# Insulin Packaging



## rothomps (May 4, 2015)

I have recently picked up my latest repeat prescription for Humalog  Vials for use in my pump. This time arround the packaging has changed  and it now with all its stuck on labels gives the fealing of quality similar to a bootleg DVD sold at some car boot sale.

I was wondering if anyone else had seen a  similar change. I am still trying to figure out if it is legit and  figure out how confident I can be that the insulin is the same as I am  used too.

The vial itself still has the normal seal but the the  label has a slightly different format and the text that is vissible on  the exposed parts seems to be in french. The rest of the label is  covered by a stick on label with what would be normally expected on a  standard vial of Humalog.

The information leaflet is not printed  on the thin lightweight paper but appears to have been manually printed  on normal a3 paper (quite bulky compared to the normal thin paper).

The  box is substantially bigger than the normal box (about 10mm taller) but  still struggles to take the folded up A3 page rather than the normal  thin info sheet and the insulin.

The box is covered by text in  French but contains no contact addresses for Eli Lilly. It does have a  telephone for some one in France.

Is this just Boots trying to  save some costs with imported insulin. The packaging and labeling seems  to indicate that is was not Elli Lilly that has done the re-labeling and  there is no formal indication of it passing some form of QA.

Im just unsure about using this and hoped someone else has come accross this and can tell me that Im just being foolish.

thanks

Rob


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## trophywench (May 4, 2015)

Ring Boots in the morning - ask to speak to the pharmacist - and ASK !

Possibly they have had some distribution problems at Lilly - who knows?


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## HOBIE (May 4, 2015)

I can understand your concern   But sorry has never happened to me.   Good luck.


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## KookyCat (May 5, 2015)

I'd ring Boots and ask too.  I've had test strips relabelled before now but it's when they have the calibration information in U.S. measures, and that's been when there's issues at the manufacturing end.  I doubt Boots would be able to divert too far from their main suppliers, pharmaceuticals are pretty tightly controlled, but I also wouldn't inject something I wasn't sure about either so best to check.  Hope you get it sorted


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## Austin Mini (May 5, 2015)

Every time I pick up my BG test strips the boxes are in a foreign language. French, Polish, Hebrew etc and to top it all off the chemist places my name details right across the box contents description. I have, more than once, picked up a box of ten Ketone test strips which are in an identical box, would you believe!


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## HOBIE (May 5, 2015)

Let us know how you get on pls


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## Aoife (May 6, 2015)

I have regularly got Bayer test strips with a sticker over the normal printed label as well as ketone strips, all it means is that the supplier has sourced the goods abroad, for a long time at work we were getting german pregabalin and a french antibiotic.  The instructions are originally obviously in the language that the product was intended for.  

eda: I've just looked at my test strips and they were originally french! Says on the sticker produced from within the EU and repackaged by Fulshaw HealthCare Ltd


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## rothomps (May 6, 2015)

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for the responses and a quick update.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] I spoke to the Pharmacist but only got an answer that felt like a belief rather than an actual answer of - This is what is done, why it was done and these are the checks and controls that are in place. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]With an incomplete unsatisfactory answer I think it is Boots head office next. Aoife's test strips are a good example or at least the correct direction where they highlight that they have been repackaged and who has done it. 
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Will let you all know when I have a fresh update.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]


[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Rob[/FONT]


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## Pumper_Sue (May 7, 2015)

rothomps said:


> [FONT=&quot]Thanks for the responses and a quick update.[/FONT]
> [FONT=&quot]
> [/FONT]
> [FONT=&quot] I spoke to the Pharmacist but only got an answer that felt like a belief rather than an actual answer of - This is what is done, why it was done and these are the checks and controls that are in place. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
> ...



Must admit if it were me I would not be happy with repackaged insulin.
Questions I would want answered would be was it and has it been stored correctly?


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