Re: JOHN__Traveling with Insulin pens

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I take it your getting ready for another business trip... Wish I had some answers for you about your insulin pen... Did the article I sent help out any??? You have every right to be worried , It's your life that is affected... Since you are worried about the pen, can't your Dr. give you back the prescription for your vials and syringes to put your mind at ease??? what was the reason he put you on this pen???

I'll Pray for a safe trip for you and that things turn out all right...

((( Caring Hugs )))Helen

Hello EveryoneI was wondering how one travels with an insulin pen.My Doctor has switched me to the Opticlick Insulin Pen which is the only one available to deliver Lantus insulin. The instructions says not to refrigerate the pen because the electronics need to stay dry.The pen itself has a nice carry case which has slots for two needles, the pen with a cartridge loaded and one extra cartridge but the case does not seem to be well insulated. It seems to me that I should carry the pen with the current cartridge in the carry case and hope they don't get too hot but I should probably try to carry unused cartridges in some sort of insulated and cooled carry bags. I doubt that my first travel case will work, it has an insulated pouch with loops for four vials and a pocket for an ice pack but the cartridges are much longer than the vials in that there's a plunger that sticks out one end. The Frio pouch that I have which is designed to hold two vials might do the trick for one cartridge, perhaps two if I could cleverly insert them, it may work for the pen but the Opticlick is a very large pen and the Frio pouch is by it's nature, wet.Also, in the past, I would make certain that a refrigerator was available for the insulin but with the pen, I'll have to keep it in the hotel room but the air conditioner often has a energy conservation feature where the AC does not run when the room is unoccupied. In the past, not every hotel room has had functional AC units and although I can change rooms, often not till a night has been spent in the heat. Also, sometimes the hotel staff will open up the room to the outdoors rather than keep the AC on, should they do this while I'm at the office, the cartridge in the pen could be ruined. Also, how do I know how warm it got while I'm away for the day? I suppose that I could carry the pen into the office with me to be sure that it's kept in air conditioned environments at least until I know the AC in the room works and have made arrangements with the staff to keep the AC on continuously.I have noticed that in the past, the effectiveness of the insulin that I carry on a trip weakens throughout the trip. I've been careful to try and keep them cool (my first travel pouch is only good for four to six hours, the Frio advertises 48 hours) so the weakening may be due to all the movement and vibration. The trips that I do are about 12.5 hours on a plane and the weather at one end or the other is always above 90 Fahrenheit, one end is in the northern hemisphere, the other end is in the southern hemisphere. This usually means a 20 hour travel day is involved.I don't think the Frio is actually all it's advertised to be. I suspect that it doesn't cool by more than a few degrees and most of the benefit is from the thermal stabilization of having all that water gel in the jacket, still it's the only thing I've found that claims to keep insulin cool for more than a few hours.I'm probably just worrying too much as this will be my first long haul trip with the Opticlick, it had always been with vials and syringes in the past but I'm now out of vials. It doesn't help that the company is talking about booking me into the cheap hotel which had malfunctioning AC the last time I was there (also the refrigerator wasn't working properly either).Regards,

"When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate."

[Guest guest]

Hello HelenThe Doctor's get the Opticlick pens the same way they get sample medications, the Opticlick is the only one that works with Lantus and they are not available for purchase not even with a prescription.   My Doctor got one and since I'm his Lantus patient, he's given the pen to me.   I have to admit, so far, each injection has been painless even though a couple did draw blood, I can't say the same about the syringes but I had gotten used to finding a pain free spot by just touching the skin with the tip of the needle to see if I can feel it.    With the pen, it's just too big and heavy to carefully touch a spot first, you just have to stab it in and hope for the best.  I've only been using the pen for a few days so maybe I've just been lucky with where I've injected. I also find that with the pen, I have to keep it in for a long time after the clicking stop before the insulin stops flowing, it tends to be still coming out if I pull it out too soon after the plunger movement has stopped.   With the weight of the pen, it's awkward holding it in so it moves around a bit and that's probably why blood was drawn on a couple of shots.   It's possible to draw out the insulin from the cartridges with a syringe so I don't have to use the pen, that's actually what they recommend if there are any problems with the pen.I'm concerned that many hotels cut the AC when you're not in the room to save on energy costs and since the pen can't be refrigerated, it may get exposed to high temperatures.   The Brazil office has asked the hotel to run the AC 7x24 for me and will provide me with a sign to post so the cleaning staff doesn't turn it off.   However, they're putting me up in a cheaper hotel than usual which uses smaller AC units similar to those common in Mexico with moving vanes and mounted near the ceiling.   These AC units are designed on the basis of not being able to maintain the temperature but on blowing cold air directly on you like a fan would so that you feel cold even if you're not actually cold.I plan to buy a digital room thermometer with a min max feature so that I will know how hot the room got while I'm at the office.   That way if the temperature is exceeded, I'll know to toss the cartridge and switch to a spare as well as tell the office so they can sort out the hotel AC and try and replace my insulin which I already know isn't available in that country, going with an insulin other than Lantus would probably be more dangerous than going without.   Ultimately, if the insulin is getting ruined, I'll just have to fly home and they can explain why they would risk millions of dollars and my health for a cheap hotel room.The last time they tried to put me in this cheap hotel, they wound up relocating me to a five star hotel because the AC didn't run through the night and the fridge controls was all messed up, that's even more dangerous as the insulin might freeze and it nearly froze my vials last time.   Whoever had the room before probably didn't know which way to adjust the dial for the fridge temperature.   Other employees in the company don't use this hotel because one guy was bitten all over by spiders.   The breakfast room is crawling with sugar ants and none of the managers ever stay in this hotel, they always stay in the five stars along the beach.   The other problem is that none of the taxi drivers know where it is so you end up having to direct them in Portuguese to the hotel.It's probably possible to do without the insulin if I'm careful with my diet, that's what the Doctors in Canada had me do when I forgot my medicine bag on one of my trips to visit my parents but that was a short trip and I had more control over what was available to eat (ie.: home cooking not restaurant or hotel food).Don't really care much for this company any more, they've been mismanaging things in general a lot recently and the work they're asking me to do on this trip is overwhelming because they have been avoiding addressing problems there simply to avoid incurring travel costs, basically they want about two months worth of work saved up from the past year done in two weeks because I would be there for another reason hence the trip would be justified by another department.   Besides, I have another job offer for 28% more money.   Well, it's not so much another job offer as it is the company a few of us have been trying to set up.   Still, it would be good to stick it out till March when I would receive a month and a half salary as a bonus.They already screwed up by not applying for the work visas when I suggested so we're already loosing a week and they're having to send the application to New York to expedite it at about quadruple the price plus the plane tickets will be at the last minute and will cost almost as much as first class tickets would've.   The visa photos that CVS made are overexposed and look like there's a halo around me and a double image on my shoulders, normally I would've just refused to pay for the photos and have them taken at the next CVS, Walgreens or Kinkos down the road but as I don't really care if there's another administrative hiccup to underscore how the whole project has been mismanaged, I had let the questionable photos slide. Regards,On Jan 10, 2007, at 6:12 PM, angelbear1129@... wrote:Hi ,  I take it your getting ready for another business trip...  Wish I had some answers for you about your insulin pen...  Did the article I sent help out any???  You have every right to be worried , It's your life that is affected...  Since you are worried about the pen, can't your Dr. give you back the prescription for your vials and syringes to put your mind at ease???  what was the reason he put you on this pen???   I'll Pray for a safe trip for you and that things turn out all right...((( Caring Hugs )))Helen Hello EveryoneI was wondering how one travels with an insulin pen.My Doctor has switched me to the Opticlick Insulin Pen which is the only one available to deliver Lantus insulin. The instructions says not to refrigerate the pen because the electronics need to stay dry.The pen itself has a nice carry case which has slots for two needles, the pen with a cartridge loaded and one extra cartridge but the case does not seem to be well insulated. It seems to me that I should carry the pen with the current cartridge in the carry case and hope they don't get too hot but I should probably try to carry unused cartridges in some sort of insulated and cooled carry bags. I doubt that my first travel case will work, it has an insulated pouch with loops for four vials and a pocket for an ice pack but the cartridges are much longer than the vials in that there's a plunger that sticks out one end. The Frio pouch that I have which is designed to hold two vials might do the trick for one cartridge, perhaps two if I could cleverly insert them, it may work for the pen but the Opticlick is a very large pen and the Frio pouch is by it's nature, wet.Also, in the past, I would make certain that a refrigerator was available for the insulin but with the pen, I'll have to keep it in the hotel room but the air conditioner often has a energy conservation feature where the AC does not run when the room is unoccupied. In the past, not every hotel room has had functional AC units and although I can change rooms, often not till a night has been spent in the heat. Also, sometimes the hotel staff will open up the room to the outdoors rather than keep the AC on, should they do this while I'm at the office, the cartridge in the pen could be ruined. Also, how do I know how warm it got while I'm away for the day? I suppose that I could carry the pen into the office with me to be sure that it's kept in air conditioned environments at least until I know the AC in the room works and have made arrangements with the staff to keep the AC on continuously.I have noticed that in the past, the effectiveness of the insulin that I carry on a trip weakens throughout the trip. I've been careful to try and keep them cool (my first travel pouch is only good for four to six hours, the Frio advertises 48 hours) so the weakening may be due to all the movement and vibration. The trips that I do are about 12.5 hours on a plane and the weather at one end or the other is always above 90 Fahrenheit, one end is in the northern hemisphere, the other end is in the southern hemisphere. This usually means a 20 hour travel day is involved.I don't think the Frio is actually all it's advertised to be. I suspect that it doesn't cool by more than a few degrees and most of the benefit is from the thermal stabilization of having all that water gel in the jacket, still it's the only thing I've found that claims to keep insulin cool for more than a few hours.I'm probably just worrying too much as this will be my first long haul trip with the Opticlick, it had always been with vials and syringes in the past but I'm now out of vials. It doesn't help that the company is talking about booking me into the cheap hotel which had malfunctioning AC the last time I was there (also the refrigerator wasn't working properly either).Regards, "When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate."

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

You be Extra careful on this trip... Nothing is worth putting your health or life in jeopardy... I don't understand why they would even subject you to this run down hotel when they themselves won't stay in it... Keep me posted and stay Safe!

((( Caring Hugs )))Helen

Hello Helen

The Doctor's get the Opticlick pens the same way they get sample medications, the Opticlick is the only one that works with Lantus and they are not available for purchase not even with a prescription. My Doctor got one and since I'm his Lantus patient, he's given the pen to me.

I have to admit, so far, each injection has been painless even though a couple did draw blood, I can't say the same about the syringes but I had gotten used to finding a pain free spot by just touching the skin with the tip of the needle to see if I can feel it. With the pen, it's just too big and heavy to carefully touch a spot first, you just have to stab it in and hope for the best. I've only been using the pen for a few days so maybe I've just been lucky with where I've injected.

I also find that with the pen, I have to keep it in for a long time after the clicking stop before the insulin stops flowing, it tends to be still coming out if I pull it out too soon after the plunger movement has stopped. With the weight of the pen, it's awkward holding it in so it moves around a bit and that's probably why blood was drawn on a couple of shots.

It's possible to draw out the insulin from the cartridges with a syringe so I don't have to use the pen, that's actually what they recommend if there are any problems with the pen.

I'm concerned that many hotels cut the AC when you're not in the room to save on energy costs and since the pen can't be refrigerated, it may get exposed to high temperatures. The Brazil office has asked the hotel to run the AC 7x24 for me and will provide me with a sign to post so the cleaning staff doesn't turn it off. However, they're putting me up in a cheaper hotel than usual which uses smaller AC units similar to those common in Mexico with moving vanes and mounted near the ceiling. These AC units are designed on the basis of not being able to maintain the temperature but on blowing cold air directly on you like a fan would so that you feel cold even if you're not actually cold.

I plan to buy a digital room thermometer with a min max feature so that I will know how hot the room got while I'm at the office. That way if the temperature is exceeded, I'll know to toss the cartridge and switch to a spare as well as tell the office so they can sort out the hotel AC and try and replace my insulin which I already know isn't available in that country, going with an insulin other than Lantus would probably be more dangerous than going without. Ultimately, if the insulin is getting ruined, I'll just have to fly home and they can explain why they would risk millions of dollars and my health for a cheap hotel room.

The last time they tried to put me in this cheap hotel, they wound up relocating me to a five star hotel because the AC didn't run through the night and the fridge controls was all messed up, that's even more dangerous as the insulin might freeze and it nearly froze my vials last time. Whoever had the room before probably didn't know which way to adjust the dial for the fridge temperature. Other employees in the company don't use this hotel because one guy was bitten all over by spiders. The breakfast room is crawling with sugar ants and none of the managers ever stay in this hotel, they always stay in the five stars along the beach. The other problem is that none of the taxi drivers know where it is so you end up having to direct them in Portuguese to the hotel.

It's probably possible to do without the insulin if I'm careful with my diet, that's what the Doctors in Canada had me do when I forgot my medicine bag on one of my trips to visit my parents but that was a short trip and I had more control over what was available to eat (ie.: home cooking not restaurant or hotel food).

Don't really care much for this company any more, they've been mismanaging things in general a lot recently and the work they're asking me to do on this trip is overwhelming because they have been avoiding addressing problems there simply to avoid incurring travel costs, basically they want about two months worth of work saved up from the past year done in two weeks because I would be there for another reason hence the trip would be justified by another department. Besides, I have another job offer for 28% more money. Well, it's not so much another job offer as it is the company a few of us have been trying to set up. Still, it would be good to stick it out till March when I would receive a month and a half salary as a bonus.

They already screwed up by not applying for the work visas when I suggested so we're already loosing a week and they're having to send the application to New York to expedite it at about quadruple the price plus the plane tickets will be at the last minute and will cost almost as much as first class tickets would've. The visa photos that CVS made are overexposed and look like there's a halo around me and a double image on my shoulders, normally I would've just refused to pay for the photos and have them taken at the next CVS, Walgreens or Kinkos down the road but as I don't really care if there's another administrative hiccup to underscore how the whole project has been mismanaged, I had let the questionable photos slide.

Regards,

"When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate."