Susan Maria Leach
Founder of Bariatric Eating
Author Before and After - Living & Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery (HarperCollins Publishers)
If I have any extra Semaglutide or Tirzepatide in my vial after 4 shots, can I use it even though the label says ‘Discard after 28 days’?
This is a common medical question that has a simple math answer!
- If the first injection is on Day 0,
- the second injection is on Day 7,
- the third injection is on Day 14,
- the forth injection is on Day 21,
- it means the FIFTH injection should you have more in the vial, would be on Day 28!
Therefore, if you do have enough for an extra shot in your vial, the fifth injection is within the 28 days quoted on the label.
However that’s not why you are asking. You want to know about efficacy (still strong or effective?) and sterility (bacteria?).
Officially, after 28 days, the manufacturer says to discard as the sterility of the contents is critical for injections and you are entering the sterility of the vial with your needle four times. Most of you are not medically trained for keeping a clean site for injections.
Unofficially though the answer is yes, yes, yes… if you are super clean and practice a few simple rules, you should definitely use it all up. That means you get one free week out of your tiny glass vial. It’s much too expensive to throw away. If you have one extra dose in each vial, that means for every four vials you buy you get one free month. Pretty exciting.
The 28 day discard is about sterility and not effectiveness of the med as long and as you keep a clean work area when you dose you should be fine. Important. The use by date for unopened is one year or more.
While I do not advocate saving it to revisit and use a year from now, it’s fine to use as your next dose as long as you use sterile technique whenever touching the vial. If you follow this simple protocol every time you dose, you should be able to safely use all the drug in your vial.
If you dont have a few extra needles saved up from Mochi orders, you can buy some. I picked up a whole box at the Walmart Pharmacy for just ten dollars. I ruin a needle now and then when I hit it on the table or bend it while sticking it through the stopper or while pulling back the plunger and now I can just get a new sterile one from the package. You do not need a prescription but you have to ask at the pharmacy counter. They’ll help you get the right syringe and needle size. No worries, it’s simple and cheap.
I keep everything for my injection in a plastic basket from Target so it’s all at hand. Cotton pads, flip top bottle of alcohol, package of needles, a clean hand towel so the glass vial does not roll off the table (have you done that yet?), an empty water bottle for used needles, Clorox wipes.
Keep your injection table super clean!
- I wash my hands with plenty of soap for the entire 'Happy Birthday' song.
- Wipe down counter with a Clorox Wipe and lay down a clean hand towel.
- Lay out my goods - a syringe, flip the top on the bottle of alcohol, a cotton pad and my tirzepatide vial from the fridge.
- Hold top of vial over the cotton pad and drip the alcohol from the bottle to flood the stopper to sterilize then soak the cotton a bit more.
- Use the soaked pad to thoroughly wipe the skin at site of choice. I use my stomach as it’s been shown to have faster and greater dissipation of medication than thigh or arm with fewest side effects.
- Remove top from plunger and needle cap, place on towel and don't touch the needle to anything.
- Draw up your med from vial and inject.
- Clean up your work space, discard the needle to your bottle and screw on cap.
Be careful how you store your vial making sure it's not in contact with food in your fridge. I keep my tiny glass vial inside of my metal Mochi container in my beverage fridge, so my husband doesn’t accidentally throw it away or knock it to the floor when looking for a 10pm snack.
