Using spares

[[to...]]

hi,

sometimes I use spares from my prior months refills so as not to waste them, while also not taking too much.  I usually just use any prior months spares but wondering if it's ok to take any spares that are older than that? I have some spares that are 5 months old.

I get paranoid they aren't the right potency even though they are not expired.  It makes me anxious.   Are those too old to take?  It doesn't say it's expired.  I don't wanna take any that are expired.

I have hypochondria so can my body can sometimes tell me they aren't potent even though my BP and heart rate are fine.  If I take a non-potent pill I'd expect my BP and HR to go up from withdrawal

 

anyone ever have these worries? thx

Edited June 5 by [to...]

[[PE...]]

2 hours ago, [[t...] said:

hi,

sometimes I use spares from my prior months refills so as not to waste them, while also not taking too much.  I usually just use any prior months spares but wondering if it's ok to take any spares that are older than that? I have some spares that are 5 months old.

I get paranoid they aren't the right potency even though they are not expired.  It makes me anxious.   Are those too old to take?  It doesn't say it's expired.  I don't wanna take any that are expired.

I have hypochondria so can my body can sometimes tell me they aren't potent even though my BP and heart rate are fine.  If I take a non-potent pill I'd expect my BP and HR to go up from withdrawal

anyone ever have these worries? thx

Don't the box/can have a date for when it should be used?

I think benzos laying in some sort of package can be used for years..

[[Cr...]]

3 hours ago, [[t...] said:

have hypochondria so can my body can sometimes tell me they aren't potent even though my BP and heart rate are fine.  If I take a non-potent pill I'd expect my BP and HR to go up from withdrawal

Something like Xanax has a shelf-life of 2 to 3 years even though once bottled into a prescription bottle they usually give it a 1 year shelflife. That is usually out of extra caution.

Unless in liquid form, or exposed to extreme temperatures, benzo pills will remain relatively stable for quite awhile. Even when they reach the manufacturer expiration the potency drop may be very gradual over time.

If your pills are under 1 year old I would not worry (even 2 can be fine). From now on you should probably finish up your spares before using the new ones since this seems to cause you unnecessary worry. 

And like @[PE...] said, if the pills are still in a packaged form (where you have to pop them out) they are most likely going to have the stated potency up til the exp and perhaps well beyond.

Edited June 5 by [Cr...]

[[to...]]

1 hour ago, [[C...] said:

Something like Xanax has a shelf-life of 2 to 3 years even though once bottled into a prescription bottle they usually give it a 1 year shelflife. That is usually out of extra caution.

Unless in liquid form, or exposed to extreme temperatures, benzo pills will remain relatively stable for quite awhile. Even when they reach the manufacturer expiration the potency drop may be very gradual over time.

If your pills are under 1 year old I would not worry (even 2 can be fine). From now on you should probably finish up your spares before using the new ones since this seems to cause you unnecessary worry. 

And like @[PE...] said, if the pills are still in a packaged form (where you have to pop them out) they are most likely going to have the stated potency up til the exp and perhaps well beyond.

Thanks for the info.  I really would have no idea if they were duds until a few days after taking them is what worries me.  Because the effect of diazepam is so subtle.   I just need a good way to store spares I guess. 

I guess something that keeps humidity out.  I don't intend to hoard, but I do need to keep at least some spares around.

[[Cr...]]

8 minutes ago, [[t...] said:

guess something that keeps humidity out.  I don't intend to hoard, but I do need to keep at least some spares around.

Can't you just save a pill bottle from a previous script and use that for spares?

If you have let's say 10 spares when your new script arrives, put all those spares in the bottle you will be using and take 10 of the new pills out and out them in the spares bottle.

If you just keep throwing your leftover pills at the end of each script into one bottle without swapping they will all have different expiration dates.

[[to...]]

6 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Can't you just save a pill bottle from a previous script and use that for spares?

If you have let's say 10 spares when your new script arrives, put all those spares in the bottle you will be using and take 10 of the new pills out and out them in the spares bottle.

If you just keep throwing your leftover pills at the end of each script into one bottle without swapping they will all have different expiration dates.

I do but they don't seem to maintain their consistency for much longer than 20 days.   Then they start getting a bit soft.  I just store them in their pill container next to my bed.  Maybe because of humidity they get soft?  It gets as humid as a jungle in my state frequently. 

[Guest [Do...]]

7 hours ago, [[t...] said:

hi,

sometimes I use spares from my prior months refills so as not to waste them, while also not taking too much.  I usually just use any prior months spares but wondering if it's ok to take any spares that are older than that? I have some spares that are 5 months old.

I get paranoid they aren't the right potency even though they are not expired.  It makes me anxious.   Are those too old to take?  It doesn't say it's expired.  I don't wanna take any that are expired.

I have hypochondria so can my body can sometimes tell me they aren't potent even though my BP and heart rate are fine.  If I take a non-potent pill I'd expect my BP and HR to go up from withdrawal

anyone ever have these worries? thx

When i only took a benzo every few months due to panic atacks, i used to take pils that had been expired, out of date for many months or even years and i never had a problem. As long as they are well conserved they work just as fine. Expure date is what pharma brands use to keep on buying more pills even if you dont use them.

A non well conserved pill could chsnge colour, maybe from white to yellow or look wet or non solid. I wouldnt take one that looked like that.