Keeping meds cold :cold:

[nanalisa]

We are going to WDW in July and I'm really nervous about getting my Byetta to Florida and keeping it cold in the parks. Does anyone know of a good, small cooler for a pen type med? I got one from Eli Lily for Byetta but it only keeps cool for 2 hours. We will have a fridge at BWI & CR so that's good, but I don't want to leave the park at dinner time to take a shot if I can avoid it. Did I read that I could keep meds at the nurses station while at the parks?

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes, you can keep medications at First Aid in any of the parks. They also have individual cubicles (with 3 walls and a curtain) or rooms (with doors) where you could go to give yourself your injection and safely dispose of the syringe afterward.
We have not personally stored any medication at First Aid, but have talked to people who have. I'm sure some posters can give you first hand accounts.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have gotten a lunch pail size insulated bag from WalMart. It has a picket in the top that a gel pack goes in. I will but a gel pack in the bottom, one in the top, and mayby another on one side. I will take my Byetta pen in its box and wrap the box loosely with bubble wrap so it does not come in direct contact with the gel packs. The only problem is this would need to be tossed in a backpack or something to carry around all day (I can put mine in the basket of my ECV).

Another option is, as you mentioned, going to first aid on arrival and they will keep the pen for you in a marked paper bag in the refrigerator. They you can stop by beffore dinner for yor shot and even leave it there but be sure to remember to pick it up before leaving the park.

 

[Selket]

Here is a great article on keeping Byetta cool:

http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/m77.htm

There are options listed there for short, medium and sort of longer term storage. My young son is a type 1 diabetic so I ran across this article as a reference for storing insulin.

Carol

 

[Swimnoid]

Slightly OT, but I just started byetta. How has it worked for you all? So far it has been really good for me. I'm just looking for opinions from people who have used it for ore than a week.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Selket - thank you for that link! What a great resource. I hadn't thought about travel, but I'm taking the girls to Chicago this summer for a few days and need to prepare. This refrigeration stuff is all new to me, when I took insulin during pregnancies/nursing I didn't have to refrigerate the open bottles, just the unopened for long term storage.

Swimnoid - I can't help you with long term info, I've only been on Byetta 3 days myself. So far so good - I think I'm going to like this stuff. I hope it's worth the extra cost and hassle over the pill I was taking.

 

[Swimnoid]

My 2Cinderellas---no kidding! My insurance wont pay for it at all yet. I got one free month and might get a couple more but if not I'lll probably have to stop it until 2007 when insurance reviews the meds they pay for. Mine is the only one around who does not pay.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

My 2Cinderellas---no kidding! My insurance wont pay for it at all yet. I got one free month and might get a couple more but if not I'lll probably have to stop it until 2007 when insurance reviews the meds they pay for. Mine is the only one around who does not pay.

my insurance pays for the Byetta with the normal namebrand $30 co-pay, but not for the needle tips, those are OOP. Also, my endocrinologist switched me from generic Glucophage/metforin to Formanet to try and reduce the side effects so I can take a larger dose. Formanet is non-formulary on my insurance so it's $45 instead of $10 a month. my Rx bill just jumped about $60 a month.

if they work better than what I was taking, it's worth it. We'll need to jump up the medical spending account next year, though!

 

[nanalisa]

Slightly OT, but I just started byetta. How has it worked for you all? So far it has been really good for me. I'm just looking for opinions from people who have used it for ore than a week.

I've been on Byetta for about 2 1/2 months and it's working pretty well. My numbers are slowly coming down, but my doc said it wouldn't happen over night. Haven't been sick at all, even went I went from 5mm to 10mm. It's been really good for a lot of people. I heard on the news last night that it's being considered for a weight loss aid.

Oh, and thanks for the cooler ideas!

 

[Figaro]

I love, love, love Dr. Bill's Byetta blog and have gotten a lot of useful information from there. I like to use the small steel briefcase thermos with the Byetta wrapped in a plastic bag and the ice cubes in another plastic bag. As long as I pre-chill the thermos for about 5 minutes with ice and cold water, three ice cubes will keep my Byetta at the correct temp for 12 hours at normal room temperature and 4 hours at ungodly sit in the car in the sun temperatures. And all I have to do is ask any food service place for three ice cubes to replace them when they melt and I am good to go.

Make sure you have an accurate thermometer to keep with the Byetta. I never, ever put the Byetta directly into a strange fridge without checking the temperature for at least 2-3 hours, as some will freeze it and others just aren't cold enough.

And I have been on Byetta since August 4th of 2005. I've lost just over 100 pounds and had the great pleasure of asking my physician what he wanted me to weigh (he said that where I am right now is perfect) My fasting blood sugars are always below 90 and my post meal blood sugars almost never get above 120. It has been a true miracle drug for me, as I am now a size 8 (a size I never thought to see again) and, most importantly, my diabetes is under as tight of control as if I were non-diabetic.

Hope everyone who uses it has as good of an experience as I have!

 

[nanalisa]

OMG Figaro! I have tears in my eyes from reading your post! What an inspiration you are. Did you have success from the beginning? I was beginning to get a bit down, but I'm going to stick with it.

Excellent idea regarding the thermometer for the fridge and the thermos. I've been to the the blog too I think, is it the same as this http://diabetes.blog.com/700371/#cmts ?

 

[Figaro]

Hi, nanalisa!

Yes, that is the correct url. It changes once a week, as the blog is so busy that it would take forever to load when it was a monthly blog. The people there are absolutely wonderful and will help out any way that they can.

A person does have to "work" with the Byetta though. Take it, then wait up to an hour to eat and really notice when you are getting full and stop. It took me a bit of time (2-3 weeks) to stop thinking about food, as I was so in the habit of feeling hungry much of the time. Once that stopped, the weight loss was for me the easiest of my life. I eat whatever the lizard lets me eat And since he doesn't seem to like high fat foods or sweet foods, I pretty much skip those or pay the price later on by being sick.

I was on insulin, glucophage, actos and two blood pressure medications. I am now down to synthroid and lipitor. Even with the extra cost of the Byetta, the getting rid of the other medications has actually dropped our monthly prescription cost a lot. And our food bill is down quite a bit too as I am not hungry and don't feel deprived.

 

[Swimnoid]

And I have been on Byetta since August 4th of 2005. I've lost just over 100 pounds and had the great pleasure of asking my physician what he wanted me to weigh (he said that where I am right now is perfect) My fasting blood sugars are always below 90 and my post meal blood sugars almost never get above 120. It has been a true miracle drug for me, as I am now a size 8 (a size I never thought to see again) and, most importantly, my diabetes is under as tight of control as if I were non-diabetic.

Hope everyone who uses it has as good of an experience as I have!

Wow Figaro! Congratulations! I am so glad it has helped you! I was hoping for better glucose control with weight loss as gravy if it happened. And I have lost 5 pounds in a week since I started! I am the first patient my doctor has put on byetta so she is really anxious to see what happens as well.