Left over meds

Does anyone else have a pharmacy in their medicine cabinet from meds that didn't work or stopped working?

Yes!
We have a program here where we can take extra meds to the State Police station and leave them, no questions asked. I clear out the extras periodically.


WC

I still have meds from 6 years ago. Just haven't gotten rid of them safely yet, should probably do that.

I have tons ! I tend to keep mine, hubby locks them up for me.. I often need to take an old prescribed AP or whatnot for a few days if I just have not slept at all.. Pdoc has no problem with me doing so. Plus honestly i think of all the money I had to pay for the shyt lol

My Pharmacy has a med drop off to dispose of them correctly if need be

I tend to dispose of any medicine that didn't work/I no longer take soon after the fact. I guess it isn't a bad idea to keep some in case of emergencies.

Yes, especially Xanax and pain pills (both of which I expect doctors to quit prescribing altogether). And also sometimes I do add, say,Cogentin for a short time. I bought 100 packets of silica gel for a few dollars from Amazon. Added to the bottle it keeps them dry which helps with crumbling. Also be sure to store them in a dark dry place--not your medicine cabinet.

My mom has a safe of a bunch of meds I may need again in the future locked up somewhere. A few months ago we dropped off the ones I definitely wont need at the drop box at my towns police station.

Yes I have , One or two may need again. I do feel bad getting them and only using a few knowing that people out there need them and cant afford them.
I think they need to start like a starter script, pay half of co-pay or out of pocket. To give us time to see if they work.
When my son was born very preemie, when we brought him home he went through a lot of meds. Sometimes changes made in one day, we couldn't afford it. We had insurance but still cost more than we could afford.

I keep mine till they expire or if the dr. tells me to get rid of it. I know I shouldn't but I just trash them.

I keep my extras (the ones I use) in case of a natural disaster, I trust myself to make wise decisions with them. Others, I don't need I usually throw out... oops

During this last bout of depression my therapist made me bring her all my old meds as I was too suicidal to be trusted with them. I kept the emsam patches (since I really can’t easily OD on those) and the trazodone for sleep even though that’s the one she really wanted me to bring in. But I hate not being able to sleep. The rest of it I don’t care about and I’m glad it’s gone.

It's been quite some time since I've changed my meds. But when I was changing them regularly (until I found the right cocktail) I would keep them until they expired then tossed them. I know I really should have disposed of them properly, but I didn't.

I have a ton of old meds still. I hang on to them because they're expensive and I haven't been on my current meds long enough to know if this the THE combination. My husband has all my meds locked up in a safe and only gives me a week supply at a time, so the temptation isn't there.

I have a veritable pharmacy in my closet and under my bed. An old psychiatrist used to change meds with me on a very regular basis, and I still have a slew of old (probably expired) stuff. Boxes of it.

Right now I have a number of medications in the safe that I no longer take. Some (like Lithium) I will definitely not take anymore because I developed kidney damage. Really, they should definitely be gotten rid of. Others I'll surely never take again. I just have them because I haven't gotten around to gathering them and taking them to the police station. And not my closest police station for my township (they don't take them), but the county police station. There the disposal is free. I could buy envelopes, which are tiny, from the pharmacy and send them to a disposal site, but the cost adds up, and why would I want to pay money to dispose of them? The stupid envelopes barely hold two small pill bottles. I've got almost a dozen, some large, that could be gotten rid of.

Once my husband and I did go to the country police station. Then I had loads of old medications. The ones I mention above are just ones that have accumulated since.

I do keep old dosages of Seroquel XR and regular Seroquel because my dose of Seroquel XR sometimes changes, so it's good to have various pill dosages around. The regular Seroquel I sometimes use as "prns" when mania is coming on. Pdoc will have me take those during the day, which I usually only take Seroquel XR at night.

Right now I have a few medications in the safe that I no longer take. Some (like Lithium) I will definitely not take anymore because I developed kidney damage. Really, they should definitely be gotten rid of. Basically they sit in there just for no good. Others I doubt I'll take again. I just have them because I haven't gotten around to gathering them and taking them to the police station. And not my closest police station for my township (they don't take them), but the county police station. There the disposal is free. I could buy envelopes, which are tiny, from the pharmacy and send them to a proper disposal site, but the cost of the envelopes adds up, and why would I want to pay money to dispose of them? The stupid envelopes barely hold two small pill bottles. Some of mine are quite large since I used to get 90 day supplies.

Once my husband and I did go to the country police station. Then I had loads of old medications from even further in the past. The ones I mention above are just ones that have accumulated since.

I do keep old dosages of Seroquel XR and regular Seroquel because my dose of Seroquel XR sometimes changes, so it's good to have various pill dosages around. The regular Seroquel I sometimes use as "prns" when mania is coming on. Pdoc will have me take those during the day, which I usually only take Seroquel XR at night.

My husband bought the safe at one point when I was very unwell. Back then he'd lock the safe (me not knowing the combination), and only open it once per week for me to fill my pill boxes. But that was a long time ago. I still don't know the combination, but he keeps it unlocked.

I was told by a pharmacy tech that as long as the med is not controlled that I can put it in the trash. If need be I could mix them with leftover coffee grounds so they wouldn't be usable.

My husband has a safe with old meds in it. If anything happened I would at least have something.

Oh, and for those of us who hoard them, drugs last well beyond their "expiration date". At least all the drugs I take--probably not insulin or epinephrine shots. When drugs do get too old all they do is lose their effectiveness.

It's not just about people getting controlled substances.

The meds end up in the water supply.

I have tons....even a lot that go way past expiration date. I have old lower dose Seroquel pills that are a few years old that I will use every now and then, when I don't want to take a full dose, but I shouldn't. However, it is not uncommon for my pdoc to adjust my Seroquel up and down quite frequently, according to my symptoms, so I guess it isn't so terrible to hold on to it.

I do have a lot of other pills that I don't use anymore. For instance, Lamictal XR, which I won't need ever again. Also, meds for my health are laying around. I even found a whole z-pac of antibiotics and didn't feel like going to the doctor, but knew I had a sinus infection, so I just took it. It worked. I know I shouldn't be doing that though. There is some kind of medicine drop off that I should do, but it's been far from my mind. I've just been so preoccupied.

Yeah, I have tons, mostly failed antidepressants, and some failed anxiety meds. Lol... every antidepressant I ever tried failed me. Happy that I have FINALLY found meds that work

My pharmacy took all my left over meds when they blister packed my normal meds.

I keep the medications that we might circle back around to in case of a needed medication change. You never know when you try combination after combination.