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What do you do with unused prescriptions?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 12/1/2009 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
I refilled my prescriptions for Entocort and asacol in January, I did it by mail so I wouldn't run out in the process of changing insurance companies and Dr.s. I then stopped taking both of these medications because they weren't doing a darn thing for me anyway. I was able to give all of the Asacol to my brother and sister who both take it but neither of them take entocort.
I now have a bottle of 180 entocort pills that I don't think I took any of. My new Dr. has me on prednisone and said the entocort wasn't working for me I was on it off and on for the better part of 10 months) because it doesn't work as well in the colon where the worst part of my disease is right now. The bottle says they don't expire till 2011. Should I just hang on to them and see if I ever need them? I don't want to flush them or throw them in the garbage because I don't know what that amount would mean to the environment. They are in a regular amber prescription bottle not the sealed maufacturer bottle so I know they are not returnable, will a pharmacy collect them and dispose of them?
Posted 12/1/2009 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
Keep them! I keep my old meds just in case... :-) usually throw them out when they expire.
Posted 12/1/2009 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
I keep mine too. But, I have teenagers around....so am REALLY careful about where I keep them. When they expire...I get rid of them!
Posted 12/1/2009 6:36 PM (GMT 0)
  Hello skof!...if I think I may need them someday...I vaccum pack them with the food saver we have and keep them in a locked safe here at the house. If you truly are not going to use them any longer...I'm a guessing you can have a pharmacy despose of them for you, but make sure you get a reciept for them.
Posted 12/1/2009 9:32 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, please use a pharmacy to dispose of the drugs. Flushing them or putting them into the landfill is just creating a toxic waste problem.
Posted 12/2/2009 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, I guess I will hang on to them for a while and maybe ask the pharmacy the next time I fill my prescription if they will take them or what I should do with them.
Posted 12/2/2009 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
Give them to me ;) I just had to get some and no ins. . . expensive.
Posted 12/2/2009 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
I keep everything just incase, ESPECIALLY prednisone, I have bottles and bottles of prednisone in my house.  I also just recently was in need of Levbid and thankfully found some in my "drug cub" as I call it haha.  You never know what you might need, and saving bottles has help me avoid annoying trips to the doctor to get prescriptions written.

Just make sure they aren't too old, drugs just like food have expiration dates.

Posted 12/2/2009 1:39 AM (GMT 0)
I keep everything, but if it's a matter of disposing of medicine then I have to second what Keeper said. Throwing them in the trash or the latrine is environmentally irresponsible.

Having the medicine around just in case does come in handy though. There may be times that I have leftover painkillers, and they help with obstructions or other unbearable days. I have a whole container of asacol left...you never know.
Posted 12/2/2009 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
This is actually funny because I was reading online earlier about what to do with disposing of medicine.  According to the article, you should mix them with something like coffee grounds to make them unpleasent and throw them out with your garbage.  For narcotics you should flush them.

Now if you just don't want to waste the medicine, of course that is another story.  Just remember they do have a shelf life so you may save them for a couple of years but if you use them again, they might not work.

Posted 12/3/2009 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
My town has a perscription dropoff at the police station. They safely dispose of it for you.
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