Extra mounjaro for holiday?

[thepurgebegins]

I want to start mounjaro now but what's putting me off is that I go away to see family for around 3 months in March. Im not sure if I would be given 3 pens to take with me from the supplier or how it would work exactly. I dont want to start only to have to stop again. I cant get it from where I am going. Has anyone gone through this or can give some advice. Thankyou

You could email and ask your supplier if they will give you 3 pens. There are some suppliers that do sell bundles, Sorry I can’t remember which ones. Failing that, you could always just order from different suppliers nearer the time.

@Time4changeagain ohh I didnt think of that. I assumed they check with other suppliers to see if I have a prescription already or maybe I'm being dumb and overthinking 😅

Swift will send three pens at a time to save on postage. So move to them and then order three in Feb. Can also stretch the pens from 4 weeks to 5 weeks by using bonus dose.

You could just order a little early each time and build up a stash of pens, assuming you are on a stable dose and know what strength pens you’ll need. You will need to be able to keep the unopened pens at fridge temp (2 to 8 degrees) whilst you are travelling and whilst you are visiting family, so that’s something to bear in mind when planning your trip.

@SilenceInside I suppose Ill have to see closer to the time because I wont know what dosage Ill be on. Im hoping if I start now I have 4 months to get to a dosage that works for me whatever that maybe. Im going to my in laws back home where I have a fridge. Ive been told I can keep it at room temp for 21 days max. The travel time for it not being in the fridge is around 20 to 22 hours. Or I would put it in a little cooler pack. Im not sure if airports allow it in hand luggage.

Mounjaro pens must be kept at fridge temp whilst they're unopened/unused. Once a pen is in use, you can keep it at room temp (as long as less than 30 degrees C) for 30 days before it expires. You can check this in the paper instruction leaflet that comes with the pen, found online here:

https://uk.lilly.com/diabetes/assets/pdf/pt-brochure/ukie-mounjaro-patient-booklet.pdf

@MeridaBrave thankyou!

@SilenceInside id get a cooler bag for medicine in that case and keep it in my hand luggage

And it’s a good idea to buy a travel size sharps box for needles. No problem in taking in hand luggage and as @thepurgebegins said, a meds cool bag is needed. I’ve travelled to Europe and USA without any issues. I’ve taken the original prescription packaging with name/dosage/date, flattened down to save space….probably ‘belt and braces’ but just to prove it’s mine. I also let my travel insurance know too that I’m using MJ. No extra cost with my particular policy provider but didn’t want to invalidate any claim in the unlikely event I needed it.

There are several suppliers who will sell you up to 3 pens at a time. I know Oushk will because I've done that with them.
I've also bought from multiple sellers in the past. Nobody has ever said anything, not even my GP who got 3 letters in one week from different pharmacies saying I'd bought the pens.

The only issue I see is that the pens need to be kept below 8° if unopened, and I’m not sure there are any medication bags that can keep it that cold for a number of hours..?

You could pack the pens in the same way as when they are delivered - so in an insulated bag with ice packs. That would keep them cool for 24 hours plus.

You won’t affect the shelf life of an unopened pen if it goes above 8C for 24 hours. There’s a Lilly webpage for healthcare professionals to check themselves. I’ve done it, and it will be fine for 3 days at 25C before going back in the fridge with no effect on the shelf life when I ran the numbers.

Except I think that would necessitate in hold as the ice pack the pens arrive with is too big for hand luggage. I’d probably do that as the little packs in the travel pack won’t stay cold for more than around 6-8 hours.

@MeridaBrave don’t pack the medication in the hold as it has the potential to freeze! And you can’t use it if it’s been frozen.

@HappyWineDay oh that’s interesting. Do you have a link to that information?!

You could put the pens in a small insulated bag with an ice pack and that would fit in hand luggage. You can also buy specific insulated packs for exactly that purpose, but they are a bit pricey. Although maybe worth it given that it's £600 plus worth of medication that you are going to be transporting.

Here are some of the kinds of cases you can get:

https://www.medigenix.co.uk/2-8-medication-case.html

i suppose it’s possible (that it might freeze) but it seems unlikely. The issue is that the regular cases have ice packs that won’t stay frozen for that long. I wonder if can get slightly bigger ice packs for hand luggage that are still under 100ml.