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Is Kevzara that has been rerefrigerated still any good?
Is Kevzara (sarilumab) that has been refrigerated still any good or should I dispose of it? It came in a “two-pack.” Two pens, to be taken two weeks, or 14 days, apart.
I am scheduled to take my second dose tomorrow, so I googled Kevzara and started reading and mentally prepping. One site, drugs.com says that Kevzara can reach room temperature in only a few minutes and that it should then be administered within 14 days. It goes on to say DO NOT REFRIGERATE AGAIN. (Other sites seem to copy their statement.) It doesn’t say why or what happens to it if you do though.
The Kevzara website does not say that. It just says to use it within 14 days and it can be kept at room temperature for 14 days. Nothing that I can find about refrigerating after it reaches room temperature.
Does anybody know what happens to Kevzara if it is at room temperature for 1 hour, then put back in a refrigerator?
When I picked it up from the pharmacy, it was NOT cold. I ran a few errands and when I got home I saw (right away) in the paperwork that it should be refrigerated and that it could be administered up to 14 days after reaching room temperature. No where did it say not to refrigerate it. So, I put it in my refrigerator. Three days later I took my first dose (injector pen, preloaded) at my rheumatologist’s office. The next day I was fatigued. A lot!
I’m wondering if refrigerating it made it bad chemically. Poison? Just ineffective? Lost its potency? What?
I’ve messaged my rheumatologist’s office but haven’t heard back.
Why wouldn’t that be in the Kevzara paperwork?
I can’t find any reason why refrigerating causes it to go bad or causes harm to the user.
Does anybody have this answer?
I’ll ask, but I don’t think my pharmacist knows. She had never dispensed it befote me. She had to see if it was something she could get. She gave it to me the day after she received it, and it wasn’t cold, so I’m assuming she didn’t refrigerate it. But between my receiving it from her and arriving home, it certainly reached room temperature.
Has anybody rerefrigerated it after it reached room temperature? Was it safe?
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@ronludington
I have no doubt.
Learning the “hard way” I call it.
The Kevzara website is interesting. Navigating it is fairly easy. The patient tab is the default. Information for doctors is accessible if you open the doctor tab.
The questions you and I had, I did not find answers.
I’m hoping it works for you.
I was initially put on Tyenne, the Actemra biosimilar drug. It's refrigeration requirements are clear. Refrigerate between 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit until you are ready to use it. It takes about 3 hours to bring it to room temp before injecting it. Do not place near a sunny window, heat source, a microwave or hot water. Allow it to warm up simply by removing it from the frig and placing on the countertop. Use it within 2 weeks or dispose of it. If it is frozen, do not use, dispose of it as well.
I was able to purchase extra with a vacation request to cover a 4 week trip.
I cannot tolerate Tyenne and will be going on Kevzara in mid-May. I plan to use the same storage guidelines for my Kenzara injectable.
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1 Reaction@jabrown0407 make sure to check your refrigerator temp. Mine would swing from 40 to 30. Who knows if my shot was frozen... had to get a small fridge I use specifically for kevzara.
@jabrown0407
Kevzara requirements are similar. Kevzara claims that it can achieve room tempetature in only a few minutes after being removed from a refrigerator. That was my initial concern (the drive home from my pharmacy, worse yet, on a summer day in Texas.)
I take a small ice-chest (with reusable ice packs in it) into the pharmacy and put the Kevzara in it right there at the counter when they hand it to me.
I don’t trust home delivery for refrigerated medication because that’s just one more middle-man for something to go wrong (unknown to them) and you never know…
Sadly, one doesn’t know to get access and read the paperwork before receiving the paperwork thst comes in the Kevzara packaging.
You probably have already pulled this up, but for those who haven’t, here is a link to that paperwork.
https://www.kevzara.com/dam/jcr:2fd9dfd5-0b0a-4dc9-bdd6-58bba001e159/medication-guide-and-instructions-for-use.pdf
I hope it works for you as well as it has for some others here. As far as I know, it is working well for me. Seven self injections, so-far-so good.
@stonewheel What drugstore do you use? My Walgreens specialty store ships it on ice in a chest, by FedEx to my local Walgreens. They open and refrigerate it untilbi pick it up. It's all Standard Walgreens policy, no special handling. I don't want porch pirates to take it from my door step.
@stonewheel my Kev comes fed ex overnight like clockwork
I live in AZ and never had a problem
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1 Reaction@jabrown0407
Same. This way If it gets warm, it’s on me; not a delivery driver who doesn’t know better. Delivery work is hard, I don’t want to be mad at them😉.
My pharmacy staff works hard too. I’ve been with them and known some of them since they opened (that makes me feel old) and I greet them by name. They seem to like a vase of flowers now and then. I appreciate them and I do my best to see that they know it. They are an important link in my lifeline. They take care of me.
I’ve got to ask, did you just have a birthday …0407? If so, happy belated.
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1 Reaction@tweetypie13
I’m glad.