Planning a tour from Seattle to Atlanta. Mostly camp. How do I keep insulin at safe temp in warm weather? How can i ship pump / cgm supplies to myself on the tour (warm showers or general delivery thru post office or...)? Can I claim less than my full script of humalog insulin so not to hav too much on tour? Thanks
These are all good questions, and I don't mean to punt, but as an academic endocrinologist, I usually ask my team of diabetes educators (which includes a PharmD) what they think.
I'll note that outside the body, insulin can last a long time at 90 degrees. The bigger risk for potency is freezing. I've camped in the winter with patients with type 1 diabetes who literally keep their insulin on their body at all times.
The current recommendations from the manufacturers, as you know, is that insulin can be stored in unopened or opened vials at up to 86 deg F for 28 days. A simple insulated pouch should do the trick, but as you know, if you are on the mailing lists, there are a lot of companies who would be happy to sell you cooling gel packs, temperature controlled caps, and other things to keep the worry level down. One of my favorites is the small Frio wallet that will hold three vials of insulin and is activated by water.
https://www.frioinsulincoolingcase.com/product/extra-small-wallet/If you're going to hit Atlanta in the summer, you might want to ask your educators what they recommend. As you know, Atlanta is also the original home of Team Type 1 which is now Team Novo Nordisk. If you're making this kind of a ride, you have every right to reach out to them to ask for advice.
I usually recommend getting prescriptions into a national chain of pharmacies like Walgreens or CVS to allow you to refresh your supply of insulin (and catheters, CGMs,
etc.) as often as you want.
Yes, any pharmacist will allow partial fill on any prescription.
