elaine1836
05-09-2007, 10:27 PM
Why can't I use the remaining Forteo that is still in my pen after 28 doses? When I started Forteo I suffered from Vertigo, I called my doctor and he told me to discontinue the Forteo for a week.... So that means that there is nothing wrong with using the remaining doses in the pen. I think Eli Lilly is just trying to make MORE MONEY!! The drug does not expire until a year after the date I bought it. Forteo is so expensive I can not just throw it in the garbage! What do you think? Elaine
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Rosegarden
05-09-2007, 11:57 PM
Why don't you call Lilly and ask? 1-866-436-7836
taape
05-09-2007, 11:59 PM
Although the pen doesn't expire for a year that's only if it's not opened. The medication is guaranteed fresh for 28 days then it's possible that bacteria start growing or the medication breaks down. Also, I think the 28 full doses are reliable for 28 times and after that time it may not give you a full dose. I've gone one day past to 29 days and was ok. I was thinking the exact same thing when I started with Forteo, why waste the medication.
elaine1836
05-10-2007, 10:01 AM
IF what you THINK is true how could my doctor allow me to use the pen after stopping for 1 week due to the Vertigo I was suffering???
elaine1836
05-10-2007, 10:04 AM
Eli Lilly spent Billions of dollars to get this drug approved, and was only allowed to do so with a BLACK BOX WARNING! AND....never to pitch it to the public but ONLY to doctors so that they could inform their patients the hgh risk of taking this drug! I doubt very seriously that they would say keep using the drug un till the pen is almost empty!
taape
05-10-2007, 09:24 PM
Maybe the doctor isn't very well informed about the specifics of the medication. I talked to a pharmacist when I started the Forteo and he said that the medication can get old/grow bacteria and is generally recognized as safe to use for the 28 days. (not referring to the black box warning). Guidelines about this stuff are just that guidelines/recommendations. Maybe a patient could take a 7 day break and then finish the pen and be fine and another patient could get sick from it. The reason there's extra medication in the pen is that they allow for the priming each time before use. I know I made a few errors in the beginning and went through the priming and wasting a dose of medication and was glad for the extra medication so I could start over the same day.
DesertBloom
05-11-2007, 04:59 PM
Hi Elaine: I think Taape is correct on both counts; the med expires 28 days after it's opened, and not all Drs are familiar with how it works.
I was told that it expires after 28 days, because it is a peptide, with a short shelf life. I think the reason there is extra med in the pen, is to allow for mistakes or malfunctioning.
Usually drug co's only advertise meds that are in wide use, have a much less expensive price tag, and are not injectables. Since it's an injectable that requires some training, the Drs would be the target for training and distribution. If this was advertised like the rest of the osteo meds, some patients would be turned downed, which would create a sense of selectivism.
:wave:
I was told that it expires after 28 days, because it is a peptide, with a short shelf life. I think the reason there is extra med in the pen, is to allow for mistakes or malfunctioning.
Usually drug co's only advertise meds that are in wide use, have a much less expensive price tag, and are not injectables. Since it's an injectable that requires some training, the Drs would be the target for training and distribution. If this was advertised like the rest of the osteo meds, some patients would be turned downed, which would create a sense of selectivism.
:wave: