So I made a very big decision over the weekend.  After a bit of trepidation, I decided it is time for me to pull the plug on my overnight shift…I’ll soon be living the daytime life again.  This makes me very nervous!  I love the freedom that I have with my every other week off, but with all things considered, it was a change that I needed to make. 

I’m still a little nervous though!

Well, moving right along.  I’m going to contradict myself quite a bit with this post.  I had previously written an article, “Taking Expired Medications – Not a Good Idea” where I stressed that it’s definitely not a good idea to take medications that had reached their expiration date.  

I wrote that article toward the start of GetPharmacyAdvice.com, so I’m thinking I was a little bit edgy about the liabilities of creating a site that delivers medication advice.  The reason I bring this up is because we received a question from a GPA.com blog family member the other day in regards to taking expired medications, and my response this time around was more true to how I really feel on the matter.  I was being way too conservative when I first approached the topic!

Her question was:

My HCTZ expired 5/09, five months ago, is it still good?

My new and improved answer to this question:

So, is your HCTZ still good?  Most likely, yes!

Was the expiration date 5/09 on the pharmacy prescription label or on the actual manufacturer’s bottle?

If it’s on the pharmacy prescription label, that expiration date usually is not the same as the one the manufacturer has set…the manufacturer’s expiration date is usually a lot later.  The expiration date the pharmacy has set on its label is typically one year from when the medication was filled/dispensed.  Since HCTZ is a very popular medication, it doesn’t sit on the pharmacy shelves for very long.  Therefore, I’m guessing your HCTZ hasn’t even reached the manufacturer’s expiration date.

If 5/09 is the manufacturer’s expiration date, it probably still is okay to take.  Here’s why I say this!

The manufacturer’s expiration date indicates how long they will guarantee the medication retains full potency and safety – it does not mean the drug is no longer “good” or safe to use.  In fact, head honchos in the medical
field (i.e. government people) say it is safe to take expired drugs.

Studies have shown that expired drugs may lose some of their potency as time goes by – anywhere from 5% to over 50%, though usually this loss in potency is of the smaller percentage.  But even 10 years after the so-called
expiration date, most drugs retain a good amount of their potency.

The largest study ever done on “expired drugs” was done by the US military about 15 years ago, with the testing performed by the FDA.  They were going to have to destroy and replace $1 billion worth of medications every 2 to 3 years, so they wanted to know if they could continue using the medications on hand even after the expiration date was reached.

Turns out that of the more than 100 prescription and OTC drugs tested, 90% of them were safe and effective for as long as 15 years past the original expiration date.  Pretty crazy, right?  Sounds like to me that it’s not profitable for manufacturers to allow bottles of medications to sit on pharmacy shelves for years…they “need” them to move through the pharmacy faster, whether by dispensing or “expiring” so they can supply more (i.e. sell more)!

There are rare exceptions to the statements above.  Probably the most popular example is the antibiotic tetracycline, which has been purported to cause kidney damage if taken after expired.  There apparently is a chemical change in the active ingredient that makes it toxic after a certain point in time.

For liability reasons, I can’t tell you straight out that you’ll be out of harm’s way if you take your expired HCTZ.  Hopefully you will find the information above useful so that you can use your best judgement on this matter.  I think a good rule of thumb is that if your life depends on the medication being 100% potent, then you should throw the expired med out and get a refill.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance!
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There you have it!  Let me know what you think…agree? disagree?  Leave a comment on this post or e-mail me at Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com.

I hope you’ve grabbed our FREE video course that shows you how to save money on your prescription medications.  If not, it’s still out there so get it now! 

And if I don’t get to you again before Thursday, have a fabulous Thanksgiving (if you are in the States)!  If not, then have a great Thursday