I need to start taking Lexapro again. I have quite a number of 10 mg pills left from when I quit taking them. They were dispensed 11/21/07. Are they still effective? Obviously, I need to see my Dr. again, but I would really like to start taking them again tomorrow. Would they be ineffective/useless or might they still be good?
This is probably too specific a medical question, isn’t it?
I used to work for a psychiatrist, and he said that drug samples were perfectly fine to give out for up to one year past the labeled expiration date, and probably still safe & effective much longer, but he didn’t want to push it past that.
OTOH, you have no way to know what the expiration date was on those pills. A pharmacy wouldn’t sell you pills that were past the expiration date, but they’re assuming you will consume the pills in a month or so, so it could possibly be that those pills were dated for, say, January 08. So you could be close to a year over on them.
OT3H, what kind of storage conditions have you kept the bottle? Cooler is better than hotter.
My suggestion: call your prescriber. S/he might be willing to write you a one month script so you can start taking the pills while waiting for an appointment.
I talked to a pharmacist and she said that they probably would not be very effective and not to take them. Anyway, I’ve left a message for my doctor and she will likely phone in a prescription without having me come into the office.
The meds have been stored in the dark in their original container and were originally dispensed 11/21/07.
Is it even worth trying? A little placebo effect could go a long way!
My MD has told me that virtually any sealed medication except nitroglycerin pills do not really age at all. But I would strongly caution you to talk to your own doctor and not act on any advice over a message board.
Not just nitro. Tetracycline goes toxic, IIRC.
But I don’t know if they’ve done any studies on degradation of SSRI’s.
Chances are they’re still good.
IANAD, take expired medication at your own risk, this post does not reflect the views of the Chicago Reader or anyone worth suing, etc.
Me too. I’m going to close this.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator