Unopened pen not refrigerated for 72 hours

[Sweetiedarling7]

Have ordered from Curely for the first time (with this provider I mean, not my first pen) and royal mail haven’t delivered it.
By the time it arrives (monday) it will have been out of a fridge for 72 hours despite being sent 24 hours tracked.
From what I read, unopened pens left out of refrigeration for that sort of time must be used within 30 days.
I was not intending to do that as have another pen open.
I will contact Curely when the pen arrives to ask for an exchange but am anticipating a possible battle.
Has anybody had this happen with any suppliers? And if so did you get an exchange or refund?

Should be fine! Long as the vial isnt cloudy. Ive left insulin pens out (that are meant to be refrigerated) for months and theyve been fine to use.

This happened to me with one provider and they sent a replacement ( can't remember which)

Last year my fridge turned itself off while I was on holiday. I don't know how long it was off for but I think at least a week as what was in there went mouldy. Anyway, the 2 unopened pens in there were absolutely fine. The liquid wasn't cloudy and they worked perfectly.

I did lots of research as it was about £500 potentially lost and I concluded that they are just covering themselves with the refrigeration thing as temperatures vary Eg in very hot countries or very cold countries they haven't tested properly the impact on the pens so easier to make a blanket 'rule'.

It'll be wrapped and chilled to stay cool for travel. Pretty sure mine is good for 3 days so should be fine.

I would just put it in the fridge when it arrives and use as normal. This has happened hundreds of times, there have been so many posts about it on here. I wouldn’t give it a second thought tbh.

Thanks all. That is reassuring.

Lilly have a webpage for pharmacists where you can enter how long the pen has been out of the fridge and it tells you if you can give the pen to a patient as if nothing had happened. I tried 3 days at 30C and the tool said hand it out to a patient as normal.
so don’t worry

Asda pharmacy have loads of info about this. It says no more than 30 days out of the fridge, so according to them you can leave it out of fridge for 27 days now, they give this as an example. If you put in fridge straight away you'll be fine regardless. Also it is kept in cool pack whilst being delivered.

@SexyFrenchDepression I believe that is referring to when you start using the pen. Once it’s out of the fridge you have 30 days to use it and it doesn’t have to be kept in the fridge during that period, but the countdown has started.
This case is different. The OP is just taking delivery and will not be using it straight away. They want to know if they can put this pen into the fridge when it arrives without that 30 day timer starting.
My experience with the Lilly tool suggests to me that they’ll be fine.

Yes I know, I was researching last month for same thing and it basically was saying it doesn't matter regardless on the Asda site, I will try and find it again. It wasnt that clear though as most places were saying only out of fridge once using but logically it cant make any difference.

Done this before (for longer actually) and all fine x

The storage instructions are on the paper leaflet printed by the manufacturer that comes in the box with the pen. It’s pretty clear, but people seem to get confused about open or unused pens, and whether they need to be in the fridge or not. And whether any delays in delivery would affect that.

72 hours with ice packs in insulation isn’t going to be an issue, as the pen is unlikely to have been above 8 degrees for any length of time if at all. So I would put it in the fridge when it arrives, and treat it as per your previous pens.

The problem is that once it has been out of a fridge the active ingredient begins to decompose (for want of a better word) which is why the manufacturer starts a 30 day timer running after you have started to use a pen, on the basis that they say you don't then need to keep it in a fridge. This is why they keep new pens refrigerated when manufactured and give pharmacies strict storage instructions.
So if it had been out of a fridge for any length of time during delivery, then put back, the decomposition would have already started. You couldn't then leave it in the fridge for a few weeks before starting to use it, then take it out and expect it to last a further 30 days.
The OP here doesn't want to use it over the next 30 days, they want to keep it a while before using it, hence they're asking if they have to count 30 days from now.
Fortunately Lilly have a tool that lets you confirm if it is still ok to return to a fridge as if nothing has happened, and using this tool, people have found that 72 hours doesn't affect this, as @SilenceInside has alluded to.
Without that, the instructions say use it in 30 days from now.

Given the weather is currently cold I think it will be ok.