That’s correct.
A lot of things for my son are ‘off label’ due to his age.
Everything we do is decided upon with our Endo team at our hospital, and they are happy for us to use the CGM.
4 Likes
@Hopper900, can I talk you into switching to the Contour Next?
It is the best meter available. It wins every single meter comparison.
This is a comparison from several years ago. The Verio is farther down the list. The Contour Next is at the top. It is always at the top.
The meters are not expensive, and I imagine you are not testing a hundred times a day. So even if you just buy the meter and strips yourself, it’s worth the money.
4 Likes
Hmm, I don’t see Accu-chek Guide on the list…don’t remember why we swapped to that but I thought it was for to accuracy?
I wish my memory was better. Lol
1 Like
Is it on your RX formulary??
PBM often dictate meter choices.
I use Contour Next, but cash only, not on formulary. I think Accu-check is covered by PBM for my plan.
1 Like
Sometimes the meter companies play fast and loose with their names and marketing of their stuff. I am not sure, but it’s possible that the Accu-chek Guide is also known by one of these names on the list.
- Accu-Chek Mobile
- Accu-Chek Nano
- Accu-Chek Compact Plus
- Accu-Chek Aviva
- Accu-Chek Connect
- Accu-Chek Expert
I know the Freestyle names are confusing. And even the Contour Next series was confusing for a while. Like they all had meters that were essentially the same under the covers, and used the same stripes, but they had a bunch of different names for them.
I will look into it, the OneTouch Verio is what they sent us home with from the hospital. We rarely use it only when checking a new sensor or during sensor warm up if we needed to.
I have a couple more questions:
Does the diluent ever have to be kept in the fridge, either Before or after using for the first time?
Also the U-100 insulin vial I will draw 10 units from to make the diluted vial, can I put that back in the fridge and use it again on the next diluted vial? If so, how long until I should use a new U-100 vial.
They told us undiluted insulin should be discarded 28 days after first use and should be kept at room temperature after first use.
1 Like
@Hopper900,
Personally, for me, I would use it again. And I would use it for a long time.
Most of the recommendations for insulin are made because they are required to test everything. And they have to test it according t to FDA requirements (or Health Canada in your case). Those tests are very expensive.
So for example, they test it for 28 days, and it still works after 28 days, and then they say to discard it after 28 days.
That does NOT mean it goes bad after 28 days. It just means that they only tested it for 28 days. Longer tests are much more expensive, so they just say to discard it after 28 days.
I have used insulin that is several years old. Not only several years after the expiration date, but several years after opening it. It still worked. (I would not suggest that you use insulin that was several years old with Henry. I am just sharing that it worked for me.)
But just know that the expiration dates and the 28 day rule and all of that are not necessarily “real”, they are more for the requirements that are put on pharmacy companies.
I personally do not toss it after any time. I use it until it’s empty. I would not toss the vial after you have only taken 10 units out of it.
And I don’t think there is any real reason for them to say not to put it back in the refrigerator, other than that’s the way they did their tests! It’s somewhat ridiculous. They did not put it back in the fridge when they did their tests, so they tell you not to. But there is no real reason you can’t put it back in the fridge.
For me, I use it until it’s empty. I finish off every vial. But the difference is that I can tell when insulin is not working. And Henry can’t.
So I want to defer this question to @ClaudnDaye, because he has a young son and he’s better qualified to answer that as a D parent instead of someone using it for themself.
I only put my vial in the fridge after the first time I use it. That’s just an easy way for me to keep track of which vial I have started, and which ones I have not.
But there is no requirement to put it in the fridge.
My insulin vials specifically say to store between 2-8 degrees Celsius, but my diluent vials don’t say anything like that. No temperature is mentioned on the diluent vial. So I think you are safe keeping it wherever you want.
2 Likes
We do just as you do @Eric. We use it until it’s expired and we NEVER discard insulin. It’s liquid gold. I use it well past expiration (years) and I use it well beyond 28 days once open. We have never had an issue.
3 Likes
Okay lots of good information there, thank you again Eric for educating me further!
2 Likes
@Hopper900,
Glad it helped!
Please always feel free to ask anything you want about diabetes on FUD. You can create a new thread if there is any topic that needs discussion.
Collectively on FUD, we have thousands and thousands of years of diabetes experience. Not just book knowledge like doctors, but actual real daily hands-on experience.
2 Likes