Levemir how long can it last

[Elena]

Hi everyone, I haven't been on this site too much because we had a health scare with my mom. She has RA and her blood count dropped i was so worried she would need a transfusion but it is slowly coming up, Thank God. Our bottle of Levemir the vet gave us has been opened for 2 month now. I know people say it can last 3 to 6 months but has anyone here used it that long. We would like to order from Canada but i don't trust our little dump of a post office not starting trouble. We called a lot of pharmacies and asked if they would sell us one pen, they refused. So we may have to but the vial but it is not going to be easy for us to do. My mom is on social security so we will try to put it on our credit card if we have enough. But i am worried the bottle won't stay fresh for 6 months, when i asked the pharmacist they said it will only last 42 days which would make it impossible for us. I know we should try a cheaper insulin but with those i heard you need to use a sliding scale on dosing, Perkins will not let me stick his ear unless he is loaded down eating a lot of food to distract him and even then i sometimes can't get blood, he just won't tolerate it so i don't check him much. Any way i was just wondering if people here have had a good experience with Levemir up to 6 months. Thanks.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I had a vial last til the last drop in 5 months. I purchased vials for MurrFee since he as on 25 units Levemir/25 unis N twice daily. After I said goodbye it took me 5 months to use the vial up with my other cats.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I see no problem using the insulin for up to 6 months if you have been storing it appropriately in the fridge as long as it's not past the expiry on the package. Always check to make sure the insulin's appearance has not changed (cloudy, precipitation). If it has, then it's done but as long as it looks fine, unless you notice a sudden change in kitty's readings you can pretty much assume the insulin is good.

The pharmacist can't tell you it's Ok to continue using it because the insulin has only been tested for humans up to 42 days. People leave it at room temperature in the pens and go through it a lot faster than most of us do with their cats so there is no reason for them to test beyond that time frame because it's not being marketed specifically for cats.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

One other thought....check the Supply Closet here as there are individual pens available there which would still require the post office to handle in a timely fashion but should there be a problem the loss would be considerably less.

 

[Elena]

I had a vial last til the last drop in 5 months. I purchased vials for MurrFee since he as on 25 units Levemir/25 unis N twice daily. After I said goodbye it took me 5 months to use the vial up with my other cats.

So sorry for your loss, I know how it feels. I guess our bottle is ok for now, thanks for letting me know , God bless

 

[Elena]

I see no problem using the insulin for up to 6 months if you have been storing it appropriately in the fridge as long as it's not past the expiry on the package. Always check to make sure the insulin's appearance has not changed (cloudy, precipitation). If it has, then it's done but as long as it looks fine, unless you notice a sudden change in kitty's readings you can pretty much assume the insulin is good.

The pharmacist can't tell you it's Ok to continue using it because the insulin has only been tested for humans up to 42 days. People leave it at room temperature in the pens and go through it a lot faster than most of us do with their cats so there is no reason for them to test beyond that time frame because it's not being marketed specifically for cats.

Thanks, yes we have been keeping it in the fridge, I guess I was just worried because I can't check his sugar much.