Question about Insulin

[sbuff28@charter]

Ok i live in NE, and as anyone whoes been there knows that the temperature ranges yearly from 0 degrees F to 100 Degrees F. My Insulin pack and test kit is a bulky bunch to carry around all the time. I wish i could just leave it in the truck, but my doctors say thats a big No No, especially in hot and cold temps. Does anyone know what temps are safe for me to store it in my truck? Also a Burning questin is what happens if i inject a partially frozen or partially boiled dose of insulin without knowing it? How do you treat this accident, ect? Is it dangerous?


-Steve
Age 21
New to type 1
NPH and Humalog

[JediSkipdogg]

I'm not sure what happens to frozen insulin but I know that insulin that gets to hot breaks down and becomes useless. So it may not do any harm to you if you take boiling insulin, but your blood sugars will slowly rise as the insulin will do absolutely nothing. I know they do make small cooler packs for insulin that you freeze the pack and then it keeps insulin cold for 12 hours or so. I'll look and see if I have the company that makes/sells those.

[David]

I would agree with your doctor, don't leave it in the truck or where it might be exposed to freezing or temperatures over 85 deg F. One way to look at it is if you'd be uncomfortable, your insulin is sure to be uncomfortable. Pack it in a cooler if you must leave it in a truck and add whatever you need to the cooler to maintain a fairly steady temp (eg: luke-warm or warm water in the winter, cold paks in the summer)

Dangerous? Possibly, because frozen or heated insulin proteins break down and won't do its job properly. How much it's broken down can't be predicted with any accuracy, it depends on insulin type, what temperature it was exposed to and how long it was exposed to those temperatures. You'd have to test to see how much it didn't work and correct with a shot of known good insulin (not the bad stuff). You could possibly go into DKA if you went long enough without good insulin.

David

[valc3]

Hey Steve, I'm in Vermont and our winter temperatures can hit some real extremes. I do not leave my insulin in the car. It will freeze and breakdown. Your monitor won't work accurately at extreme temperatures either. I know it's a pain to haul all this "stuff" around, but it's better than the alternative

[sbuff28@charter]

yeah man Vermont rocks...New Hampshire is even better tho, even though we lost the Old man in the Mountain we still have the cheapest liqour/beer prices around.

oh wait im saving hundreds of dallors now cuz i have diabetes...

i still win tho

[valc3]

yeah man Vermont rocks...New Hampshire is even better tho, even though we lost the Old man in the Mountain we still have the cheapest liqour/beer prices around.

oh wait im saving hundreds of dallors now cuz i have diabetes...

i still win tho


Yeah you lost the Old man, lack of sales tax is cool too. But Vermont is the best.:rock:

[JediSkipdogg]

Ohio is the best. We have the countries #1 WORST Governor.

[jeggeman31]

Ohio is the best. We have the countries #1 WORST Governor.

And Jerry Springer who wants to be Governor

[JediSkipdogg]

And Jerry Springer who wants to be Governor

I believe he decided not to anymore. Or is he still in the poll for it? But I'll tell you something, he was one of Cincinnati's best rated mayors, he just made a stupid mistake paying for a prostitute with a city check.

[jeggeman31]

I believe he decided not to anymore. Or is he still in the poll for it?


Who knows. He changes his mind every other day.


Sorry back to the topic at hand, or thread I guess

[DeusXM]

Get yourself a Frio pack. They're a special carry-pack for insulin. You immerse them in water for 15 minutes or so, and then you wipe them down and can keep your insulin cool for up to four days.

You might also want to consider transferring to insulin pens - they are very portable and don't take up much space in your pockets.