Mounjaro storage questions

[MJconfessions]

I have been on Mounjaro for a while. I have a small stockpile of unused Mounjaro pens in my fridge which will see me through the next few months, alongside an open pen.

I’m happy with this as it will likely take me to my goal weight and I can use these to taper down in maintenance.

I have a few minor hiccups if anyone could please give advice:

• Does anyone know how long I can keep the unused medication out of the fridge for without causing issues? I have a fridge/freezer & need to defrost my freezer. I can’t turn my freezer off without turning the fridge off. Don’t have another fridge to use and worried about deteriorating unused medication.
• I have guests staying over soon and I don’t want them to see my medication. We will be cooking so they will see inside of my fridge. Any tips on how best to hide the unused medication in the fridge? I believe I can store the open pen elsewhere.
• I ended up injecting on Saturday instead of Thursday for two weeks in a row. Will it cause any issues if I inject today, it will be 5 days since my last dose? Or should I stick to Saturdays now? I initially delayed my dose, because of high suppression.

thanks in advance

I left mine in the fridge while I defrosted the freezer, I tried not to open the fridge door very often. It was still very cool when I'd finished. I guess you could use ice packs like when the medication arrives if it's going to take a while?

I put mine in a lunchbox (that's not see through), mainly so my child doesn't see it and start asking questions. I think he assumes it's just a storage box full of leftovers or something.

Un-used medication needs to be kept between 2C & 8C. You could freeze some ice packs to keep them cold while defrosting your freezer.

Put the pens in the box from a tube of purée or just roll pastry etc & put in the salad drawer?

Yes you can change your day (There has to be a minimum of 3 days between doses)

The medication needs to stay on the fridge until you start to use it. Can you use someone else’s fridge?

Id hide the medication in a drawer you won’t need at the bottom and just put carrots/stuff in front of it so they won’t see it.

I can’t see any issues with injecting today as it’s more then 3 days since your last dose. I dose twice a week with no issues.

If you have a small stockpile - you potentially have 600 pounds worth of medication. Buy one of those tiny fridges that teenagers use to stock a small amount of drink cans in their bedrooms and keep your medication hidden elsewhere in the house.

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None of those mini fridges are reliable enough to store medication. They can veer from being too warm to freezing your pens without any warning.

1. I would use a coolbox/bag with ice blocks whilst you're defrosting (or buy a mini fridge)
2. Opaque plastic box - but also put then in something else opaque like a bag, in case someone has a quick look in side. I moved mine from the fridge though into a mini fridge (that is in my study and on a small table under desk, which you can't see unless you look under desk - noise could easily be computer noise)
3. I would stick with Saturday - if you want to move back to Thu do it gradually, 12 hours at a time, as the reason for moving in the first place was over-suppression.

oh dear - hadn't considered that (about the mini fridges not being reliable enough). Had mine in one for 5 months - no issues but maybe I should reconsider...

I guess a regular domestic fridge isn't medical grade either (especially when people accidentally change the temperature setting - at least the mini fridge isn't prone to that). Looked at small medical grade fridges - seems a bit ott for MJ though. Youngest DC (I have no problem with them knowing but they have a tendency to over-share still and I have zero interest in discussing this so...) is leaving home in a month - think I'll swap back to the main fridge then and use an opaque container.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

All the Mounjaro has been hidden in random boxes at the back of the fridge! I doubt the guests would think to open them. The boxes weren’t for anything appealing lol

I did quickly try to defrost the freezer whilst keeping my medication in the fridge. I mainly kept the fridge/freezer on, but did briefly turn it off it to get some stubborn bits sorted.

It’s not perfect as I wanted to turn the fridge back on asap, but the drawers open smoothly again and I don’t think my medication was impacted.

@Bogga thanks for your advice about the injection day. I think I’ll follow your plan, about gradually changing back.

I'd put the unused pens in a cool bag with an ice pack while you defrost the fridge freezer. They are fine like that for shipping, so should be fine for the time defrosting takes. You can speed up defrosting with a hairdryer, so they wouldn't need to be in the cool bag for that long.

For hiding them in the fridge, I have mine in an old ice-cream tub, tucked at the back. Your friends aren't going to be rummaging, so as long as they're not the top thing, it's unlikely they'll see or care even if they do.

Not sure about taking an early dose. You'll still have the last dose in your system, so might end up with double effect. Possibly move it gradually over a few weeks. Eg. Saturday evening to early Saturday morning one week, then just before bed on Sunday the next week, then earlier in the day on Sunday the next.

@Sprogonthetyne a hairdryer! That is such a clever idea. Fuming that I didn’t think of that, I was faffing around with boiling water and scraping!

Yeah I think my medication is discretely tucked away in the fridge now. My guests won’t be rummaging in my fridge but I also don’t intend on overseeing them or monitoring what they’re doing. Like if they wake up in the middle of the night and want filtered water from the fridge or something. Hopefully I’ve done enough to avoid any awkward conversations about Mounjaro.