What Is The Shelf Life Of Alprazolam Before It's Useless? (Top voted first)

I have a bottle of alprazolam from 2005 and I'm wondering if it's still good? It's 4 years old at the time of writing this.

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Tabetha,

You are one looney wise-man short of a party.

"...ask God for healing? just say out loud now Jesus I believe and I accept you in my heart and free my mind and turn me into your helper"?

Yeah, thats what your all-powerful King of Kings needs, helpers! He is an all-powerful God, creator of the heavens and Earth, but he needs helpers. To do what? How many helpers does he need. What do you do to "help Jesus". Did he also ask Catholic preists to "help" him get children molested?

If you like Jesus, good for you -- but the plain truth is that your religion teaches love and acceptance. You however, have used it here to try to make people feel bad; and for what? Did God ever say he doesn't want people seeking medical assistance? Maybe he just told you?

Why did you come to this site? Why are religious extremists always the most illogical, unhappy people out there. Always fighting...

Know this Miss Perfect: Many people are genetically or just unfortunately predisposed to uncomfortable mental afflictions and chemical imbalances that prescription medications can suppress or eliminate, I am one of them. Where in the bible does it say anything at all against that?

These people are not crack addicts. They are not stealing, killing, dishonoring their father's or breaking any of your other fantasy rules that people cower under out of sheer blind faith. They are simply people trying to get relief and ultimately normalcy in their lives so that they may do their best to be happy and productive. Shame on you for bringing Jesus in to this. Go argue with atheists if religious spats give you kicks - what are you doing here? Just here to lecture? Don't further distress people who are simply using legal medications to get by the best they can. How do you know that if Jesus was really bummed out, and had gone to a healer who prescribed something he claimed would help Jesus' state of mind, enabling him to do his work with a lighter heart, you think he would refuse? Thats just silly. Find something better to do. I'm sure you can go to a local Liberal Arts College and find plenty of people willing to waste their time arguing about Jesus and drugs with you. Leave these people alone. Find a better outlet for your opinionated religious garbage. How about church? 10 to1 says you yourself are a recovering drug or alcohol

C U Next Tuesday Tabetha.

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If the Xanax (Alprazolam) was kept in a cool dry location in a safe bottle it will last many years. I can testify that xanax is still just as potent at 5 years past expiration date, and if you google it you will find our own government stores medications far past the expiration date. Expiration dates are more about the Pharmacy companies making more profits then protecting people.

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Jesus is the reason i'm taking Xanax.If Jesus would just cure my anxiety then i wouldn't need them.

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Roger, you're so RIGHT! Some folks say - or think - they have had panic attacks when they have only experienced mild anxiety. A full-blown panic attack comes in like a freight train and you're basically helpless against the mind's "fight or flight" instinct. You try your best to downplay it; to think positively and tell yourself that it will not kill you. That's what the shrink told me, along with breathing exercises to keep from hyperventilating. But - that's little defense against the scariest thing I've ever experienced. Once you have had one panic attack, the LAST THING in the world you want is to have another one. They can be brought on by a number of things, or by nothing at all...I have a fear of tall bridges/overpasses and if I approach one without warning I have an immediate reaction and stop the car. If I need to find someone to drive me across the bridge, so be it. On the other hand, I can be sitting at home watching TV and feel an attack coming on, and am basically powerless to avoid it. The attack starts with you recognizing the symptoms - short choppy breathing, stomach tied in knots, mind racing...then if an attack occurs, hyperventilation, severe intestinal pain and sometimes loss of bowel control, heart pounding out of your chest, and the craziest thoughts going through your mind. The only thing that will help me is an immediate dose of Xanax, which I have in my pocket or close by at all times, for almost 20 years now. It takes about 15 minutes for the drug to calm me and when it does, I thank God for the drug that helps me retain my sanity. Don't judge unless you know the facts...

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As long as the pills were in a prescription bottle they are good for probably twice that. I stockpile Xanax, and have been since college. Im sure some of the bottles are 5+ years old. I am no addict, but if the Doc wants to prescribe more than I require, and the insurance company will pay for it, there is no reason not to have plenty for a rainy day, or decade.

PS- This is true of most medications despite what they say on the bottles. Thats just an easy way for the manufacturers to ensure people don't share meds for common ailments, or use leftover meds from previous, similar afflictions. They want you, or you insurance company, buying new every time ($$$).

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You are so right.People who have never had full blown panic attacks have no idea how scary they are.If they ever had one they would not be so quick to judge and would take the xanax to ease the fear.There is nothing you can do while having one until they go away and you think you are going to die.I would rather be bitten by a rattlesnake.

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I agree with the poster that said they last far beyond their expiration date. Years ago, when i was a kid, they didn't have expiration dates and my Mother would keep pills in the med cabinet for years and they still worked. This "expires one year after original date" is just BS and only a way for the manufacturers to make more $$. However, with antibiotics or heart meds I probably wouldn't want to use either of them after 2 to 3 years. If it's a a benzodiazepine I'm sure you'll be okay. the worse thing would be that it may be a little less potent. I recently had found online that even propanolol, a beta blocker has a shelf life of 7 years. So go ahead and use your meds, I have myself taken my Xanax 6 years after the expiration date without a problem.

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I have valium with v cut which means they are from 1988 or older .They still pack a mean punch in 2011 !15 milligrams made me very relaxed with slight memory loss . I slept like a baby for 8 hours and still felt slightly sedated the next morning .

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No offence to you or your beliefs in any way, but I have been a sufferer of panic disorder for about 15 years now, and Im sorry but god cannot make it better. I used to be on gods side untill probably 5 years into the panic attacks. thats when i realized I needed to seek medical advice. Im sorry but god cannot fix everything. and if he can fix everything, than this would be one thing that he obviousley does not want to fix. Medications for panic and anxiety like any other drug can be good or bad, depending on how you choose to use it. But if used properly can achieve great affects that God has never provided to me and many others.

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I take Alprazolam when I fly. Have a trip coming up in two weeks and my bottle of Alprazolam was issued on 1/5/2009 and says it expires on 1/5/2010, there are plenty of pills for flying. Like I said I only take them to fly so it would be one pill out and one pill home. Around here you have to go back to the doctor to get a new prescription. It's cha-ching for me as I have a deductable when I see the doctor. Are these pills still ok to take? Do I have to make another doctor's appointment to get more up-to-date pills? Does it hurt you to take pills over the experation dates?

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I have been dealing with all different types of pills for decades. The expiration date on the pill bottle (usually for 1 year from fill date) is a marketing tool and is not real.

I've looked into this question a great deal and the best answer I can give comes from actual use. Foremost, pills will always last longer as long as they are kept away from light, extreme temperatures, moisture and air. With solutions, creams, and injections it's a whole other ball game.

In regard to plain old pills I would say they are still near maximum efficacy on the inside of 10 years. I still use pills that have expiration dates from 2006. I have read some rough statistics in medical literature that stated that pills are usually good for 5 years past their expiration date, and become 10-25% less effective every year.

I don't know how precise that is, but it is true that it takes a pill decades to no longer have any effect at all. Xanax will easily last 5+ years, and perhaps may be at 50-75% strength at 15 years provided they have been stored properly. I know this from practice.

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i have a bottled dated 1/2009 also..i just popped 2 of them, believe me you. They are working. They were stored in the original bottle in a box in a closet. Was packed up when I moved here..and its now 8/2011. I was hesitant but I figured wth, the smelled as fresh as the day I got them, so I tried them :) and for previous poster..jesus isnt saving you from xanax..be real will ya :)

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@ Pastafarian you are crazy.Sudden xanax withdraw can cause seizures and possibly death.Xanax withdraw is the worst of any drug.People with severe Panic Attacks and Panic disorder is Hell.I have had full blown panic attacks since surgery 20 years ago.So I guess people who take Blood Pressure,Heart and diabetes meds to live should stop taking them also.Gods will ?No

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Amen for that! That is why I take them for anxiety! They are a lifesaver when the panic attacks start to set in!!!

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Wow...Some people are so cruel. I believe in God but also take anxiety and panic attack meds. I don't blame Him I blame society. This forum is supposed to be somewhat of a support group. Anyone who is judgemental should keep their comments to themselves. Anxiety is very crippling. For those of you who have experienced it you know what I mean.. It sucks but I deal with it. Medication doesn't always do the trick either.

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This is supposed to be a site for medical information. People with other agenda should take them to another thread on another site. I would seriously like to know if 17 month old Xanax is okay to be taken. My husband needs one right now, it is 10:45 P.M. and they are the only ones we have!

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if the condition when stored has been good, take them. pills should be kept in dark ,no sunlight and stored in original embalash, but they is not as strong.

Senserly

Anders Inge

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Depends on how you stored it. If you kept it in your bathroom, probably no good. If you kept it in a tight bottle away from light and extreme temperatures, I'd say you definitely have at least 50-75% potency left.

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I love all the comments. Came on here because I am detoxing from pain meds. Rather suffer from the pain of my arthritis and back issues than be on these stupid drugs I fight to get. (yeah need a new doc. They just dont get it) anyway. I was told xanex helpx with the detox and I,have some that is 2 &3 yrs expired, so from what I read from ya'll, its probably ok to take.
Just to commentt on the Jesus statment, I feel prayer is a great thing. Turning to God when you are in need of help is what you should do if that is within your belief. After all God created the heavens and the Earth and all that is in it, then wouldnt it be correct in,saying he gave man the knowledge to create medications and doctors to perscribe it to help us sufferers of illnesses? Just becausr a person takes a medication for various reasons, doesnt mean they are bad. Yes turn to God for answers, but be mindful that your answer might just be un a bottle of xanex which would help you with what you need.

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Seems all is status quo here in July 2012. One of my "don't be afraid" tablets of Xanax at 7 p.m. every night, it's not old, expired Rx it's every 3 months back to the Dr for 90 tablets. Taken religiously as directed. I'm able to walk on my walker or cane without fear of being bumped off again (which is how this all started). We need what we need to ambulate through this journey, this "life" before we go Home.

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