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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SadDoggie on February 2, 2005, at 9:39:34
I've got some meds that I could use right now but are expired :(
They are-
Klonopin (expired 1/03)
Xanax (expired 4/03)
Valium (expired 1/03)
Valium (expired 12/02)They are all expired only 1 year after they were filled. They can't harm me can they? And how much of their strength can they have lost?(I had them in a closet, dry and room temperature).
Posted by CareBear04 on February 2, 2005, at 14:10:23
In reply to Expired meds :), posted by SadDoggie on February 2, 2005, at 9:39:34
hi there,
i'd be interested to know the answer to this question, too. none of my meds are quite expired yet, but i have months and months worth of xanax and other meds that will reach their one year mark soon. i've heard from a few pharmacists that the expiration date is overly conservative and that the drugs retain their efficacy for significantly longer, especially if you keep them in a dry cool place as you have. if nothing else, they won't hurt you; if they're really expired, they'll just be less potent or not potent at all. let me know if you find anything out!
Posted by Wildman on February 2, 2005, at 18:19:32
In reply to Expired meds :), posted by SadDoggie on February 2, 2005, at 9:39:34
Hmmmmm, you could send them to me and I could test them for you :)
Seriously, though, I think you are OK on these. If anything, they may be a bit weaker than when fresh, but they don't "turn into" anything toxic.
Of course my offer to test them for you remains open if you are skeptical. I may have to sample most if not all of the product to have enough data points to give you information with a 95% confidence interval :)
Wildman
Posted by platinumbride on February 4, 2005, at 15:22:14
In reply to Re: Expired meds :), posted by Wildman on February 2, 2005, at 18:19:32
It is my understanding that
1. often the exp date on a pharmacist's rx is sort of a "cover your a**" date
2.expired meds only loose their efficacy bit by bit........my shrink once gave me samples that were a few months over the dated and that is what he told meI say take the meds :-)
Diane
Posted by SadDoggie on February 4, 2005, at 23:03:11
In reply to Re: Expired meds :), posted by platinumbride on February 4, 2005, at 15:22:14
platinumbride,
That's pretty rare for a doctor to do that. I had a psychiatrist once who promptly threw some samples away when I told him they were a few months expired. Usually doctors are scared off their a**s to get taken to court, lol.
> It is my understanding that
>
> 1. often the exp date on a pharmacist's rx is sort of a "cover your a**" date
> 2.expired meds only loose their efficacy bit by bit........my shrink once gave me samples that were a few months over the dated and that is what he told me
>
> I say take the meds :-)
>
> Diane
Posted by yxibow on February 5, 2005, at 7:41:10
In reply to Expired meds :), posted by SadDoggie on February 2, 2005, at 9:39:34
My personal opinions would tend to err on the side of -some- caution, probably 5 years for most medications. I've noticed though that some older generics like propranolol which have little coating can crumble over time, so YMMV. But there are some cases where they should be thrown out, e.g. antibiotics and insulin and other temperature and time sensitive medications. That's my 2c.
Here is a a paragraph excerpt of a Medscape article...
so I'm posting it for "fair use"; if I've erred on the edge of copyright I apologise but I think it describes part of the issue to a tee.The original author who is quoted in this article is from redflagsdaily which has some controvertial and non-mainstream medical information, however this article has some on topic relevance.
The full article by Thomas A. M. Kramer, MD (a contributor to babble and -not- the original author as described) can be found with a free signup at
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/460159?src=search
-----------------------------------------------
... "First, the expiration date, required by law in the United States, beginning in 1979, specifies only the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the drug -- it does not mean how long the drug is actually "good" or safe to use. Second, medical authorities uniformly say it is safe to take drugs past their expiration date -- no matter how "expired" the drugs purportedly are. Except for possibly the rarest of exceptions, you won't get hurt and you certainly won't get killed.......Third, studies show that expired drugs may lose some of their potency over time, from as little as 5% or less to 50% or more (though usually much less than the latter). Even 10 years after the "expiration date," most drugs have a good deal of their original potency...."
------------------------------------------
Posted by ghost on February 5, 2005, at 18:33:00
In reply to Re: Expired meds :), posted by yxibow on February 5, 2005, at 7:41:10
i did a study on the degradation of drugs when exposed to light and learned a lot about degradation...
first off, pharmacies DO err on the side of caution, and if it's a year after the script was filled, you're good. chances are, the bottle the pills came from have another few yrs of life left in them.
second, if you kept them in a dark, cool spot like a closet, you're going to extend this life. things that degrade drugs: light, heat, humidity.
third, some drugs DO degrade into substances that can be harmful to someone. with that in mind, if you find an old bottle of pills in your car on a hot summer day, i wouldn't take them unless you're really desperate. you could do some research about the degradation products of the drugs (most studies are published). mostly all you have to worry about is a loss of potency, but sometimes it's more than that.
i think what you've got is safe to take. :)
ghost
Posted by SadDoggie on February 6, 2005, at 4:30:56
In reply to drug degradation, posted by ghost on February 5, 2005, at 18:33:00
Well I took those drugs and I'm still here :) They were also still potent.
SadDoggie
This is the end of the thread.
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