Has anyone used "expired" Scopolamine patches?

[Vagabond Knight]

Our cruises have been cancelled the last two years and my (very expensive!) Scopolamine patches expired Sept 2021, according to the box.  We're set to finally cruise again on March 25, 2022.  The patches would officially be out-of-date by six months.  Has anyone used Scopolamine patches that were that expired that far back and if so, were they still effective?  

[woldridge]

They will have lost some of their potency, but otherwise would be OK to use.  I doubt you would even notice a difference.

[CPT Trips]

Ask a pharmacist. They’re the professionals for this question.

[mom says]

Absolutely check with your pharmacist. Some drugs remain effective for quite some time after  the printed expiry date. Some lose effectiveness. But some can become toxic. So again - ask your pharmacist.

[Ashland]

I would never use these...too many side effects...they caused me to have blurred vision.

[Hlitner]

23 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I would never use these...too many side effects...they caused me to have blurred vision.

And than there is the amusing story (told to us by a HAL physician) of the older lady found wandering the corridors of his ship, very late one night, sans any clothes.  She was sleep walking and apparently also hallucinating which is one of the rare side effects of scopolamine.   All was fine once they took off her patch and she had a few hours to get most of the drug out of her system.  The story made very good dinner-talk.

 

Hank

[ldubs]

I would not want to use any medication, OTC or prescription, that is beyond the expire date.  Even with Internet forum feedback to the contrary, I wouldn't do it.   

[klfrodo]

28 minutes ago, ldubs said:

I would not want to use any medication, OTC or prescription, that is beyond the expire date.  Even with Internet forum feedback to the contrary, I wouldn't do it.   

Even if Joe Rogan said it was okay? 🤣

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

Even if Joe Rogan said it was okay? 🤣

 

Nope, not even!  I would question any medical professional that would say go ahead and use expired meds.  But I'm sure we have plenty of Google U grads who will say it is OK.  😀

[lissie]

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

I would never use these...too many side effects...they caused me to have blurred vision.

They are a game changer for me - I wouldn't have booked the cruises in my sig without them. Used them on a NZ cruise last year to the Southern Ocean.   I had them with me and the Dr on board handed them out to most of the other passengers (only 50 odd of us). Total game changer. 

 

OP - I'd use them. Expiry dates are very conservative. Particularly if you've had them at home stored in good conditions (not too hot/humid) - I think you're fine. The only possible side effect would be that they are less effective than normal 

[ldubs]

When the emergency room doc asks why you thought it was OK to take expired meds, tell her you read it on the internet.  

[evandbob]

I did a google search asking "do scopolamine expire?"  Answers from sources like webmd, drugs.com, nih.gov,  medicine.org/uk, etc. indicate they do.

 

Answers from cruise bloggers, average joe/jane, and other individuals say they do not.

 

Who to believe?  I'll go with the experts.

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

 OP - I'd use them. Expiry dates are very conservative. Particularly if you've had them at home stored in good conditions (not too hot/humid) - I think you're fine. The only possible side effect would be that they are less effective than normal 

Unless you are a pharmacist, I don't think that is good advice.  As others have said, while some medications just lose potency, others can become toxic.  Not being a pharmacist myself I would not be qualified to determine which category this medication falls under - and as indicated - unless you are a pharmacist, neither are you.

 

The best - and only advice I would follow - is to talk with a pharmacist, who is qualified to provide the correct advice.

Edited February 4, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[SPacificbound]

I would never use them, but if the OP has found them to be helpful for her, than taking them by her local pharmacy and speaking with a licensed pharmacist would be the safest thing to do. 

[sanger727]

I would use them. But I’m not a doctor or qualified to give medical advise. I imagine that any doctor or pharmacist would say to throw them out since advice to take a medication after expiration would create liability.

[lissie]

What they found from the study is 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date.

Drug Expiration Dates — Do They Mean Anything? - Harvard Health

[evandbob]

I would hate to use an expired patch that maybe offers limited relief and the seas get rough.......barf, ugh!

 

Too late.......

[Vagabond Knight]

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

 

I know. I originally wasn't going to respond because I have not actually used an expired patch.   In fact, I've never used one of those patches.  Sorry about that.  

 

But suppose an individual reading this forum has used an expired patch with no ill effects. I would wonder if that should convince me it is wise to do so.    

 

I guess that makes it 16+ -- with apologies.  😇

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

I guess no one who has read this post thus far has the direct experience with your question.  But I think the responses you've received, for the most part, are at their core sincere in wanting to provide you with legitimate perspectives regarding your question - myself included. 

 

My point is any stranger on a public forum can provide any information you may want to hear. However, their experience may not translate to yours. But a certain way to know is to contact one whose profession would provide a qualified answer.  I mean no criticism, and if I have fallen short of helping, I apologize. I hope you find your answer.

Edited February 4, 2022 by leaveitallbehind
correction

[sanger727]

5 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

i have never taken expired scolopomine patches. I have taken other expired meds. Especially with shortly expired meds (months), I haven’t noticed any difference. Which is why I would use the 6 month expired patches in your situation. 

[navybankerteacher]

5 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

It seems that no one has had the specific experience you asked about —- but that fact hardly negates the validity and value of the largely thoughtful comments posted.

 

What if there had been fifteen hundred responses, or fifteen thousand, with no specific answer to your question?    At some point the lack of a specific answer can be seen as a truly helpful response.

[mom says]

6 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

Wow, an amazing lack of pharmacists on Cruise Critic- the only ones (bar a pharmacy rep from the manufacturer)- actually qualified to answer your question. You posted this over 24 hours ago. If you had simply picked up the phone and  called your pharmacy, you would have had a trustworthy answer in 5 minutes.

[CPT Trips]

8 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Wow, 15+ responses and no one has answered the question I asked.

Wow! What a surprise. Now you know that to date no one that read your post has used Scopolamine that is six months past expiration. 

[Vagabond Knight]

6 hours ago, mom says said:

Wow, an amazing lack of pharmacists on Cruise Critic- the only ones (bar a pharmacy rep from the manufacturer)- actually qualified to answer your question. You posted this over 24 hours ago. If you had simply picked up the phone and  called your pharmacy, you would have had a trustworthy answer in 5 minutes.

 

That could be said for the majority of the questions on CC... "Call your cruise line and ask."  And yet, we still have CC forums.  Unfortunately, the pharmacies in our area rarely answer the phone these days as they're too tied up with regular prescription service, Covid shots, Covid tests and questions.  Last time I called to ask a question, I finally hung up after being on hold for 43 minutes.  Besides, in our litigious society I would be surprised to get anything other than the company line, which is why I asked for real world experience.  If there's no one on here with that experience, so be it... no need to reply.