Copaxone - how long do you store at room temp?

[Rosieva]

Copaxone manufacturers made a big deal a few years ago that C was stable at room temp up to 30 days.
I thought, great, and kept 5 days at a time room temp
Looked at official insert recently, and says take out of fridge one dose to be admin when reaches room temp.
hmmmm called shared solutions -said it is OK for up to 30 days room temp.
HOWEVER, I am not doing well on the C past three years.
Want to hear from Copaxone users:

Are you doing well on Copaxone?

Do you keep in fridge until use, or keep some at room temp for a few days?

Thank you, friends

[MrsBones]

I get a delivery of 3 months at once. I put 2 in the fridge and 1 in one of their lock boxes on my counter, refill as needed. So syringes are out of the fridge from hours to 30 days prior to injection.

It's perfectly fine to do so as long as where they're kept falls within the temperature limits.

If I didn't do it this way, I'd never remember to take them out before I'd want to do the injection.

I've also taken Copaxone for about three years with breaks to try Rebif and Tysabri. Copaxone has been the best so far.

If you feel it isn't working as well as it should, you should discuss a switch with your neuro.

[M.A.F]

Hi, i keep the box in the fridge and take out 5 at a time.mark

[twisterred]

30 days does seem to be alright, but I personally only pull two packets worth of injections (10) out of the fridge at a time.
I place those 10 shots in a small jar in the bathroom to remind me to "shoot up", lol.

To save on space in my my refrigerator, I remove all of the injections from their packages and then place the shots all in the large plastic bag that the Copaxone box was in. Then, I cut out the label (that shows my refills and expiration date of the med) and place the label in the bag, too.

This saves a whole lot of space in the fridge for me!
The bottom drawer can hold a little more than just drugs.

[Red7172]

I usually have five out at a time.
I recently got one of those weekly pill boxes so now I set up all my pills for the week and take out my shots also.

Sometimes depending on how much room I have in the refig. I will keep a box out (if I don't have room)

[TyAndCheyMommy]

I just started 8 days ago... but I am keeping it in fridge until time to take the shot. mainly because I feel this is the safest place for my meds becuase I have children. It is locked in a lock box in the locked fridge.

I obviously haven't been on it long enough to answer your question about how I am doing on it...
I do have a question though- do some of you get a reaction at one injection site but not others? My thighs get huge welts on them but no where else does.

[jennyver]

Copaxone

When I started my Copaxone in January, the Shared Solutions nurse told me to take out one week of injections at a time, so that's what I've done and it's working well.

She also told me to make sure to take out the doses for the next week when I'm injecting the last room temperature dose -- apparently injecting a cold dose is *not* comfortable!

[brandonwall]

I keep mine in the fridge. I only pull it out 30 mins before I inject it.

[twisterred]

"My thighs get huge welts on them but no where else does."

That's normal, Mommy.

Areas with less padding (fatty tissue) get those welts for a while. It can happen in the arms too, but not as badly.

It takes lots and lots of time with Copaxone and each injection is combatting the disease.

[Sir-Voor]

Every night when going to bed I get one from the fridge and put it on my nightstand, and then inject first thing in the morning.
I also keep my Tide laundry detergent /sharps bottle and waste basket between my bed and nightstand, and a box of alcohol preps on the nightstand.
So in the morning I can do the prep, inject (Manually) and cleanup in about a minute and without even getting out of bed.



FYI:Tide laundry detergent bottles makes great sharps, they are made of thick plastic and last a long time.
The current one I’m using I started 7/1/20011 and is almost full, so how can you beat a 10 month free sharp.

[toot2818]

Shared Solutions newsletter

Storage conditions:
should be refrigerated but not frozen.
may be left unrefrigerated for up to 1 month.
can be repeatedly refrigerated as long as unrefrigerated days do not exceed 30 days.
do not expose to intense light or temperatures higher than 85'.

I always take one dose out at night for my morning shot. That helps me remember to take the shot and it also means the dose will be easier to take. Cold dose doesn't feel very good

toot

[celloyogi]

I keep all 3 boxes in the fridge and one sleeve (the pack of 5 syringes stuck together) out at a time. I use my Autoject pouch to keep the Autoject, band-aids (I'm a bleeder, all the time), alcohol wipes, cotton balls, and syringes. Makes it easy if I forget/am too exhausted to take it at night at my usual time, because I can just toss it in my bag in the morning and shoot up at work.

Shoot up at work - hahaha. And it's totally legal!

[celloyogi]

I get a delivery of 3 months at once. I put 2 in the fridge and 1 in one of their lock boxes on my counter, refill as needed. So syringes are out of the fridge from hours to 30 days prior to injection.

Does Copaxone have lock boxes available? That would be convenient.

[MrsBones]

Does Copaxone have lock boxes available? That would be convenient.

They do! All kinds of freebies, in fact. From lock boxes to exercise DVDs. Just call Shared Solutions and ask.

[celloyogi]

They do! All kinds of freebies, in fact. From lock boxes to exercise DVDs. Just call Shared Solutions and ask.

I always feel bad about asking - but I could really use a lockbox (and exercise DVDs certainly would be nice!). Thanks for the info!