6 pens - 7 days out of the fridge
Oh, ugh. I don’t know what to do. I am afraid to call Byetta Help
Line, though the worst they can tell me is no, though I’m almost sure
they’ll tell me NO, and you’re a moron, you should have found some way
to keep them cold.
Here is my dilemma.
I have 6 byetta pens. I have 3 (1 half used) 10s and 3 (1 half used)
5s. The reason I have 6 is because my insurance sends me my
medications through the mail, and they send me 3 months at a time. I
started with the 5’s.. my doctor upped me to 10’s, but I got horribly
sick, but he still wants me to try to slip the 10’s in.. so he
suggested to try to get the 10 in when I can, so if I take 5 in the
morning, 10 at dinner.. or try the 10 at least every other day. I
started doing that, and then…. right before Christmas, our power
went out (I’m in Federal Way Washington, part of Washington that was
hit pretty hard by a wind storm mid-December 2006) and stayed out for
nearly a week. Each day I thought for sure our power would come back
on.. nope. My husband and I moved our bed out to our living room
floor, so we could at least sleep next to the fireplace and keep it
going at night to keep us warm. Our entire fridge of food spoiled,
everything thrown out except for my Byetta… however.. I think its
probably spoiled too. I haven’t used it since, and I’ve been gaining
weight for sure… I’m eating more than I was when I was on Byetta. I
know that they have an expected out of fridge shelf life of 144 hours
(some of which HAD to have disappeared during its transportation to me
in the first place, even though they try to package it as best they
can).
I just wonder if I should bother calling Byetta to ask if they would
consider replacing my Byetta, or am I out the money completely? I’m
completely embarrassed, but I feel that you’ll all understand me
better than Byetta Help Line.
Thanks for your input.
Krissy
Federal Way, WA
March 30th, 2006 at 7:35 am
I rent an apartment. No insurance.
Krissy
March 31st, 2006 at 5:02 am
Then you should have renters insurance. No valuables? No tv/stereo,
whatever to lose?
It’s relatively cheap.
March 31st, 2006 at 2:51 pm
What she should do is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. ‘Relatively cheap’ to some people
is the difference in whether or not they can put dinner on the table and
clothe their children. She gave her present situation and asked for advice
about her Byetta pens.
March 31st, 2006 at 7:09 pm
On 1/13/07, SunShineShoes wrote:
<< Oh, ugh. I don’t know what to do. I am afraid to call Byetta Help
Line, though the worst they can tell me is no, though I’m almost sure
they’ll tell me NO, and you’re a moron, you should have found some way
to keep them cold. >>
Krissy - you do have quite a dilemma - but I am sure the Byetta Help Line
will not tell you that you are a moron. You had a very difficult
situation. I used to live in Virginia and we had an ice storm one time
where we had no power for five days. It was cold enough in the house that
had I had Byetta I could have probably put it on the kitchen counter and it
would have been fine! I am sure after this happening you will be better
prepared next time to deal with it. We learned a lot from our experience.
First, I would call the Byetta Help Line - and I would call them
Monday-Friday during the day when they probably have their best staffing and
supervisors for special calls like yours. Then, if you can afford a visit
to your doctor that might should be the next step. At the very least, I
would call and talk with the doctor’s nurse. Tell them exactly what
happened. They might can work with the Byetta rep to provide pens to you at
a reduced rate or, perhaps, free. Your situation is so unique - having to
get so many pens in advance - that it may warrant special response from
Byetta.
The weight loss, of course, is an important issue to you - but if Byetta or
the Byetta rep does not respond to you in a way that you can afford or you
have to wait six months to refill, you will want to be sure that you are
taking adequate alternative medication to keep your BS levels in an
acceptable range.
Please let us know what you do and how the issue is resolved and, if it
cannot be, what you will do instead until refill time. You have absolutely
nothing to lose by trying to do something.
‘Nita (now in Texas)
April 1st, 2006 at 12:31 am
Hey Krissy. I’m near Bellevue, WA, so I know what you mean about the
power outtage. We had ours off for 4+ days, but that was before I was
on Byetta. We had to throw out the contents of our fridge/freezer
too. However, if your fridge wasn’t opened much, it still may have
retained much of its temperature, plus the actual "room temperature"
must have been pretty cold with no heat other than the fireplace. The
Byetta may have not dipped into such low temps that it warrants
throwing out. I’d definitely call Byetta and tell them about the power
outtage, etc. and ask them if all is lost or if the meds would be ok
to use.
Good luck. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed we have no other major
power outtages, especially in this 20 degree weather!
Stef
April 1st, 2006 at 3:34 am
Oh, ugh. I don’t know what to do. I am afraid to call Byetta Help
Line, though the worst they can tell me is no, though I’m almost sure
they’ll tell me NO, and you’re a moron, you should have found some way
to keep them cold.
Here is my dilemma.
I have 6 byetta pens. I have 3 (1 half used) 10s and 3 (1 half used)
5s. The reason I have 6 is because my insurance sends me my
medications through the mail, and they send me 3 months at a time. I
started with the 5’s.. my doctor upped me to 10’s, but I got horribly
sick, but he still wants me to try to slip the 10’s in.. so he
suggested to try to get the 10 in when I can, so if I take 5 in the
morning, 10 at dinner.. or try the 10 at least every other day. I
started doing that, and then…. right before Christmas, our power
went out (I’m in Federal Way Washington, part of Washington that was
hit pretty hard by a wind storm mid-December 2006) and stayed out for
nearly a week. Each day I thought for sure our power would come back
on.. nope. My husband and I moved our bed out to our living room
floor, so we could at least sleep next to the fireplace and keep it
going at night to keep us warm. Our entire fridge of food spoiled,
everything thrown out except for my Byetta… however.. I think its
probably spoiled too. I haven’t used it since, and I’ve been gaining
weight for sure… I’m eating more than I was when I was on Byetta. I
know that they have an expected out of fridge shelf life of 144 hours
(some of which HAD to have disappeared during its transportation to me
in the first place, even though they try to package it as best they
can).
I just wonder if I should bother calling Byetta to ask if they would
consider replacing my Byetta, or am I out the money completely? I’m
completely embarrassed, but I feel that you’ll all understand me
better than Byetta Help Line.
Thanks for your input.
Krissy
Federal Way, WA
April 1st, 2006 at 12:55 pm
I haven’t refrigerated my pens for the last few months. I carry it with me. I
still get nauseous from time to time and I am definitely still losing weight and
I feel great. Try it, check your numbers, and go from there.
Krissy,
Take heart. the manufacturer has put in to remove the need for refridgeration.
So you may be OK. The Byetta helpline might be able to help you. You are in no
way a moron. I am in Oregon and got lucky. But friends were out of power for 4
days also. Everyone kept thinking it would be back soon. Don’t beat yourself up
for your choices. I am sure you did the best you could in a difficult situation.
It will be OK.
Pam
.
April 1st, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Oh my..
April 5th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Thanks everyone for their responses. I discussed it with my husband
(again) and he says that he really thinks that it was cold enough here
(somewhere in the 30-40 range..) that the Byetta should be fine. I
will have to give it a try. If it doesn’t work, then I will go ahead
and call the helpline.
Thanks!
Krissy