Has anyone used "expired" Scopolamine patches?

[Toofarfromthesea]

7 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.

 

I think you might get a different answer if you ask a pharmacist in the course of their employment, where they pretty much have to give the party line, or if you ask a pharmacist informally.  I used to have an acquaintance who had dual PhDs in pharmacology and virology, and worked for the CDC. 

 

I asked her a similar question a few years back about my collection of leftover pain pills from various operations, wisdom teeth extraction, etc.  She told me that they were required to have an expiration date but that studies showed they retained their potency and safety for a long long time after the expiration date.  Hence I kept them - just in case I might need them and be unable to get them in our current anti-opioid craze.

 

I don't know if she would have given me the same answer for scopolamine, so don't make that logical leap.  But my across the street neighbor is a retired PhD pharmacist (are all pharmacists PhDs?) who worked in a teaching hospital, and if I remember I'll ask her when I see her.

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, Vagabond Knight said:

 

....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.

So some anonymous poster with a fictitious screenname who is a complete stranger to you may respond with their supposed real world experience and you will accept that as gospel as it would certainly mirror the results you will have.  But anybody else who may offer a rational suggestion to seek a valid recommendation from a professional who, company line or not, might have some true insight to provide an answer to your question need not reply?  Well in that case sorry I responded - again.  Only trying to help.  Hope you find the answer you want.

 

BTW - no need to reply....

[Elaine5715]

18 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

 

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.

You needed both a script and a source for your patches. You should be asking one of them.  You can also walk into a local pharmacy and ask.  

As far as unhelpful answers, well, I would not use an expired scopolamine patch or unexpired   scopolamine patch because I am allergic to scopolamine (found out on my second cruise) so my personal experience is completely irrelevant. 

[CPT Trips]

Pharmacists hold PharmD degrees and a (smallish) subset go on to get a PhD.

Pharmacologists are not Pharmacists, although it is possible to take coursework, do research, and earn a  PhD after earning a PharmD.

Not all PharmD, PhDs are pharmacologists. 

I am neither a pharmacist nor a pharmacologist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express. However I did pay a boatload of tuition to a Pharmacy School for someone else’s PharmD.

 

[navybankerteacher]

22 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

 

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.

I guess you do not realize where you are.  You are on a website populated by a lot of anonymous people who, on straight numerical odds, cannot be assumed to be any better informed than the average man on the street.

 

There are also a number of people on Cruise Critic who seem to believe that they always come out ahead at shipboard casinos.  There are also a lot of folks who claimed that COVID was no more serious than the flu — and many others who are dead set against vaccines generally.

 

Are you sure this is the kind of place where you want to get the answer to the kind of question you are asking?

 

I realize that the above is not the sort of “answer” you will readily accept — but just as I would, uninvited, tell someone that their ass was on fire, I am also bound by a moderately decent upbringing to suggest that you rethink your approach to your question.

[Heidi13]

On 2/4/2022 at 7:17 AM, Vagabond Knight said:

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

 

Since nobody answered your question, my assumption is not many Pharmacists are currently posting on CC, as that is the only response I would consider.

 

My wife uses them, but as a retired RN, she would not use an expired medication, especially 6-months out of date, unless she discussed it with a Pharmacist.

[sdschwrt]

  I think people must understand that an expiration date is in most cases an arbitrarily derived date which has little or no experimental evidence to justify it. To truly determine the shelf life of a medication would require a clinical trial which would be very expensive, ethically unjustified since it would require administering a medication to a sick patient which could be inactive or possibly toxic, would need to extend over a significant time period.   Chemical tests of decomposition would also be expensive and again, be of little benefit.  Most prescription medication is consumed within the time span the prescription was written for and knowing it will be good a few years latter will not benefit almost all of the people who have purchased the drug.

   Many may question the validity of my statements as they have those of others but let me provide some examples demonstrating the truth of what I say.  The first is the "use by dates" we see on most packaged foods.  The most  glaring absurdity of these dates is the date on my shaker of Himalayan Crystal Salt.  According to the label, the "salt is hand-mined deep inside the pristine Himalayan Mountains.  The salt while being locked within the earth...over millions of years..." was finally placed in the bottle I purchased.  The use by date is 3/3/2020.  It is now two years past the expiration date.  Should I really believe it is unusable two years after the expiration date when it remained usable over millions of years sitting in a cave in the Himalayas?  How many will throw the bottle away because the salt is expired?

  Now more on point for medication expiration dates and the veracity of what I will say can easily be verified in your own home.  For 11 prescriptions filled in a pharmacy for a variety of chemically different compounds, the pharmacist assigned discard by date, expiration date, is one year after the date the prescription was filled regardless of the chemical properties of the medication.  Three of the prescriptions were provided in the manufacturers bottle with the pharmacy placing their label with expiration date over the manufacturers label.  By peeling back the pharmacy label, the manufacturers expiration dates were 2/2023, 07/2024, 09/2023.  Who do we believe, the pharmacist who filled the prescription and covered the manufacturer label or the manufacturer who indicates  a year more of utility.

   The point I am making is the exact time a food or drug can be consumed without loss of effectiveness or  toxicity is at best a guesstimate rather than a scientifically determined fact.  It provides guidance which we as consumers must  use to determine if we are comfortable using the product.  If I were the OP, I would have little hesitancy in using the patches but in full disclosure, my adult children are hesitant to eat in my house.  I am willing to consume items that are two to three years past their use by date assuming the cans are not damaged or the products did not become unwrapped in the freezer but they falsely believe that I will poison myself by failing to adhere to an expiration date..

[sanger727]

On 2/5/2022 at 6:36 PM, CPT Trips said:

Pharmacists hold PharmD degrees and a (smallish) subset go on to get a PhD.

Pharmacologists are not Pharmacists, although it is possible to take coursework, do research, and earn a  PhD after earning a PharmD.

Not all PharmD, PhDs are pharmacologists. 

I am neither a pharmacist nor a pharmacologist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express. However I did pay a boatload of tuition to a Pharmacy School for someone else’s PharmD.

 

did anyone on this thread reference pharmacologist or did you just feel the need to brag on your kids?

[Toofarfromthesea]

19 hours ago, sanger727 said:

did anyone on this thread reference pharmacologist or did you just feel the need to brag on your kids?

 

To be fair, I mentioned a friend who had a PhD in pharmacology.

 

Although, since I have 2 great very accomplished and successful adult kids I'm not irritated when someone mentions their great kids and their accomplishments.

[BruceMuzz]

You might be surprised to learn that cruise lines do no recommend scopolamine patches to anyone.

If you wonder why - they cause far too many side effects for too many people..

Scopolamine is a poison,

[lissie]

14 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

You might be surprised to learn that cruise lines do no recommend scopolamine patches to anyone.

If you wonder why - they cause far too many side effects for too many people..

Scopolamine is a poison,

I don't care what it does to others  - for me, and presumably the OP, they are a total game changer. I would not have cruised again without them. 

 

Its also used   for post-operative nausea. Almost every drug, natural or otherwise is a poison if you take too much 

Edited February 8, 2022 by lissie

[leaveitallbehind]

3 hours ago, lissie said:

I don't care what it does to others  - for me, and presumably the OP, they are a total game changer. I would not have cruised again without them. 

 

Its also used   for post-operative nausea. Almost every drug, natural or otherwise is a poison if you take too much 

Which is fine, and I don't think anyone is questioning its prescribed use or anyone's choice in using it.

 

The question raised by the OP was if anyone has used it past its expiration date, and if so what affect it had on them.  To which nobody on this thread thus far - including you - has answered,

[CPT Trips]

On 2/6/2022 at 8:21 PM, sanger727 said:

did anyone on this thread reference pharmacologist or did you just feel the need to brag on your kids?

On 2/7/2022 at 3:25 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

To be fair, I mentioned a friend who had a PhD in pharmacology.

 

Although, since I have 2 great very accomplished and successful adult kids I'm not irritated when someone mentions their great kids and their accomplishments.

[2wheelin]

I have never used the patches but have used Bonine the first day or two of every cruise and if rough seas. I have used them way past the expiration date (year) and they still worked the same. I do not hesitate to use any drugs I use past the expiration and never had problems. Same with many foods. This is my experience so no need to refute or criticize. 

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, 2wheelin said:

I have never used the patches but have used Bonine the first day or two of every cruise and if rough seas. I have used them way past the expiration date (year) and they still worked the same. I do not hesitate to use any drugs I use past the expiration and never had problems. Same with many foods. This is my experience so no need to refute or criticize. 

Well I think you should at least get half credit for attempting to provide an answer to the question, but IMO miss on full credit as the product referenced is not the same as that raised by the OP....LOL. 😉

Edited February 9, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[2wheelin]

7 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Well I think you should at least get half credit for attempting to provide an answer to the question, but IMO miss on full credit as the product referenced is not the same as that raised by the OP....LOL. 😉

Half credit is better than no credit.  And I know the difference—that’s why I stated both.Lol

[ngrund]

OP, I wouldn't take the chance on using the expired patches.  If not effective, vacation ruined by motion sickness, if actually harmful to you even worse.

 

Yes, the name brand is expensive (and not covered by my insurance) and for a while the generics were not available, but at least here in NY the generics are back on pharmacy shelves.

 

My insurance covers the generics and my co-pay was only $5, you may want to look into that possibility.

 

Either way good luck and happy cruising!

 

[leaveitallbehind]

11 hours ago, ngrund said:

OP, I wouldn't take the chance on using the expired patches.  If not effective, vacation ruined by motion sickness, if actually harmful to you even worse.

 

Yes, the name brand is expensive (and not covered by my insurance) and for a while the generics were not available, but at least here in NY the generics are back on pharmacy shelves.

 

My insurance covers the generics and my co-pay was only $5, you may want to look into that possibility.

 

Either way good luck and happy cruising!

 

Just and observation - the OP has not commented on their thread for 8 days.  And when they did it essentially was let us know that no one has answered their question.  And to be fair, no one yet has.  All of the answers have focused on advice regarding what they should or should not do regarding the expired medications.  What the OP is looking for is someone who actually has experience with taking the said medication after it has expired and with what effect to them.

 

The fact that no one has answered in that manner is, as pointed out by others, rather telling in of itself. I don't think they really care about sound advice or answers that don't support their position with this.  More to the point, IMO, I think the OP is really looking for someone who can just reinforce their desire to use the medication by saying that they have done it, it worked, and they had no ill effects from it.  And if they are even still monitoring their thread, I doubt they will return with a comment unless they get the answer they want to hear.

[shiner6]

see above

Edited February 23, 2022 by shiner6
didnt want to encourage

[Vagabond Knight]

On 2/12/2022 at 9:07 AM, leaveitallbehind said:

Just and observation - the OP has not commented on their thread for 8 days.  And when they did it essentially was let us know that no one has answered their question.  And to be fair, no one yet has.  All of the answers have focused on advice regarding what they should or should not do regarding the expired medications.  What the OP is looking for is someone who actually has experience with taking the said medication after it has expired and with what effect to them.

 

Yup.  Stopped following this topic because apparently no one currently on the board (or at least among those who saw the topic) had any real-life experience, positive or negative.  Just bopped back here for a final check and nope, but not a problem. Interestingly, I did find some discussion elsewhere on the Internet.