Where to keep if can't use the fridge

[SylviaPsyoplath]

Is it ok yo keep my pens in a drawer in my bedroom - not a hot room, no heating on etc?
I cant keep in the fridge but worried it will lose its effectiveness outside a fridge?

I have never kept mine in a fridge. I think they need to be kept below 30 degrees C. Don’t panic.

I don’t think it needs to be in the fridge once you’ve got it.
Have you googled?

You can store out of fridge for 28 days, under 30 degrees is what I have read because I am the same

I have googled, and also I couldn't collect from post office for 2 days and the provider said it would be fine, I just dont want to compromise when its such a big expense

What if its past 28 days - i might need to expand the time by taking every 8 or 9 days due to cost/pay day

@SylviaPsyoplath Assuming you mean a Mounjaro pen, pens must be stored in the fridge before they are in use. In the fridge unused they will last till the expiration date printed on the pen, which is usually several months.

Once in use, ie after you have taken a dose from the pen, it can be stored at room temp or in the fridge, but must be used within 30 days.

Wegovy pens are the same, apart from being used with 6 weeks of first use rather than 30 days.

In terms of collecting from the post office, the ice packs and insulation should keep Mounjaro at fridge temp (2-8 degrees)) for up to 48 hours. Wegovy has different guidelines and during delivery is ok to be under 30 degrees for up to 2 days.

You can check the information that I've described as it's in the patient information leaflet for Mounjaro and Wegovy injections.

Thank you, this has made my question clearer, if its ok out of fridge once opened then is it ok out if fridge for a few days before opening?

And thank you for the detailed reply 💐

If it's Mounjaro, no, it must be kept at fridge temp before use. So up to 48 hours in transit with icepacks and insulation would be ok, any longer and it will probably get too warm.

Wegovy, there was a recent change that allows it to be up to 30 degrees for 2 days whilst in transit.

The risk in pens getting too warm is that the medication may start to break down and be less effective/ineffective and possibly cause a skin/site reaction on injecting. There is also the risk of bacterial contamination - that is unlikely with an unopened pen, but the manufacturers can't guarantee it if the pens aren't stored to guidelines.

If the medication breaks down a lot, it will have visible clumps, particles or strands in it and should not be used.

In reality if this was me, I would collect the pen as soon as I could and put it straight into the fridge. As long as it didn't have any visible changes, so it was still clear and without any particulates visible, then I would personally probably still use it. I would take the small risk of it being less effective.

What I would not ever do is store an unopened pen at room temp.

Asking said, I cant store in the fridge.
Picked it up after 2 days from delivery at the PO, have done a dose, now need to keep in my coolish bedroom - was asking if that seemed ok or not.

Sadly im not you and cant keep in the fridge, which was the purpose of this post.

Keeping it at room temp once in use is as per the guidelines. So it seems, and actually is, ok to do that. Hopefully you are reassured by that information.

The difficulty may come when you need to order your next pen, and may have to store it for a while before you start to use it. You could order at the last opportunity and risk being without a dose for a few days if delivery is delayed.

Instructions are clear, once pen is out of fridge temperatures it should be used within 30 days.

If you want to spread the doses, if you get the delivery on time, injected the day you got it you could inject days 0,10,20,30 and still be within 30 days.

Many people keep in fridge and extend beyond 30 days, personally I wouldn’t combine two risks of storing outside fridge and extending use.

You will also need to very carefully time you second pen delivery so you start using as soon as you receive.

The big problem with all that is you have no idea how you will respond to the medication, injecting every 10 days will reduce the overall concentration in you body and you may mean you don’t get the effect you need.

Is there really no way you can resolve the fridge issue? It will make life much easier.

Also, have you thought about trying tablets instead if the fridge is a complete no go.

Lilly have a tool for pharmacists to check if pens are still ok to dispense after being outside a fridge. This shows they are ok to dispense as normal even if at 30C for a few days. This says to me there’s a bit of leaway. On that basis, I’d personally be happy to extend a few days beyond 30 when stored in a cool bedroom.

I’ve never had mine in a fridge, always kept in my bedroom drawer - it’s been totally fine. I reorder once I’ve used my last dose and it’s always been on time for me to use again with the exception of last summer when the prices hiked and I couldn’t get hold of a pen - was about 3 weeks before I could get one!

Could you buy a mini beer fridge for your bedroom or keep the pen inside a thermos flask inside your bedside drawer to help keep it cool? Rinsing the flask out with cold water every day.

Otherwise, maybe you need to swap to using the tablets?

Last 30 days not in fridge so if you get it just before it’s needed should be ok. Won’t be effective after 30 days so I don’t think can extend.

You could a frio wallet and store it in that.

Its essentially a gel pack that you soak in water and then it stays cold for around 2 days. It can then be refreshed by soaking the gel pack in water again.

We use them to transport pens when travelling or if staying somewhere hot with no fridge.