Gabapentin 300mg IG322
If date has expired but seal hasn't been opened, are pills still good?
Question posted by hiroller1 on 23 Jan 2015
Last updated on 4 November 2020 by DoctorLuke
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5 Answers
I see the mixed response to this question. A very good question. I'm like the Doctor who does use medications beyond the expiry date. This is a very arbitrary date and there has been a huge amount of work done to change the situation.
In particular
In 1986, the Air Force, hoping to save on replacement costs, asked the FDA if certain drugs’ expiration dates could be extended.
In response, the FDA and Defense Department created the Shelf Life Extension Program.
Each year, drugs from the stockpiles are selected based on their value and pending expiration and analyzed in batches to determine whether their end dates could be safely extended.
For several decades, the program has found that the actual shelf life of many drugs is well beyond the original expiration dates.
A 2006 study of 122 drugs tested by the program showed that two-thirds of the expired medications were stable every time a lot was tested. Each of them had their expiration dates extended, on average, by more than four years, according to research published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Some that failed to hold their potency include the common asthma inhalant albuterol, the topical rash spray diphenhydramine, and a local anesthetic made from lidocaine and epinephrine, the study said. But neither Cantrell nor Dr. Cathleen Clancy, associate medical director of National Capital Poison Center, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the George Washington University Medical Center, had heard of anyone being harmed by any expired drugs. Cantrell says there has been no recorded instance of such harm in medical literature.
Marc Young, a pharmacist who helped run the extension program from 2006 to 2009, says it has had a “ridiculous” return on investment. Each year the federal government saved $600 million to $800 million because it did not have to replace expired medication, he says.
An official with the Department of Defense, which maintains about $13.6 billion worth of drugs in its stockpile, says that in 2016 it cost $3.1 million to run the extension program, but it saved the department from replacing $2.1 billion in expired drugs. To put the magnitude of that return on investment into everyday terms: It’s like spending a dollar to save $677.
Some drugs have been found to maintain their potency for forty years!
Of course: There is no incentive from drug makers to do suitable tests so they can extend the expiry date.
So like all things in life, to those who are so sure they are Right... always think again.
cheers, Dr Luke
Their is a reason that drugs have an expiration date (and I don't believe your
doctor, stating they are good for 10 years~that's the most dangerous thing
I've ever heard.) The chemical reaction in drugs changes as the expiration
date has passed and may make you ill. Just as meat, pork, bread have
expiration dates *among many other things* the meats only last so long in
the freezer and if defrosted should be cooked immediately - bread grows
stale and mold forms on outdated breads, don't flirt around with medications.
Throw them away if they have expired.
Trish
I've taken expired prescriptions for years. The one exception that I can think of would be antibiotics, but that's only my opinion. I believe my doctor.
Naturally, it is your decision on whether to take expired medications. I am 73
years old and have taken many medications throughout my life - it is still my
opinion (taken from the information and instructions from medication packages, and from numerous top doctors in the U.S. and afar) not to take
outdated medications. Perhaps some research is in order?
I hope you are okay with the out of date prescription you are taking/or going
to take will bode well for you.
God bless you.
Trish
They should be fine. My doctor told me that prescriptions last 10 years.
NO - DO NOT OPEN AND USE. EXPIRATION DATES ARE PUT ON PILL BOTTLES FOR A REASON - THE PILLS HAVE EXPIRED. THROW THEM AWAY. GABAPENTIN is a potent anti-seizure drug with a loading dose. You cannot just dump an expired gabapentin pill into your body and expect it to work without some danger! Call your pharmacist if you don't believe me!!!
It might have lost a little strength but since it was sealed I'd give it a try.
Related topics
gabapentin, expiration, pill, expiry date, expiration date
Further information
- Gabapentin uses and safety info
- Gabapentin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Gabapentin (detailed)
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