Traveling with Humira

[dreamintwilight]

So, my husband and I are going to California the week of our anniversary in October and we'll be leaving the day before my scheduled day to give myself my [wiki]Humira[/wiki] shot. I thought about using the travel pack I got with my start kit, but it says the ice pack will only keep the pen cold for a few hours. The plane ride alone from Chicago to California is well over that.

I thought I remembered the nurse (who came to show me how to do my shots the first day) say I could take it a day early or a day late if I had to, but was wondering if anyone on here had any first-hand experience doing something like this. This will be my first time travelling since being prescribed Humira.

I am seeing my GI tomorrow, so I have it on my list to ask about, but figured it couldn't hurt to see if anyone had any input on here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rebecca85]

Could you get a travel fridge that plugs into a car cigarette lighter socket? Fill that with plenty of ice packs and it should stay reasonably cold for hours. I think the plane will let you take it on board and not count it as part of hand luggage provided you clear it first.

Or would it be easier to order in to a pharmacy near where you're going and pick it up when you arrive?

 

[beth]

I came up against a bit of a brick wall when I asked my pharmacy about how to travel with it. The most useful bit of info, off the record, was that it is okay to let it warm up to no more than 'room temp' for a maximum of 12 hours before use, but only once. What you must not do at all is allow it to freeze, so no freezer packs in an effort to keep it cool as long as possible.
If you can't pick any up when you are there, is to wrap the pen in something with some thermal mass. Water might be problematic - airlines/etc, but what about the gel packs diabetics use? - as long as they don't cool by chemical means. And then cover in bubblewrap or something similar.

 

[katiesue1506]

I've traveled with mine- only 5ish hours, but usually what I do is I always have one of the boxes they ship it in around the house, and I just pretend like I'm gonna ship it somewhere. I pack it all up using their ice packs that I've saved and I put it in their styrofoam box. Then in the big box. It keeps it perfect for that long, I think it'd probably last way longer than 5 hours. I mean when they ship it overnight it at least has to be in that package for 10ish hours... probably more like 12-16 and mine always come with all the ice packs still mostly frozen.

 

[Lisa]

To keep it simple, I would check into giving it a day early - as late as possible.....

Have FUN on your trip!!!

 

[Manzyb]

I would do it a day early also. I've done this a few times while traveling. I always figured it was way easier than trying to figure it out how to keep it with me!

 

[kello82]

hey dreamin, when i was on humira i often took it a day early or late. haha i think rarely did i take it on the same day each week.....so yes you should be totally fine to take it a day early. i also did this with [wiki]methotrex[/wiki] and it was nbd.

BUT should you decide to take the med with you on the trip, i totally agree with katie's suggestion. since thats the packing job they do for shipping, you know that its pretty dern effective for keeping the temp correct during travel.
ive also used a small cooler/lunchbox type thing, again filled with freezer blocks and ice packs, BUT i would call the airport or somone ahead of time and inquire about going thru security with injectable [wiki]drugs[/wiki]. maybe they will have some info to offer. but i have done this with my [wiki]ostomy[/wiki] stuff, which used to contain bottles of glue and weird stuff that normally they would have an issue with....instead of just laying it on the conveyor i hand it over and tell them it is medical supplies....have never had a problem.
but i would def call the airport or go online to find a number for TSA info or something like that....that way you have as much info ahead of time as possible.

good luck and have fun! sounds like a great trip

 

[dreamintwilight]

Yeah, it would be so much more convenient to take it the day before. Then I wouldn't have to worry about keeping it at the right temperature and all the stuff with the airlines.

Paso - If I took it a day early it'd be significantly early in the day because our flight leaves early in the morning. So, no chance of taking it latest in the day! Haha.

Katie - after you pack the box, then are you saying to take that on the plane with me?

The lunchbox idea is a good one too if I do end up having to take it on the plane with me. I actually have a Humira travel case I got. It's a little black zipper pouch that came with a small gel pack that you freeze and put in the side pocket. It's supposed to keep the pen cool for 3 hours, but I suppose if it came down to it, it would be fine for the next 12 hours and I could give it to myself that evening according to Beth's pharmacist! The little Humira travel pouch also comes with a card insert that I give to my doctor before my trip that has his signature on it, so I can show to the airlines that it's okay for me to have it with me.

Hopefully I won't have to take it with me and I can just take it before I leave. But you've given me all some good ideas in case I will need to. Thanks!

 

[ThanksP]

I've traveled with my [wiki]Cimzia[/wiki]. When it's delivered, it comes with some awesome ice packs that last at least 12 hours. I kept the Cimzia in its original packaging (with the prescription on it), packed it in a sealable lunch bag type thing and slid an icepack in with it. Getting it through security was no probem. Before I went thru x-ray, I told them I had something that needed to be hand-searched and could not go through the x-ray machine. The TSA guy took the bag, peaked into it, and then swiped it with an explosives swab thingie. That was it, it was quite easy.

 

[saidinstouch]

Assuming you are taking it every other week and not every week or even 2 every week you are fine taking it a day early. I know a doctor who prescribes up to 8 shots a month, so if you are on it every week or every other week, you are fine taking it a day early. I would talk to your GI to be sure, but no reason to be overly worried with a day early. I know I forgot to take it every so often so was a day late on a cycle which made getting back on cycle a day short. With my cimzia I have adjusted the day here and there. You have to remember this is a protein that we all clear out at different rates to begin with, so we all have different levels of it in our body at various times post injection. With that in mind the recommended dose interval is just what keeps a minimal effective dose in us for a maximal amount of time. In other words, what dosing period tends to keep the drug effective for a majority of people taking it. I hope that helps you feel better about doing it a day early since that sounds like the easier option.

 

[Jer's Girl]

I see no problem with taking it a day early. I always did when I was on Humira or Cimzia and had no problems. Have fun on your trip!

 

[dreamintwilight]

Hey guys! The GI said it was fine to take it a day early. Woohoo! Now, let's just hope I remember to actually do it since our flight leaves at 7:30 am that day!! Haha. I'll have to set my phone to remind me

saidinstouch - I am actually taking shots every week, but just got word from my GI today that in the next 2 months I might be able to go back to every 2 weeks. Woohoo!

Thanks everyone for the input. Definitely good to file away for future trips!

 

[Manzyb]

That's awesome you get to start taking it every other week soon!!

I started out taking it every other week and for the last year I've been taking it once a week, and now even that doesn't seem like enough!!

 

[dreamintwilight]

Yeah, I hear you Amanda! I think if it wasn't for the extra azathioprine on top of the weekly shots, I'd probably still be having some problems. Hopefully, though it's under control enough now that I can start decreasing some of my meds to a lower maintenance level

 

[mswiz]

I recently traveled with Humira injections for two weeks to alaska for a cruise/land tour and two weeks to India for work. I had no problems and here is what I did. I should mention I need weekly shots.

For the shorter trip to Alaska, I used a lined lunch box and packed it wilh the freezer bags that come with my Humira shots. i purchased a refrigerator thermometer from Amazon so i could monitor the tempature inside where the medicine was without opening up the container. I had no problems as I moved from cruise ship to shore and hotel to hotel on shore. Every hotel but one had a refrigerator with a small freezer in the room. At the hotel where I did not have a refrigerator, when I explained my need for refrigeration, they showed me that they had a small refrigerator behind the desk strictly for guest medicines. The one time I could not freeze my bags, I simply got ice from the restaurant and that kept it cold enough till i got to the next destination.

For the much longer trip to India, I purchased a Polar Bear cooler. This was bulkier but kept my medicine at 44 degrees for over 32 hours door to door. I again used the freezer packs that came with my injections.

I had no trouble with airport security. i merely told them it was medicine that needed to be kept cold and put it in a separate tray for screening.

You might think that you might not need to refrigerate as Humira is good to tempatures up to 77 degrees for two weeks but on my flight to Vancouver, my thermometer indicated that the plane was a balmy 76.5 degrees the whole way there, so I was glad i chose to go prepared.

I tested both the thermometer i purchased and the two different containers extensively so I knew there limits. Good luck.