From: jmckenna [#1]
30 Jun 23:57
To: ALL
From: Geri in Co:Byetta(3-06) (GERI) [#3]
1 Jul 8:51
To: jmckenna [#1] 1 Jul 13:00
From: Mark_in_MO [#5]
6 Jul 1:20
To: jmckenna [#1] 7 Jul 15:56
jmckenna,
The temperature controls for Victoza are very similar to Byetta. Both require unopened pens to be stored at temps between 36F and 46F. Victoza is a little more heat tolerant than Byetta once a pen has been placed into use - Byetta has a max temp of 77F while Victoza has a max temp of 86F. Both meds warn that they must not be frozen or the drugs are ruined. Thus, other than being slightly more heat tolerant after initial use, traveling advice for Victoza is basically the same as Byetta - so the "Traveling with Byetta" information is also suitable for traveling with Victoza.
There is a separate section on traveling with Byetta located at the bottom of the Start page - you can get to the Start page by clicking on the Start tab on the upper left of this forum page. This section has information on local vs. short term vs. long distance traveling, and several methods for managing medication temperatures. Probably the best advice is to always be prepared to keep your medications properly cool, even in the event of unexpected delays (flat tire, plane delays, power outage, etc.).
As Geri stated, using a small (1/2 liter) stainless steel thermos with ice cubes (and an armored stick thermometer for monitoring temp) is probably the best long term travel method - capable of keeping a medication pen at temps between 36F-46F for up to 24 hours, in a fairly small space. I have personally flown more than 100,000 air miles using the 1/2L thermos method and have never lost a pen to bad temps - even when we were stuck on a plane for hours and then delayed overnight due to weather!
I hope this information is helpful - if you have additional questions, please feel to ask, and we will provide whatever information we can.