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February 16, 2003

Insulin

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Question from Northborough, Massachusetts, USA:

Is it true that insulin cannot be shaken or it will lose its potency? Not that I make a general practice of shaking it, but it does move around if it’s in a bag or that sort of thing.

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

The manufacturers of insulin suggest that insulin not be vigorously shaken. The molecule is rather delicate, and one does not want to create frothy bubbles to confound a dosage. So when insulins that need to be re-suspended, like NPH, Lente, 70/30 or 75/25, and Ultralente are used, they should be gently rolled in order to re-suspend. This is likely not as important for Lantus (insulin glargine), Regular, Humalog, or NovoLog. It’s hard to say whether the jostling in a purse or backpack would affect the insulin significantly. If there is doubt about the potency of your insulin, please open a new bottle or cartridge.

DS