Re:Enbrel - left out overnight

[Guest guest]

Hi Joanna,

I travel a lot and try to keep a cold pack with my Enbrel until I get to a

fridge, but on more than one occasion it has been warm to the touch by that

time. I called the number on the patient info sheet that comes with the

med, and talked to a nurse about it. She read her script and when I asked

questions she read her script again. She would not comment beyond what she

was told, so of limited help. However what she read related to the fact

that tests after 12 hours unrefrigerated have not shown adverse effects.

This is a biotic. That means it is derived from a live culture process (I

may be interpreting here somewhat). That also means it can change if not

refrigerated. Will that make it less effective? Don't know. Will it hurt

you? Not according to the info I got over the phone, based on the testing.

I suggest you call that number yourself. It is in every pack of 4 you

receive.

Jeff

[Guest guest]

Jeff, you raise a very interesting question. I'm wondering how

others cope with traveling with Humira or Enbrel? I have no problem

on car trips as I can take an ice chest. Short flights are not a

problem - Abbot Labs provides a nifty travel pack with an ice pack

that keeps thing cool for a couple of hours. But I travel often from

South Louisiana to San Francisco. The ice pack Humira provided does

not last nearly long enough. I've been making do by bringing a small

ziploc bag that fits in the travel pack and asking the steward to

keep refilling it with ice, but it tends to leak and recently made a

mess in my carry-on bag. Also, I went to Atlanta last week for a few

of days and stayed in a hotel with no mini-fridge in the room. I had

to keep my Humira cool from Wednesday to Friday. What a pain! I had

to set the alarm to wake up at night to replenish the ice. I was

afraid to just put it in the ice bucket for fear it would actually

freeze. Ideas???

regards,

sherry z

[Guest guest]

This is my 1st post. I saw your email, and thought, I can respond to

that. When I traveled coast to coast with Enbrel I asked the

stewardess to put it in a safe place in thier refrigerator. They were

happy to help. You do have to remember to get it back before you

leave the plane though.

glad2bjulie

[Guest guest]

Thanks, ! I wasn't sure whether they would do that, especially

since I didn't arrange it ahead of time. I'll ask next time.

warmest regards,

sherry z

>

> This is my 1st post. I saw your email, and thought, I can respond to

> that. When I traveled coast to coast with Enbrel I asked the

> stewardess to put it in a safe place in thier refrigerator. They were

> happy to help. You do have to remember to get it back before you

> leave the plane though.

>

> glad2bjulie

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Jeff and Sherry, I have had luck asking hotels to store my

medication in their refrigerated areas -- usually travel with it in

zippered insulated bag and put a small lock on the zipper part (and

label the container with my home address and room number at the

hotel). Did this when I started on ENbrel years ago and now do it for

the Humira I take. Also have traveled on car trips by having a bunch

of the larger freezer packs solid frozen ahead of time. When the

packs are combined (2 or more) and placed in an insulated carrier,

either soft or hard shell, they last about 8 hours. Had good luck

getting these supplies at sporting goods stores like Dunham's. Have

also had good luck on long air flights w/ stewards accommodating by

placing meds in their frig. Need to pack as small as possible tho in

that situation. There's no perfect solution unfortunately.

Best

H.