Samantha Walsh
Samantha Walsh has lived with type 1 diabetes for over five years since 2017. After her T1D diagnosis, she was eager to give back to the diabetes community. She is the Community and Partner Manager for T1D Exchange and helps to manage the Online Community and recruit for the T1D Exchange Registry. Prior to T1D Exchange, Samantha fundraised at Joslin Diabetes Center. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelors degree in sociology and early childhood education.
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It is recommended to use an insulin vial or pen within 28 days of opening it, but not everyone can discard unused insulin. What do you do with your unused insulin after it’s been open for more than 28 days? Cancel reply
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I don’t use pens and I always use a bottle before getting 28 days… so, n/a!
If I did have a vial that was at the expiry date, I would use it for a little while longer… eke out as much insulin as I could before needing to open a new vile.
I’m on a Tandem pump and only use one kind of insulin: Humalog. The vial is used up within 2 or 3 weeks.
Yes, T1D for 64 years and never had a problem using insulin open and not refrigerated way past 28 days
Only because I am lots of insulin and great health coverage. If I haven’t used it up. I through it away and start a new bottle Humalog. But with my Lantus. I put it back in ghe fridge . I am on a insulin pump and Raley use the Lantus.
My vial of insulin last about 25 days then I throw it away
I keep my insulin in the refrigerator and load my syringes with a one day supply. I’ve never had insulin go bad.
I discard after 28 days
As long as my vial of insulin is kept in the fridge at the correct temperature, I haven’t noticed any problems with how long it’s been in there while using a pump. It takes me more than a few weeks to get through one.
I use the full contents of the bottle until it is empty. Have never had issues of ineffectiveness after 28 days since it was opened., even when stored at room temperature. When I travel away from home I carry vials and pens in a Frio pack.
Inexcusably or unavoidably, this eldritch current underlies two worries:
1. That something this valuable should not be wasted. And,
2. The fragile magic that this tiny unfolding protein molecule works.
I always use my insulin up before 28 days.
I use my pens up before 28 days so it isn’t an issue.
Finishing pens/vials before 28 days should have been one of the choices.
I toss it after its ise by date. The majority of the insulin oen has been used within the time frame. (Many are suggested beyond the 28days now)
My vials only last about 3 weeks so this is not an issue for me.
I discard it
Using a t:slim x2 pump I use a vial of Novolog in approximately 3 weeks so this has not been an issue.
I’ve never had an insulin pen last longer than 10-14 days. Never had an insulin pen last 28 days!
I use every bit of insulin. I recycle the bit in my tubing during set changes and collect it in a previously emptied vial until I have about a vial and the use that all up b4 opening a new one.
Way to go! All of the equipment necessary to stay alive is too expensive to throw any of it away. I had a pump fail once and the only insulin pen I had was 5 yrs old. It had been in the frig but that expired 5 year old pen saved my life. Celebrating 50 years T1D this year.
Lots of disinformation about insulin. I have never had a problem using past 28 days.
I always use one vial up within 28 days
T-1 60 years and can’t remember more than 2 Vials EVER being thrown out. If I don’t use it I offer it to someone else with the caveat of it’s age.
I use it up to 30 days, toss and open new vial.
I never have any that’s unused after28 days
I usually have more then one bottle open. I have one for home and work. As long as it doesn’t appear cloudy I’ll use it. Same with my insulin pens. Insulin is to expensive to throw away is discard!
I’m about to tell you a naughty thing that I’ve been doing for many years. Shhh. I was told by a doctor or nurse many years ago not to do this.
I empty a vial completely when I open it. I fill about 7 cartridges for my pump, and put them into the refrigerator until I need the next one. The seven cartridges last about 3 weeks. When I run out of cartridges, I do it all over again.
What a bad boy am I 🙂
Nice idea for saving time while there’s still cartridges full in the fridge.
Lawrence S, your creativity is much more appreciated than the multiple bed-wettings of nervous medical Nellies ☺ Thanks for a novel idea.
I’ve not heard aid attention to the 28 day guideline. Now I will! I may use a vial w/i 28 days. I’m not sure!
I generally finish one vial each month so it’s not an issue.
I used to keep using Lantus well beyond the 28 days until my Dermo suggested switching to pens. Each pen lasts about 10 days.
I use 1000 units in 28 days. There is nothing left.
Not a problem since I use up a vial in about 3 weeks.
On a pump. Insulin vial finished by 28-30 days. I have experienced elevated bg using Humalog opened longer than 30 days.
I started using insulin pumps in 2003, but prior to that I was on MDI using Lantus and Humalog.
In my MDI years, I would go through one vial of Lantus roughly every 35 – 40 days and one vial of Humalog roughly every 90 days.
I never noticed any differrence in effectiveness of the last unit of insulin from my 90-days in use vial compared to the first unit from my freshly opened vial, so I therefore agree with my doctor in Alabama, who told me not to worry about how long the vial’s been in use and just keep using every drop from every vial until the vial’s empty unless you start noticing that you start needing more insulin to lower your blood glucose reading by the same amount.
Wow, pretty one-sided response but not surprising. One thing is that the accuracy tolerances in insulin dosing are a lot looser than the carb-counting rulebook might suggest. Putting a number to a thing suggests a degree of precision that the actual error bars may not justify. Even in optimal conditions, hitting a bolus dose exactly right is more the exception than the rule in my case. As long as my vial or pen hasn’t been exposed to temperature extremes, I’ve never noticed a difference in efficacy beyond the statutory 28 days. If a dose doesn’t perform exactly as predicted by the rule book, well, that’s just kinda what happens anyway most of the time. If there’s reason to think it’s insulin gone flat I might swap it out, if nothing else works.
I get every last drop of the liquid gold I can. EVEN if it means I’m using from two different vials to fill my cartilage. It’s to precious to waste any.
Me too!
I’ve never used the 28 day rule in my 53+ T1D years. It’s a manufacturer cover my ass guideline, not reality, as a multitude of real world studies have clearly demonstrated in the last 5 years.
Other-I don’t think my vials last that long?
I always use all the insulin and have never paid attention to the date it was opened.
I use the vial until empty, but I also keep it refrigerated. I only draw fron it 4-5 times to fill my pump cartridge.
I’ve never paid attention to how long it takes me to go through a veil. I just use it until it’s gone.
I use it for a month and then toss it.
I’ve always used what I have started until it is gone! Always have, always will!
My wife and I sere both T1D, using Lantus and Humalog. We shared the vial of Lantus so it never lasted more than 28 days. In order to keep track of the Humalog, we changed vials on a monthly basis.
My wife has since died of cancer, and I am using insulin pens so they never last 28 days.
I use insulin vial until its gone. I also do not refrigerate the vial. I have not had any issues. Medicare does not follow the 28 day guideline. So if I would throw a vial out at the 28 day guideline I probably would run out of insulin before Medicare allows for next prescription refill.
As a T1D for 49 years, I have never heard of this “28-day rule”. Maybe I’m a fool and I don’t pay attention? Or maybe I recognize that the emotional stress, from worrying about every single minute detail, can lead to more severe consequences over time.
Agreed
I finish a vial within the 28 days.
I use it till it’s gone. Every vial is stored in the refrigerator from the day of purchase until it’s empty. For the many years of MDI the NPH, Lantus, Levimer vials were sometimes used for more than a month without any issues. Now using the Tandem t:slim X2, a vial of Novolof lasts a month.
Novolog
I go through a vile in 3 weeks time, give or take a day. The Ozempic is 1mg a week and gives 4 shots a month. I have more physical problems then diabetes, so keeping track and not wasting meds is very important. Unless I’m unconscious, nothing is unused or discarded prematurely… It’s America and I don’t own a pharmacy, so a rate chart displaying insulin’s effectiveness on day 29 and beyond would be more helpful then discard advice! Just sayin’…
I use a vile, then open the next and put them together. Although, I use one vile in about 3 sometimes it is close to 4 weeks. That is why I put them together. If it weakens it’s not enough to cause a difference and it lasts a bit longer. Not sure how smart that is but it works for me.
I’ve never had a vial last for more than 28 days
I use it until
It’s gone, or until I notice is stops working or working as well as it should.
I usually use a full bottle a month because of all the waste with the pump in the lines and cartridges
Mine are used before 28 days and always refrigerated.
I throw it away. It doesn’t work as well.
I carry the little bit of insulin left in the neck of a vial along with a syringe for emergency use on case of pump issues. I’ve used Humalog insulin that I’ve been carrying around at room temp for months and have been pleasantly surprised that it still worked! Had trouble with Lantus in the past.
T1D 57 years. Never heard anything about insulin not being good after being open 28 days.
I wish a bottle of insulin would last me more than 2 weeks.
One goal last about 20 days so never have to stretch by using past
I didn’t always know about this and often used insulin longer than recommended, but no more. Humalog lasts 30 days after vial is opened and Tresiba vial lasts 56. I typically throw each in the trash when they reach those points, because if I don’t I can tell from my CGM that they’re not working as well.