Posted: 8/20/2011 12:12:45 PM EDT
| I usually never finish any pain meds and I was wondering if vacuum sealing them would extend their useful life. |
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In the interest of harm/risk reduction, let me give you some info.
First of all, you need to understand that, although some meds just lose their potency over time, there are instances where the ongoing chemical reactions actually create toxic products. I believe this was the case with certain antibiotics about a decade ago, and it wasn't the actual drug itself that became toxic but the "inert" fillers used to make the pills. In any event, the older a medication is, the more unpredictable the results of use will be, ranging from ineffective to poisonous. I'd strongly suggest googling up research studies on individual medications to see if credible information is available on true shelf-life and results of time. Also tuck it away in your mind that only the name brand original medications undergo the most rigorous FDA testing procedures. Generics might be chemically identical in terms of the drug part, yet use different fillers which may have different long-term reactions/effects. To simplify chemistry, most things undergo chemical reactions constantly, even dry pills. Certain things like light, heat, moisture, and oxygen speed up these reactions. So in order to slow down these reactions as much as possible to extend usable life, you'd want to eliminate these factors to the greatest degree possible. Something that is moisture proof, removes oxygen (vacuum sealing isn't a bad idea) and blocks light that could be put in a deep freeze is about the best you can do at home. You also need to be aware that their could be legal consequences of having medications not in their original packaging or past their expiration date |
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In the interest of harm/risk reduction, let me give you some info. First of all, you need to understand that, although some meds just lose their potency over time, there are instances where the ongoing chemical reactions actually create toxic products. I believe this was the case with certain antibiotics about a decade ago, and it wasn't the actual drug itself that became toxic but the "inert" fillers used to make the pills. In any event, the older a medication is, the more unpredictable the results of use will be, ranging from ineffective to poisonous. I'd strongly suggest googling up research studies on individual medications to see if credible information is available on true shelf-life and results of time. Also tuck it away in your mind that only the name brand original medications undergo the most rigorous FDA testing procedures. Generics might be chemically identical in terms of the drug part, yet use different fillers which may have different long-term reactions/effects. To simplify chemistry, most things undergo chemical reactions constantly, even dry pills. Certain things like light, heat, moisture, and oxygen speed up these reactions. So in order to slow down these reactions as much as possible to extend usable life, you'd want to eliminate these factors to the greatest degree possible. Something that is moisture proof, removes oxygen (vacuum sealing isn't a bad idea) and blocks light that could be put in a deep freeze is about the best you can do at home. You also need to be aware that their could be legal consequences of having medications not in their original packaging or past their expiration date I'm skeptical of the first story. If it happened it was some new drug- the FDA wouldn't allow a drug to stay on the market like that unless the drug benefits really outweigh the risks and the risks are well documented. I suspect you heard the story about an older from of tetracycline which was discontinued because there were some unproven claims linking it to kidney failure. Stability testing is the same for pantented and generic drugs, actual effectiveness is not. It''s well know stability is affected by things as minor as coating of the pill. As to the recomendations for storage, they are spot on. The most important thing to remember is temperatue. Droping the temp about 10 deg C will cut the reaction rate of most reactions by half. As long as the drug is allready solid, cold is your friend. Vacuuming packing might help but removing oxygen is better (o2 absorbers.) |
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If it happened it was some new drug- the FDA wouldn't allow a drug to stay on the market like that unless the drug benefits really outweigh the risks and the risks are well documented. I suspect you heard the story about an older from of tetracycline which was discontinued because there were some unproven claims linking it to kidney failure. My copy of The PILL Book is only a year old and it recommends tossing out any Tetracycline that is a year or more old. I am sure that it is to cover their a**es on the older stuff, but I really put stock in that book. I highly recommend it to anyone that wishes to know the properties and dosages of many hundreds of medications. You can get it at Walmart or Amazon.com for about $8 - $10. The MULE |
| In most states it is a felony to have any narcotic type pain meds out of the original pharmacy container. Just something to consider. That's not to say that you couldn't just vac pack the whole pill jar though. With prescription pain drug trade taking over other illegal drugs of choice it is a violation very much looked for by law enforcement. |
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In most states it is a felony to have any narcotic type pain meds out of the original pharmacy container. Just something to consider. That's not to say that you couldn't just vac pack the whole pill jar though. With prescription pain drug trade taking over other illegal drugs of choice it is a violation very much looked for by law enforcement. +1 Same also applies for not having a valid prescription. |
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In most states it is a felony to have any narcotic type pain meds out of the original pharmacy container. Just something to consider. That's not to say that you couldn't just vac pack the whole pill jar though. With prescription pain drug trade taking over other illegal drugs of choice it is a violation very much looked for by law enforcement. You are aware that many doctors, nurses, and LSWs recommend the elderly transfer their prescription to "day boxes" where each day's (or morning vs afternoon) meds are in a separate compartment to reduce both the risk of over and under dosing. I know at least one 30 something nurse that does it also, and recomended it for anyone who doesn;t get enough sleep, is forgetful, or works alternating shifts. As an EMT, I can't remember how many cases we went to that involved double dosing by parients over 30 years olf. Pt wakes up in the middle of the night in pain, and takes vicodin. 2 hrs later, patient wakes up, it's morning, and takes vicodin again 1 hr later SO calls EMS becasue spouse can't get out of bed. We actually gave away the pill boxes to the elderly to reduce this. When my SO was in med school she was told to push these, and her hospital gave them out also. I guess you could charge one of the top med schools in the SE with conspiricy, and seize their endowments under RICO. I assume my old VFD was safe due to a lack of assets :-). |
| I have vacuum packed old pain meds for several years as well as other prescribed meds., opened them up and used them and the medications worked as expected. I take the extra precaution to vacuum pack the original prescription label along with the medication to cover my ass from the legal implications and to know what the packaging contains. I expected that there will be slight degradation, but I did not notice any difference. |
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keeping them cool would likely help far more. Yep. Many of the processes by which drugs degrade are chemical reactions - and the speed of many chemical reactions is very temperature-dependent. Low storage temperature = slower chemical reactions = longer usable shelf life. |
heres what im saving mine in. A little talk with my locla pharmasist got the meds dropped into the bottle at the counter, and the label applied to the outside.
Tube Vault |
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In most states it is a felony to have any narcotic type pain meds out of the original pharmacy container. Just something to consider. That's not to say that you couldn't just vac pack the whole pill jar though. With prescription pain drug trade taking over other illegal drugs of choice it is a violation very much looked for by law enforcement. You are aware that many doctors, nurses, and LSWs recommend the elderly transfer their prescription to "day boxes" where each day's (or morning vs afternoon) meds are in a separate compartment to reduce both the risk of over and under dosing. I know at least one 30 something nurse that does it also, and recomended it for anyone who doesn;t get enough sleep, is forgetful, or works alternating shifts. As an EMT, I can't remember how many cases we went to that involved double dosing by parients over 30 years olf. Pt wakes up in the middle of the night in pain, and takes vicodin. 2 hrs later, patient wakes up, it's morning, and takes vicodin again 1 hr later SO calls EMS becasue spouse can't get out of bed. We actually gave away the pill boxes to the elderly to reduce this. When my SO was in med school she was told to push these, and her hospital gave them out also. I guess you could charge one of the top med schools in the SE with conspiricy, and seize their endowments under RICO. I assume my old VFD was safe due to a lack of assets :-). I know. Isn't that wild. Shame it is illegal. Yes, people do that. Yes it is common. Still doesn't change anything. I don't like breaking the law and giving power to other people. I would prefer to avoid breaking the law and let the law rot. If the laws were based on common sense, there would be no issue with having an MP5 as a home protection weapon or a 10.5" M4 suppressed in such a role , either unregistered. That is completely reasonable... but not legal. |
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you can look it up or ask a pharmacist but I was told by a doctor and a Pharmacist that all drugs sold in the united states only lose potency, they do not turn toxic by FDA law. part of the FDA approval process. That's the theory. Something could always slip through, and it not like they do a lot of testing with 15 yo tablets. But it would be hard not to believe this is the case with common generics, where something should have been noticed by now. Some exotic new drug, or some even new formulation (such as time released) might have more problems. It is clear that injections will eventually loose packaging integrity, and thus become nonsterile. |