Does Follistim have to stay cold?

[Athletic Cyster]

I've been taking follistim for a few days now and have been injecting it at 7pm every night. Well, tonight I'm supposed to go out with friends and will be at the restaurant at 7pm. My only option is to take it 1.5 hours early or 1.5 hours late unless I can take the pen with me. However, if I take the pen with me then it won't be cold.

What should I do?

Will I mess up the follistim if it gets warm?

Thanks!

[britta75]

i would take it with you and do the shot. i don't know for sure that it has to be refrigerated, but i am sure 1.5 hours won't make a big difference. if you are concerned freeze a wet washcloth and wrap it around the pen to take with you. gl

[AngelaGrace]

I'm not sure if the 1.5hrs will make a difference or not. Is there a customer service # to call and ask?

If you have an insulated lunchbag or tiny cooler, with an ice pack or two, try that... you can excuse yourself from the table and go do it at 7:00. (That's how I keep my insulin cool when going out if I know we'll be eating a meal.)

- Angela

[puppy lovin cyster]

I never keep mine in the fridge. I keep it out until I am done stimming. I still had 400iu left in the pen from last cycle so I stuck it in the fridge and will use it again if I need to.

[Athletic Cyster]

Puppy Lovin - Did your RE tell you to keep it out? I'm just trying to figure out if I mis-understood my RE because I could have sworn he told me to keep it cold. Then on the package when it came it said to refrigerate it but maybe that only meant while I wasn't using it.

Does anyone else know if follistim is supposed to be kept cold?

[puppy lovin cyster]

No if they told me what to do I must not have been listening, lol. If I am not going to be using it anytime soon I store it in the fridge for sure. It should last out of the fridge for at least 30 days. I dont like to leave it in there because I hear if the med is cold when you inject it can hurt.

[worthit]

Ladies, here's the scoop. I researched this tons, read all the manuals, watched the DVD, and stimmed for 29 days on Follistim You do NOT have to refrigerate Follistim while you are using it. Once you puncture the vial, it must be used within 28 days and can be kept in the pen at room temperature. You must refrigerate if you are STORING it for an extended period. It actually hurts a million times worse by injecting it cold rather than room temp. Inject slooooowly and you wont' feel any pain, the faster you inject it, it will be sore for about 5 minutes afterward. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, I stimmed forever, but I did get a BFP first time with IUI! Good luck!!!!

[britta75]

congrats on your bfp, worthit. i know i had read somewhere it was okay if not cold. i always kept it cold, though and it never hurt when i injected it.

[WifeyC]

The Follistim is good out of the fridge, but they recommend keeping all unused vials in the fridge. Mine is in the fridge, but I know I could store it with my Menopur and Ganirelix.

Angela, did AF finally come???

Athletic Cyster, how are things going with the Follistim? My protocol is still 75iu but my Menopur was bumped to 150iu. My follicles are much bigger than they normally would be at CD 6, but they were already growing at CD 4. I guess the month on bcp wasn't bad for my ovaries at all!

[AngelaGrace]

Heather - No... and a BFN this morning... so still just waiting. Time goes by sooooo much slower when you're waiting, huh? Thanks for checking in w/ me! I'm SO glad things seem to be going great for you!!

[WifeyC]

Angela, it's kind of scary how fast my follicles are growing. The only logical reason I seem to come up with is that they started growing after I finished the bcp but before AF fully came. I spotted all weekend last weekend, but AF didn't show up until Monday. So I think my eggies jumped the gun there and started growing without meds. Strange, too, because I had 4 measurable follicles on the first ultrasound, sans medication. Wow!! But it's only CD 6 and they are BIG!! Three of them are 14x11 and one is 15x12. Seems a bit fast, right??

[HopefulKel]

When I took Follistim my doctor actually told me NOT to use it when it was cold. To make sure it was room temp for atleast 30 minutes before I did my first day of injections. From then on it was stored in the pen and could be left in your purse, etc. That is another reason why they make the convenient pen, so you can take it everywhere with you easily. Good luck to you. It worked for me!

[Hopeful Husker]

My pharmacist said that follistim does have to be refrigerated, unless you could guarantee that it stayed below 70 degrees at room temperature--which is hard to ensure!! I went to a football game last night and put it in a small lunch box/cooler with a Blue Ice pack and it worked great Just make sure to either leave it in the case or wrap the pen with a paper towel so it doesn't get too cold and freeze. What a pain--I know When is your IUI? Mine is Tuesday Hope it goes well! Baby dust to everyone!!!!

[Hopeful Husker]

I was wondering how many eggs you had and the sizes before your successful IUI. I have one 20, three 17's, and some smaller 13's. They had me do one more injection of follistim last night and tonight HCG IUI is Tuesday! I'm just wondering the number of eggs you guys had before your successful IUI? Thanks for the help! Keep us in your prayers!!!

[Hopeful Husker]

Congrats!! That is so exciting! If you have time, I'd love to hear about what dosages of Follistim you were on and how many eggs you had before your IUI. Did you avoid exercising and caffeine during your 2ww? Any tips are more than welcomed!!