Crohn’s Chronicles IV

My humira lunchbox without any ice or ice sheets

I’m back on the road, and I’m still on humira. Thankfully, I feel quite well while taking a combination of methotrexate and humira injections. Preparing my medication for this three week Peru trip was way easier than last year when I spent four months abroad. At least this time I know what to expect and I am already confident that keeping the pens cold will not be an issue.

I am packing my pens the same way as last year. I have a lunchbox with a few sheets of freezable ice packs. While on the move, the lunchbox never leaves my side. It’s essentially another appendage. Once at a hostel, I put the pens in their fridge and the ice packs in the freezer.

These are the freezable ice pack sheets I bought on amazon.

Unlike last year, however, I am opting to use real ice instead of the ice pack sheets for long bus rides. Before a long commute, I’ll go to the local market and buy a bag of ice. Then I fill a couple zip lock gallon bags (I always travel with tons of these bags) with ice and sandwich the humira pens between them in my lunchbox. This is exactly what I did for the 12 hour bus ride I took last night from Paracas to Arequipa. The ice melts over time, but the water stays ice cold. I doubt my ice pack sheets would perform so effectively over that time period.

Humira pens do not need to be refrigerated as long as you use them within 14 days of the pens being at room temperature. This means that after my next dose, I won’t need to refrigerate the pens at all. I’ll have two pens for the final two weeks of my trip. It is definitely going to be nice to ditch my icy wet lunchbox appendage.