I was off ABX for a year or so and am now back on. My question is about the shelf life of the Rx drugs. One is Flagyl/Metronidazole that I got Mar 20, 2006 and the other is Hydroroxyquine/Plaquinel that I bought in November 2006. The pharmacy told me they were too old but I am not sure if that is true as I have also been hearing about left-over drugs being sent to third world countries. any thoughts?
I got a low positive test from Igenex in March and am about to start bicillin and plaquinel and want to use the plaquenil from before that I never used.
thank You,
Jeannie
Posted by ByronSBell 2007 (Member # 11496) on :
Oral antibiotics usually do not last a year.... A date should be on the bottle.
Posted by happygranny (Member # 8779) on :
I am in Canada where expiration dates are not on Rx drugs.
Jeannie
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I find that the drugs usually have an expiration date one year from the date they are prescribed. Some drugs can be dangerous if past the expiration ... the ones I've seen mentioned specifically are the tetracyclines .... so I don't know about the ones you have. I'd recommend asking the pharmacist.
Posted by Scrambled_brain (Member # 3071) on :
I guess a pharmacist will always tell you not to take expired drugs. I have heard problems with the tetracycline family.
I would never suggest to anyone blindly to take expired drugs either, but I've been taking expired flagyl off and on the past month and it makes me feel the same exact crud as always, so I think it is still effective. But I don't always do smart things.
If I could get a new script, I would, but I take expired abx because my doctor is in trouble with insurance co. and can't Rx new ones as often. Great isn't it?
Posted by happygranny (Member # 8779) on :
Thanks for the replies.
Yes, ain't it great?? It isn't jsut the cost of the drugs that are pushing me to use these out-dated meds, it is the difficulty in obtaining the Rx in the first place.
Anyone else have experiences thay can tell me about?
Jeannie
Posted by njgirl14 (Member # 14174) on :
Do you see a LLMD? I would ask them. A Dr once told me depending on the rx, they can be good for years beyond the expir date.
I would check with a dr for each rx though and not assume that across the board.
Posted by pingpong (Member # 13706) on :
out-dated tetracycline class of antibiotics can cause Facon's syndrome, for one thing. Theres probabably more side-effects, as well.