). My body is a troll. The abscess is healing well and I follow up with infectious disease next week.
I’m hoping that I won’t have a problem getting replacement vials–not like it costs them that much to actually make the stuff!
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Nope, Unicorn! 
Sorry that your body’s being stupid, but glad you figured it out!
But where did all the beer go to make space for the insulin? I swear my insulin hoard and hubby’s beer get in to fights in his beer fridge!
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It’s a trolling unicorn! 
He drank it all! There’s still two shelves and the door he can use when he buys more. I mean, isn’t it traditional for the basement fridge to be the beer fridge?
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We don’t have a basement. I bought him a beer fridge for his bday a few years ago. It only started housing insulin in 2020.
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Well…expiration dates appear to be mattering a great deal in my control…even if it is somewhat scattershot for when it matters.
My insulin pens that have six months left before expiration are seemingly turning to water after about three days out of the fridge (I store them in the fridge until I start using one…and then I just keep it out). I do pay attention to how hot it is outside and whether I take them in my purse with me or not on field trips, etc, if it’s going to be hot.
The pens end up taking longer for the insulin to kick in for my meals and they give up the ghost sooner with a lot less total oomph.
I just switched to a new pen that is a year out from expiration and got the Whoa Dang effect when I injected a correction dose that typically would not do ANYTHING on the older pen. Sudden and prompt drop…and needed only half of my traditional doses for the next two meals.
I will also be switching my next pod to a newer vial to see how that does. My basal needs have been creeping up in the last six months (odd given how active I am in summertime and usually need less than wintertime due to all of the stuff that comes with winter) and I thought that might be perimenopause. But it may be vial freshness since I am a hoarder. My current vial supposedly expired last month. I don’t care about the posted date as much as I care about efficacy. I am not really the legalistic type…just results.
Who knows…maybe pharmacy supply chain has some issues and my local place is harder on them than they should be? I don’t know…but I run such consistent and careful meals/exercise/dosing to protect me from my cyclical (and daily) hormonal changes for insulin sensitivity that this efficacy type of issue is definitely fully on my radar.
Just wanted to share. To each their own and I hope others don’t experience this. But it is one more thing for me to be grateful to know to watch for.
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