My girlfriend was just prescribed microgestin as a contraceptive. The documentation that comes with the pills says to store them between 68-77 F. Since we live in southern California, it can get very hot here in the summer, and we’d rather not use the AC. What’s the best way to keep these cool? I assume that refrigerating them is a bad idea.
That is a very good question. I’m really reaching here, so forgive me if any of this sounds stupid. A basement would be a great place, but I don’t know if basements are as common in California as they are in Canada. Or keep them on the floor, preferably on a hard surface like tile or concrete. The only other thing coming to mind is to keep them in bag in a container of water or something. I suspect the water in your toilet tank would be cooler than you need, so sticking them in the tank might not be a good idea. But I don’t know, maybe your water supply is warmer than mine.
That’s a pretty narrow temperature range. Geez, you shouldn’t have to crank up the AC just for some pills!
Put an oven thermometer in your medicine cabinet and see what the temp is.
Yeah, I’d be surprised if your medicine cabinet gets all that hot whether you run the AC or not. Probably not an issue but do the experiment anyway and let us know, because I’m curious.
Why not ask the 2nd year pharmacy student?
If you don’t use the AC when it gets very hot, then when DO you use it? 
Well, now I have to get an oven thermometer. I guess I’ll report back soon.
Oh, and we keep the AC off because temperature extremes don’t bother us too much, and we’d rather save some money.
A link to my thread! Woohoo!
But seriously, check what the temperature is where you keep the medication. The medication should be perfectly fine at a temp around 85 degrees in the 28 days it takes to finish a pack of birth control pills. Now, if y’all are getting a 3 month supply so you are storing 2 packs for 3 whole months, that’s a different story, but 1 pack should be fine for a month in the mid 80’s.
The lower (closer to the floor) in the house the better. The side of the house opposite the south/sunny side the better. Down low in some rarely opened cabinet/whatever there would be the place most likely to not get too hot. If you throw some water jugs in there, that will help moderate the temp extremes.
FYI - there is a near 100% probability that that particular drug product has successfully passed a 3-month stability study at 40 degrees Celsius (104F) and 75% humidity, given as that is part of pre-clinical drug development criteria set by the FDA/TPD/other government regulatory agencies. There is also a near 100% probability that you could store that drug product at 5 degrees Celsius (fridge, 41F )/Ambient RH for up to 3 years, since that is also a common stability storage condition, and it would possibly have been tested alongside the 25C (77F) /60% RH condition, which is what your recommended storage is probably based upon.
So… for a month or two, keeping birth control pills in a dark cabinet (not recommended in the bathroom, actually, due to the spikes in humidity from showering) shouldn’t be a problem. If there is no cool area in the house, then storing them in the fridge should be fine.
The reason I’m not giving you absolutes is because I do not know this product, I have never worked on it, I cannot tell you how it fared during it’s stability studies, and I am neither a doctor nor pharmacist. This post is entirely based on my knowledge of drug products from 4 years of working in a drug development/QC lab, some of which were other forms of birth control.
I wouldn’t recommend an oven thermometer. The ones I’ve seen don’t start recording temperature until it hits around 150 F.
It’s most unlikely that a glass jar stored on the floor of the lowest closet or cabinet in your house spends much, if any, time at a temperature outside the specified range.
Did anyone else interpret the thread title as “no A/C is a good birth control method” – it’s too hot to have sex?
Nope. That’s what I was thinking, too.
I was thinking “birth control - no AC/DC”
It would be pretty effective no the rednecks around here…though no beer and/or country music would be even more effective.
Years ago, I kept them in my purse, which spent the warmest hours of the day with me, at my air-conditioned job. By the time I got home from work, the house was usually cooler than 80.
That’s what I thought because from personal experience, I’ve seen that happen… it’s not hot enough now… but I’m sure it will be/is somewhere else. yeah, that’s the story…