Expired Prednisone Effectiveness
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Have been taking Prednisone 20mg pills split into 4 pieces for a bronchial infection. The pills are expired from 2010. I'm taking the taper off 6 to 1 portions per day. It doesn't seem to be taking effect, although it has worked in the past. Could it have lost it's effectiveness?

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9

I have some 20mg prednisone that was dispensed 9/23/16 & expired 9/23/17. Are they still ok to take?

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8

I have prednisone that expired 02/24/17. Do you think it will still be effective?

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7

20 mg is what those are for, I have an RX an looked it up for you

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6

I would take it to your pharmacist 4 an answer. I keep my family's Rxs in a locked tool box & have found some stray meds. in the bottom, of which I'm not sure their name. I'm taking them to my pharmacy. Good luck (Look up online/Google Images ??)

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5

I have prednisone pills, they are pink and are labeled Dan 5443. Are they 10 or 20 milligram tablets?

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4

I, too, need Prednisone very occasionally for severe attacks of asthma. Getting to an ER during an attack is difficult. My 10mg bottle is 12 years old and still works just fine. I believe the Harvard study that said it's ok to use outdated meds.

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3

Hi. Can I give prednisone 20mg that's 4 months expired to my 13 years old son? Thank you.

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2

I have bronchial asthma, but rarely have attacks. My last was 18 months ago. I take only as much prednisone as I need to alleviate some of the swelling, usually about half of the prescribed dose, just to keep the side effects lower. I had kept the other half luckily in my medicine cabinet.

Two days ago, I started a flare-up. No insurance as I am in the 90 day contingency period on my job. I found the remaining prednisone pills 20 mg in my med cabinet, about 6 left, and took one and a half pills this morning. I'm already feeling better. My inhaler seems to be getting in deeper and the spastic coughing is already a lot better. Clearly the efficacy of the meds is still very good 6 months after the stated expiration.

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1

As far as expired meds go, according to a Harvard Medical School family health article, except in rare cases (i.e. tetracycline), there is little chance of danger due to taking medications even up to 15 years beyond their expiration date.

Source: health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml

It's possible that it may still be effective, but my personal assumption is that it lost a good percentage of its potency by now, having been 3 years old.

When was the last time you tried taking it?

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