I've been using O2 for the last few years since the headaches always came at night when I was home and O2 was always available.  The headaches are now occuring during the day and evening when O2 is not always available.

My neurologist started me on Verapamil and gave me a prescription for sumatriptan vials and insulin syringes.

I've tried 3 mg and that seems to work almost as well as 6 mg.  Since injections are new to me, I have two questions.

Once you take the cap off the vial, you can't replace it.  Is there a trick for keeping the vial sterile and the medicine from breaking down?

I live in a house that is not air conditioned.  I live in Seattle so it doesn't get hot very often, but when it does, the house stays well over 80 degrees for long periods of time.  When I have to go somewhere, the car gets well over 80 or 90 degrees.  In the winter, we have a lot of power outages and the house can get very cold.  Are there any tricks for keeping the medicine at room temperature when dealing with these temperature extremes?

As to the sterile part... swab off the top with an alcohol sponge (they come in boxes of about 100) and you should be ok there.

The temps I never thought about. Never seemed to bother mine and I've kept it in the truck so....

Also you might want to keep a can of Red Bull handy in case of emergency. Chug it at the first sign of a hit and a lot of the time it will abort the hit.  :-*

The box says to keep it between 36 degrees and 77 degrees.  It's probably not too hard to keep it above 36 degrees unless you get caught outside in some really nasty winter storm, but keeping it below 77 degrees can be a real problem in the summer.  Some articles say 86 degrees is okay for a short time, but how long is a short time?

There are some cooling wallets out there that use blue ice, or some kind of insulation that you are supposed to soak in cold tap water.  Does anyone out there have any experience with this?

Proper "sterile" injection technique from liquid vials (in your case, sumatriptan of course):

1.  Swab the top of the vial with one alcohol pad and let dry, then swab your injection site* and let dry.
2.  Get your needle ready and draw in some air -- if you're injecting 3mL, draw up 3mL of air.
3.  Inject air into the vial.  (This breaks the suction, making it easier to draw up the meds.)
4.  Now draw up the correct amount of med.
5.  Inject in your already-swabbed spot!  Acceptable spots listed below.  Also, it's important to note that you may receive needles that are longer than a typical subcutaneous injection should go.  It's NOT necessary to insert the needle all the way.  I was so gung-ho when I started that most of my shots were ending up in the muscles--too deep.

*Acceptable subQ injection sites:

Upper Arm: Uncover the arm to the shoulder to see the whole arm. Have the person getting the shot stand with hand on hip. Stand next to and a little behind the person. Find the area in the middle part of the arm, halfway between the elbow and shoulder. Gently grasp the skin at the back of the arm between your thumb and first 2 fingers. You should have 1-2 inches of skin.

Abdomen: Uncover the abdomen to see the whole area. Find the waist area. You may give a shot bounded by these landmarks: below the waist, to just above the hip bone, and from where the body curves at the side to about 2 inches from the middle of the abdomen. Avoid the bellybutton. Use the natural line in the middle of the body as a marker. It may be hard to see, but it is there unless it was removed by surgery.

Thigh: Uncover the entire leg. Find the area between the knee and hip. The middle of the thigh, from mid-front to mid-side, on the outside part of the thigh is a safe site. Gently grasp the area to make sure you can pinch one to two inches of skin.

Lower back: Uncover the back from the waist to the top of the rear-end. A shot may be given just below the waist to a line that runs across the back above the crack between rear end cheeks. Give the shot between the area where the body curves at the hip and a few inches from the spine.
---
All of that being said, when the beast comes calling I just grab the nearest syringe and let fly!  Sterile technique goes right out the window.   :D

Preacher wrote on May 21^st, 2012 at 9:18am:

a prescription for sumatriptan vials and insulin syringes. I've tried 3 mg and that seems to work almost as well as 6 mg.  Since injections are new to me, I have two questions. Once you take the cap off the vial, you can't replace it.  Is there a trick for keeping the vial sterile and the medicine from breaking down? I live in a house that is not air conditioned.  I live in Seattle so it doesn't get hot very often, but when it does, the house stays well over 80 degrees for long periods of time.  When I have to go somewhere, the car gets well over 80 or 90 degrees.  In the winter, we have a lot of power outages and the house can get very cold.  Are there any tricks for keeping the medicine at room temperature when dealing with these temperature extremes?

Hi Preacher
1)... in regards of your vial,i use a piece of scotch tape...never had a problem yet (besides,even if it came off) which has never happened,your med. will not drip out...
2)...i live in one of the hottest parts of L.A. county and it gets very hot out here...i always have trex in my vehicle,where it gets well over 100 in the summer (god only knows how hot it is inside the vehicle) i have never had an issue with the trex...and it always works its magic...good luck.....Lenny

Just fill two syringes and cap one for later

Just a suggestion.  I used a portable "E" tank that would go everywhere I went (car, work, church, etc.).  The tank is small and you can get a cart to put it on with wheels.  Makes it easy to transport.  This way you can continue to use oxygen and not need all the imitrex.  Maybe this will work for your situation maybe not.  Good luck.