How Best to Dispose of Unused Medication?

[mommylamb]

One of my colleagues just found out that her 20 something year old son got hooked on Oxycontin after an accident when he hurt his knee. DH and I were talking about it last night and he remembered that we had filled a prescription for Oxycontin for him last year when he had a hernia operation. He only took one or two pills, and then was fine with regular OTC pain medication, so he never finished the prescription and apparently it has been sitting in our medicine cabinet ever since. Not that I'm overly worried about it being there, but it's certainly something I don't really want to keep around. I'm reticent to flush it because I don't like having those sorts of things getting into the ground water and what not. This may be a stupid question, but what do you do with old prescriptions if you aren't going to finish them?

[kristenk]

Our community has a few household hazardous waste collection events throughout the year. There's also a place you can drop it off at other times during the year. They accept e-waste, paint, oil, herbicides, pesticides, cleaners, pharmaceuticals, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, and printer cartridges.

We just store up old/expired meds in a plastic bag and drop them off on the designated day.

[the2bobs]

throw it in the trash, do not flush down toilet or down the drain--unless you are going to dispose of as hazardous waste as mentioned by PP

[elektra]

Ok, maybe I'm a drug addict in waiting, but I purposely keep my old oxycodone prescription in my medicine cabinet in case I may really need it. For instance, I had some horrible back pain right before I was supposed to take a flight somewhere for work. I luckily was able to get into the doc and get some medicine but what if I wasn't able to?
I mean I know you shouldn't just take pain meds but I guess I do what I have to do to get by sometimes, especially when it comes to catching flights for work. I totally get that I could have been stranded in another country with a kidney stone or something but it was a risk I was willing to take at the time in order to not miss my meetings.
Anyway, rambling!

I remember when the tylenol recalls were happening, they said to just throw the old medicine into the trash. It was the best, safest thing to do. You are not supposed to flush it.

[Momof3Labs]

I keep them until they expire, then throw them in the trash still in their bottle. The recommendation is that you do NOT flush them or rinse it down the sink. Add something yucky to it to discourage anyone from helping themselves - like add kitty litter or sawdust to liquid meds and any gross liquid to pills (vinegar? I dunno), then cap them back up and throw in the trash.

[lisa928]

Any pharmacy should take it back. Obviously not for money back or to reuse, but to dispose of.

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

Please don't throw it in the trash...it will pollute the ground and water.
You can take any unused/expired medication (OTC or prescription) to almost any pharmacy and they'll properly dispose of it for you.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Call your county, they should be able to help steer in the right direction.

[mommylamb]

Sounds like the path of least resistance and guilt is the pharmacy. Thanks for the suggestions.

And, Electra, I don't think you're a addict in waiting for keeping it around :hug5: for those circumstances. We've been pretty lucky (knock on wood) in that neither of us has been in many situations where we've needed real pain meds, so in my head I feel like it will never happen, which probably isn't the most realistic thing.

[Mommy2Abby]

Good timing! Apparently September 25th is a nationwide drug take back day -- see the link below for a search engine for a location near you.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/

[HonoluluMom]

I asked a pharmacist neighbor about Tylenol with codeine and she said to crush the tablets, add water, wrap it in a paper towel and throw it in the trash.

[xmasbabycomin]

Definitely do not flush it. There are traces of hormones and all sorts of nasty stuff in our water from all the disposed meds. Ideally, you take it to one of the disposal sites. Most pharmacies won't take it now (I called 5), so that link is great, Mommy2Abby! I've had a big bottle of expired meds waiting for something like that! If you can't take it to a site, crush it with kitty litter or coffee grounds and a little water, seal it and put it in the trash.

[jvs195]

I had read to put them in coffee grounds in the trash, but now will try to see if I can get it together by the 25th. I also have syringes and fertility drugs that have long expired, can I bring those too?

[Ceepa]

I took some to the pharmacy. At first the pharmacist said it wasn't their policy to dispose of old medication until I showed him it was a controlled drug. He immediately agreed to take it for disposal.

[mommylamb]

Hmmm... how is it that I accidentally posted this in the bargains board. I meant to put it in the lounge... not sure how to move it. Oh well.

[elektra]

Hmmm... how is it that I accidentally posted this in the bargains board. I meant to put it in the lounge... not sure how to move it. Oh well.

Were you hoping someone would PM you, offering to take it off your hands for a bargain price? :rotflmao:
I didn't even notice that!

[vball4all]

Sounds like the path of least resistance and guilt is the pharmacy. Thanks for the suggestions.

And, Electra, I don't think you're a addict in waiting for keeping it around :hug5: for those circumstances. We've been pretty lucky (knock on wood) in that neither of us has been in many situations where we've needed real pain meds, so in my head I feel like it will never happen, which probably isn't the most realistic thing.

Electra, although you may have enough self control, others may not...or (more than likely), they have teenagers who mis-use it. My BFF has a 19 year old step son who is severely addicted to Oxytocin (sp?) - its really scary.

Kudos to those who clear their cabinets or lock them in safes!

[mommylamb]

Were you hoping someone would PM you, offering to take it off your hands for a bargain price? :rotflmao:
I didn't even notice that!

:hysterical:

[MaiseyDog]

Please don't throw it in the trash...it will pollute the ground and water.
You can take any unused/expired medication (OTC or prescription) to almost any pharmacy and they'll properly dispose of it for you.

This depends on your state. My state does not allow the pharmacy to accept back any medication that has left the building. Also, the pharmacy doesn't have any special way to dispose of medications. They throw them away. Here is the information we give our patients and the guidelines we follow when dealing with disposal of medication.

http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/prescrip_disposal.pdf

Also, here is the list of medications that the FDA recommends to flush

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm#MEDICINES

[Olivia1094]

Good timing! Apparently September 25th is a nationwide drug take back day -- see the link below for a search engine for a location near you.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/


Thank you so much for the link! My friend is a pharmacist and I asked her about this a while back. She said pharmacies here (US) do not take back drugs for disposal (usually). Where she is from (Holland) they do and she was surprised that we don't. It's bad to flush them for sure. Yeah! Now I can clean out my medicine cabinet properly.


OP-Glad you posted on here as I hardly check the lounge. LOL though at "advertising."

[mommylamb]

T

Also, here is the list of medications that the FDA recommends to flush

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm#MEDICINES

Wow, I'm so shocked that Oxycontin is on the flush-able list!

[azmaple]

I'm another who hates just throwing stuff away if someone could (appropriately) use it. I donate my unused (expired or not) meds in their original bottles to Project Cure, including fertility meds, syringes, and needels. I've done volunteer work for them a couple times sorting medical supply donations and they're also in need of medications that they ship to developing countries.

I'm in AZ and they have a few facilities elsewhere also. If you're inclined to donate to them or a similar organization they did need me to have them delivered to their office (my mom brought them in for me) rather than allowing their volunteer or other drivers to have any responsibility or access to them. I also gave them surgical boots from my foot surgeries, and a bunch of other things as I was cleaning house. I gave a couple nebulizers to another group I work with who works with families in temporary housing.

http://www.projectcure.org/

[kijip]

Any pharmacy should take it back. Obviously not for money back or to reuse, but to dispose of.

Not really. Very few pharmacy around here have disposal programs. We only found a couple when we had a mass of pills to get rid of after my mom died- cancer drugs, heavy duty pain meds, chantix and her epilepsy meds. My husband's pharmacy does not have a disposal program.