<p>I am sure others have dealt with this issue, so I'm hoping to get some good suggestions. My son will start at UCSD next year, and most likely live in a triple where he will share a refrigerator. He uses an injectable drug that must be refrigerated. I am a bit hesitant to store the drug in his dorm fridge. It is very expensive- about $600 per week if we had to pay for it (fortunately our insurance covers it!). My son is very responsible about storing and using it, but I don't feel it is fair to put that burden on his roommates. I am concerned about it possibly being left out of the fridge accidentally to make room for more "important" things, power outages, etc. </p>
<p>Has anyone been able to make arrangements with schools to store meds in a Health Clinic, or elsewhere on campus? Any ideas will be appreciated!</p>
<p>If he keeps it in the back of the fridge in his room (assuming you get one) and explains what it is to his roommates, I can’t imagine why they would remove it. The only time it would be removed is to clean or defrost the fridge, something I don’t expect is a common practice among freshman guys.</p>
<p>My son never had any problems using a shared dorm fridge for his insulin. I don’t think it would in any way be a “burden” for roommates! He can just explain to his roommates what it is, how it must be refrigerated at all times, etc. Alternatively, have him get his own very small dorm fridge to put under his bed and for his use only.</p>
<p>My S has to store his insulin in the refrigerator and we got him a small one for under his bed. They don’t take up much room and no one else used it but him.</p>
<p>I think this is an issue that should be discussed with the college’s health center and perhaps the disabilities office and housing office as well. They should be familiar with this general situation because there are students who take insulin (although that doesn’t appear to be the specific medicine your son takes). </p>
<p>There may be aspects of the situation that you haven’t considered.</p>
<p>For example, at the colleges that both of my kids attended, dorm fridges had to be defrosted, left open, and unplugged during breaks when everyone left campus. So it may not be possible for your son to keep a stash of his medication at college during the break and have a second stash at home if he relies exclusively on the refrigerator in the dorm room. He may have to transport it home. Will he be able to get whatever he relies upon to keep it cool when traveling?</p>
<p>I think anywhere but the room would be much more inconvenient. My D was on growth hormone daily injection from 3-16. If she were still on it, I’d have her keep it in the room fridge.</p>
<p>I agree that this is probably not a problem and no need to worry about it. Worst case scenario, he can put it inside a ziplock bag that is clearly labelled “must remain refrigerated at all times” and explain to his roommates what it is. It will be fine!</p>
<p>If you want him to have his own dedicated fridge, there are small cooler-sized fridges that would take up very little space. If you check lab and medical supply catalogues, you can probably find one that locks.</p>
<p>I agree with happymom and others, have a small personal fridge just for this purpose. I use an injectible that might be in a similar class, and know the concern over keeping it refrigerated at all times and the astronomical cost of the medication at retail.</p>
<p>Something else that is recommended for these types of drugs is to keep a couple of smaller blue ice frozen in a freezer compartment if one is available, plus a small ice chest or container that will fit the blue ice and medication. That way if the power goes out, he can keep the injections cold for several hours.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies everyone. It may not be an issue, although the cost of this drug is SO high!!! Yoamogatos- sounds like it could be something similar-it is an anti-TNF. Would not be used for a recreational drug so I’m not worried about that. I’m more worried about carelessness and being left out. I like the idea of the small cooler under the bed and am going to research that idea. He ices the injection site so will need to keep an ice pack also. That would be a good way to keep it all together in one spot and not have to worry about anything! Thanks to everyone for the great comments and ideas!</p>
<p>I would address issue with school now. They may have policy (based on age and electrical system of dorms) against more than one fridge. Your needs may mean they need to give him some housing/room preference. I’m not sure power outages are common in dorms, but may need health center to be aware that you might need to store his medication in an emergency.</p>
<p>My S’s girlfriend was on a $1500 a week injection, she is is very careful with it and had it kept at the Health Center. There was a back-up generator there and there was no fear of any potential problems. As an insulin user, I know it hard and with that price tag I would take no chances. Contact the Health Center.</p>
<p>My son had the same issue (probably the same anti-TNF drug) this year. He kept his medication in his own small fridge in his dorm room. This summer he is back on campus and staying in a double room connected to another double by a lounge/kitchen area which has a big fridge. Because of this, there is no room for his personal fridge, so he put the medication in a small cooler in the back of the shared fridge. </p>
<p>Just so you know - if it’s Humira, I know the drug can stay out of refrigeration for several hours. Once my son accidentally left one of the pens out all night (he had used the other pen in the box and forgot to put it back). I called their help line and they told me it was fine to use. The company is also great about sending replacement pens (for free!) if something goes wrong. </p>
<p>About school breaks - he only goes to school with as many pens as he needs to last until he will be home again. That way he doesn’t have to worry about the fridge in the dorm during the breaks.</p>
<p>Yes Benreb- my son uses Humira also. I know that it can be left out for a short while as long as the temp is cool. I am probably over thinking this. My son will also only take enough to last til his next visit also, probably up to 4 injections. That is all we can currently order at once anyway. I’m sure we will figure this out- I just want to have options before he leaves.</p>
<p>My daughter has type 1 diabetes and some other conditions and is now well into her 20’s. Your post was a reminder of how I felt several years ago. She is visiting for a few weeks, and I have to concentrate to avoid getting into that mindset again. Old habits. Today she is going into the city and I actually asked if she had her insulin, glucose etc. Not cool!! </p>
<p>If your son has a condition that qualifies as a “disability,” by all means he should register. That would mean he would receive letters for all his professors that state he is registered but won’t identify the condition.</p>
<p>If he has a medical issue that is not a disability, it is good to set up an appointment with a primary care doctor so he has that foundation to start with (as soon as his college health insurance starts perhaps).</p>
<p>Otherwise, I think a regular, shared dorm refrigerator would suffice, unless he tends to take weekend trips, in which case, there are products for diabetes that are very small and portable, with a compartment that holds a freeze pack and a compartment that holds insulin. Perhaps a diabetes site could be helpful to him.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. Yes limabeans-he is very capable of handling this and has since he was 11, including injecting himself with a medication that can really be painful on injection. I would not be concerned if it were not for the expense of the meds. At $700 per shot, we can’t afford to replace any-it is also a tier 4 drug and difficult to get. </p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion compmom. He has arthritis that is fairly well controlled by his meds- to the point that he will play soccer at school. He will travel with the team but we are hoping he can just work the injections around his soccer schedule so he doesn’t have to take them with him. His medical issues are not ever emergency-type issues, so at least for now he will continue to use his same rheumatologist at home which is about 3 hours away. He will also have the school medical plan as back-up so he will probably visit the health center right away so they have record of his condition.</p>