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Has your insulin ever frozen? Tell us how you handled it in the comments!
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In a hotel room refrigerator. I threw it away.
Tried using it. Blood sugars went out of control. Threw out the remainder.
Mail order pharmacies pack insulin in frozen plastic bags to keep it cold, but in winter time that is concerning, but it has never arrived frozen.
I was winter camping and the insulin softpac and 2 vials of insulin liquid froze solid during the night. In the morning I warmed them with body heat and subsequently used them with no ill effects and no apparent change in effectiveness.
Almost – from a motel in-room fridge. Now I use the fridge to freeze my own ice packs and keep the insulin in an insulated case.
I let it thaw back to room temperature. I used it going forward with no issues.
The tube on my pump froze and snapped off once.
My husband put a new bottle in the freezer instead of frige. I thawed it out and used it a while.
On a skiing trip, left a imal derivative NPH insulin in luggage in vehicle. It frozen almost solid. Tucked it in armpit until thawed and didn’t have any ill effects.
My insulin froze on a business trip after I placed it in the refrigerator in my hotel room. I was so worried that I ruined it that I went to CVS and paid out of pocket for a whole new bottle.
I was winter camping and never thought about the possibility of my insulin freezing. When it did, I freaked out, thought about hiking out by myself, then thought better of that idea. I spent the next 24 hours being scared and not eating much carbohydrate. Lots of frozen cheese, vegetable soup before they added pasta, etc.
I used to Order my Apidra from a Pharmacy in Canada and I’m in Texas. They didn’t “Cold Pack” the shipments so I would try to order after they were coming out of their ‘frozen temps’ but before my temps were going into the 80’s. Not sure it was frozen but the Apidra was almost as solid as a jelly. They replaced it
Never had it freeze like an ice cube. But, I’ve had situations where the refrigerator (small hotel ones) were too cold and I had to replace the ruined vials. The first time it happened, I learned not to trust hotels’ small refrigerators and started testing them with a glass of water. If the water froze, then I was able to tell if the dial was set too high and either get a new frig or reset the dial. The second time it happened, I don’t remember how my “fix” failed… but it did and I had to get another vial. Then, I was in a situation for months where I couldn’t control the refrigerator temp and just hoped for 5 or so months that all would be well. I made it through, sooo… musta been ok or not bad enough to really kill the insulin. These days I have the cooling devices when I travel so that refrigerators aren’t as necessary. And, well, covid put a stop to traveling, too.
I was about 10 or 11 when my family and I went on vacation to the wisconsin dells – The Great Wolf Lodge – when we got to the room that we were staying in, I unpacked my insulin and not knowing that the little box in the fridge up top was the freezer section. (Never stayed in a hotel or anything of that sort before) at lunch time time when my insulin was due I got it out of the fridge [freezer] my humalog was frozen. Almost like a slushie consistency. I freaked and stated crying. After I pulled myself together, I realized all I really could do was let it thaw out and hope that it still works. Fortunately it did still work! 🙂 Never put my insulin near the freezer part of the fridge EVER again.
We moved to Gunnison on the worst winter they had gotten in years and my insulin froze sitting on the table I ended up throwing it away and asking churches for help to get more insulin they were very nice they knew how cold it was and we lived in a fifth wheel not much money for alot of propane so not much heat so ended up putting the insulin in my clothes so it wouldn’t freeze again