Before you start a FlexTouch pen
Keep unused pens in the fridge at 2°C to 8°C, away from the cooling element. Never freeze the pen or use one that has frozen. A pen pressed against the back wall of a cold fridge or next to an ice pack may freeze even when the rest of the fridge feels fine.
Leave the medicine in its original box where you can, out of the light. Store pens out of reach of children. The printed expiry date holds only if the pen has been stored as directed. A pen damaged by heat or cold is unsafe whatever the date says.
Once the pen is in use
A FlexTouch pen lasts six weeks from first use, stored below 30°C or in the fridge as the leaflet says. Write down the first-use date and work out the discard date. A pen used for its four weekly doses will normally run out well before then.
Take the needle off after every injection and put the cap back on. Never leave a needle attached between doses. Liquid left after the planned doses is not an extra dose and does not extend your treatment. Reliable delivery from the device matters as much as how the liquid looks.
If a delivery arrives warm or late
If a parcel arrives late, feels warm or has damaged packaging, call the dispensing pharmacy before you use the pens. Note when it arrived, how it was packed and any times or temperatures you know for certain. A melted ice pack alone does not prove the medicine is unsafe. A cool pack does not prove the parcel stayed cold all the way either.
Current FlexTouch product information covers controlled shipping below 30°C for up to 48 hours. That covers this specific condition only. Any other unrefrigerated parcel needs checking. The pharmacy should judge your parcel based on the exposure, the pen type and the storage rules that still apply.
Why looks alone will not tell you
A clear solution may still have been through a temperature problem. A pen that feels warm to the touch has not had its temperature measured either. Ask for a decision about your specific product. Photos and other customers' delivery stories cannot settle it.
Keep the pen stored correctly while you wait for advice, unless the pharmacy tells you otherwise. Do not keep freezing and thawing cool packs around it. Putting a pen back in the fridge does not undo earlier damage. If you need a replacement, ask about your next dose date and whether a delay changes your treatment plan.
Everyday storage habits
Keep pens off windowsills and radiators, and out of parked cars and luggage left in the sun. A fridge thermometer helps you spot unexpectedly cold or warm areas. When you travel, wrap the pen so frozen packs never touch the pen, and plan where you will store it when you arrive.
If your supply or pen type changes, read the new leaflet. Do not carry over the old six-week rule without checking. A storage log helps when you keep several pens at home, because the unopened expiry date and the in-use deadline are two different limits.
Sources
Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.
- Wegovy FlexTouch UK prescribing information medicines.org.uk
- Wegovy FlexTouch patient leaflet medicines.org.uk
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