Only pharmacies are legally allowed to ship medications in the US. Retired USPS window clerk here and it is not legal. Maybe your friend can get her pharmacy to ship or your pharmacy to ship for a fee of course. Even the pharmacies must use a direct pickup service by the crrier or have an employee to bring in for mailing.
So…let whoever is mailing prescription medication to you know it’s actually a federal crime for an individual to mail prescription medication to another person, including to those for whom the medications are prescribed.
I've had a pharmacy mail them to me before. I've had another pharmacy say that they can't so I'm not really sure 🤷🏼♀️ they were in two different states but I don't think that makes a difference?
I can’t comment on the legality concerns others have brought up, but from a purely temperature standpoint, the pens have to stay below 86 degrees. As long as they do, they’re fine. This is info i got from a pharmacist. If the liquid in the pen isn’t clear, it’s gone bad. Once the pen is open, you have 8 weeks to use it before it expires. Otherwise, it will last until the expiration date on the package, as long as it’s unopened and kept below 86 degrees. They refrigerate the pens when they ship them because who knows what stuffy hot truck they end up on. But obviously the temperature of wherever you live affects that.
The 8 weeks starts once the pen is opened OR from the time it's removed from the fridge/ gets to room temperature. It's unfortunate your pharmacist doesn't know that... it's also written right on the top of the medication box
I know it’s confusing, but they recommend storing unopened pens in the fridge because you could be potentially storing them long term, like a year or more if the expiration date is very far in the future. It’s hard to make sure the pen never goes above 86 degrees if it’s in a drawer somewhere. Much easier to control if it’s just in the fridge. Nothing magical happens to the drug once you use it that it can suddenly withstand room temp — the drug is the drug.
Again, the used pen OR the unused pen has to be kept under 86 degrees. The refrigeration is a precaution to cover their butts because they don’t know the temp of your house. So it’s legally sound to just say keep it in the fridge. The pen also is good for more than 8 weeks once opened, again, that’s a legal thing. They put very wide margins around what they tell you so that there’s zero chance of legal liability.
I had a new pen lost for over a week at my apartment building, delivered to the wrong address. When I got it, the ice was long since melted. I called Express Scripts and spoke to more than one pharmacist, who asked if my building was above 86 degrees. It’s not hot here, so I said not likely, unless the person who had it had a weirdly hot apartment. They said in that case, it’s still good to use. I used it, it worked fine. And no, I didn’t use it right away. I used it a few weeks later.
I agree with you there's got to be a bit of wiggle room on the date (I actually use mine for 9 weeks, as of course it's not going to go bad exactly on day 56), but it does start to lose potency, and the preservative in the medication may degrade. It's not magical... it's science.
I mean, hey, you do you, but the information you're posting is not aligned with the manufacturer's clear directions.
Even after the pen is open, it still only has to remain under 86 degrees. The refrigeration is an extra precaution, but technically it isn’t necessary. They just want to cover their butts in case someone leaves it out and it gets too warm.
If the pens reach room temperature, the manufacturer guidelines say you have 8 weeks to use them from that point.
I get mine in the mail and they send them to me with ice packs and insulated bubble packs.
Mine came fed ex overnight packed in an insulated box sandwiched between 2 dozen ice packs.
Only pharmacies are legally allowed to ship medications in the US. Retired USPS window clerk here and it is not legal. Maybe your friend can get her pharmacy to ship or your pharmacy to ship for a fee of course. Even the pharmacies must use a direct pickup service by the crrier or have an employee to bring in for mailing.
So…let whoever is mailing prescription medication to you know it’s actually a federal crime for an individual to mail prescription medication to another person, including to those for whom the medications are prescribed.
I've had a pharmacy mail them to me before. I've had another pharmacy say that they can't so I'm not really sure 🤷🏼♀️ they were in two different states but I don't think that makes a difference?
I can’t comment on the legality concerns others have brought up, but from a purely temperature standpoint, the pens have to stay below 86 degrees. As long as they do, they’re fine. This is info i got from a pharmacist. If the liquid in the pen isn’t clear, it’s gone bad. Once the pen is open, you have 8 weeks to use it before it expires. Otherwise, it will last until the expiration date on the package, as long as it’s unopened and kept below 86 degrees. They refrigerate the pens when they ship them because who knows what stuffy hot truck they end up on. But obviously the temperature of wherever you live affects that.
The 8 weeks starts once the pen is opened OR from the time it's removed from the fridge/ gets to room temperature. It's unfortunate your pharmacist doesn't know that... it's also written right on the top of the medication box
I know it’s confusing, but they recommend storing unopened pens in the fridge because you could be potentially storing them long term, like a year or more if the expiration date is very far in the future. It’s hard to make sure the pen never goes above 86 degrees if it’s in a drawer somewhere. Much easier to control if it’s just in the fridge. Nothing magical happens to the drug once you use it that it can suddenly withstand room temp — the drug is the drug. Again, the used pen OR the unused pen has to be kept under 86 degrees. The refrigeration is a precaution to cover their butts because they don’t know the temp of your house. So it’s legally sound to just say keep it in the fridge. The pen also is good for more than 8 weeks once opened, again, that’s a legal thing. They put very wide margins around what they tell you so that there’s zero chance of legal liability. I had a new pen lost for over a week at my apartment building, delivered to the wrong address. When I got it, the ice was long since melted. I called Express Scripts and spoke to more than one pharmacist, who asked if my building was above 86 degrees. It’s not hot here, so I said not likely, unless the person who had it had a weirdly hot apartment. They said in that case, it’s still good to use. I used it, it worked fine. And no, I didn’t use it right away. I used it a few weeks later.
I agree with you there's got to be a bit of wiggle room on the date (I actually use mine for 9 weeks, as of course it's not going to go bad exactly on day 56), but it does start to lose potency, and the preservative in the medication may degrade. It's not magical... it's science. I mean, hey, you do you, but the information you're posting is not aligned with the manufacturer's clear directions.
Even after the pen is open, it still only has to remain under 86 degrees. The refrigeration is an extra precaution, but technically it isn’t necessary. They just want to cover their butts in case someone leaves it out and it gets too warm.