Shelf life of Budesonide

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terre
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Shelf life of Budesonide

Post by terre »

I'm probably going to start Budesonide....the cholestyramine just isn't working. The good thing is that it slowed the urgency to the point that I felt comfortable when out and about, but D was water and grit (every so often mush).

I have Rosacea and if you have it, you're aware of the broken veins in your face. Today, I went for a laser treatment (which I have done many times) and was asked what I was doing differently? As in products, meds, etc. I told her I had been taking a new med and as we discussed further, I remembered it could cause a deficiency in the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K....when I got to K she immediately said "that's what it is" she couldn't get the veins to blanch and she had already pointed out some spots on my face and neck and after our discussion, she attributed those to possible K deficiency. So, that along with the fact it wasn't actually helping the D has led me to the decision to stop.

Now my question about Budesonide....does anyone know the shelf life? The one site I could find said 3 years. My SIL also has MC and she gave me some older prescriptions of Budesonide that she never used - she can get a script for $10 and just doses herself (eats whatever she wants). She lives approx. 5 hours away from me, but the last time I saw her, she gave me capsules that were filled 4/29/2014 (1/2 bottle) and 1/15/2015.

Do you think those are safe to take? If so, I'll take those before I begin my prescription. I would normally avoid taking another persons meds, but since we have both been diagnosed with MC and the capsules are identical to mine....I would take them if they haven't expired.

Also, I know to start 9MG in the morning, but does it matter what time in the morning? I read where Cortisol levels are highest around 7am.....any thoughts?

Thanks so much,
Terre
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tex
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Post by tex »

Terre,

Expiration dates on most pharmaceutical products are simply there to coerce unknowing patients into throwing away expensive "outdated" products so that they have to buy new ones (more profit for Big Pharma). Of course there is some merit to cleaning out the medicine cabinet or desk drawers occasionally in order to prevent someone from taking the wrong meds by mistake, and to keep certain drugs out of the hands of kids or anyone else who shouldn't have access to them.

If you look at the label on your pill bottles when you receive them from your pharmacy you will notice that every one of them expires in exactly 1 year (at least that's been my experience). Doesn't that seem kind of odd that they would all deteriorate at the same rapid rate? The truth is, in most cases, the drugs may remain effective for decades. Yes, they slowly lose some potency, but that doesn't make them unsafe to use. A few years ago the government did a study coordinated with the FDA to determine whether their stockpile of medications accumulated for the purpose of treating military personnel actually needed to be updated or whether they could save a lot of money by continuing to use them when needed.

Drug Expiration Dates — Do They Mean Anything?

If the storage conditions were good, I wouldn't hesitate to use a drug over 20 years old, if I needed it.

The timing for taking budesonide is not critical. Anywhere around breakfast time should work OK.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
terre
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Post by terre »

I am so thankful you posted tonight, as I am planning to begin tomorrow. I thought the meds might be okay, but just needed to hear it. Oh, how I hope this works!

Thank you Tex.

Terre
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Post by tex »

You're very welcome, and I hope the treatment works well for you.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by BearcatRx »

The law states that the expiration date be one year from dispensing date. This does not mean that is the actual drug expiration. The only true way to know this is to look at the exact stock bottle it came from. Most times, it's several years. In any case, just because a drug has gone past its "expiration date" does not mean it's bad. Drugs to not spoil in the same way food does. The expiration date only means that a drug is at 100% purity at that date. After that, it begins to lose its potency. There have been instances where drugs were somewhere in the ballpark of 8-9 years past the expiration date and it still worked.
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terre
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Post by terre »

BearcatRx.....thank you for posting and giving additional info on the shelf life of drugs. I began the med this morning and am going to take the older scripts first.

Thanks again,
Terre
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Post by tex »

Bearcat,

Thank you for sharing your insight. We live in a convoluted world these days where contrary to the vision of the "Founding Fathers" of this country, most laws seem to be passed for political reasons rather than for logical reasons. But nevertheless, they are still valid ( :roll: ) laws. It's the price we pay for allowing politicians to run the country. :lol:

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by BearcatRx »

Terre,

I'm a pharmacist and I take "expired" medications. I even have about 270 entocort under my sink that may eventually get used. Seems an awful waste of money to just throw it away.... an awful waste of about $3000 worth.
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terre
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Post by terre »

Shoot! Cincinnati is too far for me come by your house to "borrow" some Entocort. :lol: I feel very comfortable taking them after visiting with you and Tex.

Terre
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Post by WWWB »

My cousin sent me her Entocort once she went into remission and I put it in the drawer and forgot about it. When I had a flare up, over a year later, I took it and it worked just fine. I am not a believer in expiration dates.

I read a similar thing about cortisol levels but it did not say at 7 a.m. it said within 30 minutes of waking up. I did another search but cannot find the reference.

Good luck!

Weezie
terre
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Post by terre »

Thanks for you input Weezie....go to know the Entocort worked for you. Hoping it works for me!

Terre
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