How long does coumadin last?

[JimL]

After six months on coumadin I am fairly stabilized at just under 5 mg a day. I think I'm done changing medications, so my dosage should not fluctuate too much.
I called my insurance company and asked for the cheapest way to have my coumadin prescription filled. They directed me to mail order through Orlando, FL, and I received my first order. But to use this service, I need a three-month prescription from my doctor with three refills, thus a year's prescription.
My concern is that it may well take me two years to use up that prescription, if I end up alternating 4s and 5s to get the right balance. Should I be at all concerned about the coumadin going bad in two years? Does rat poison spoil?

 

[Ross]

Until Al can answer this for you, I'll take a stab at it.
If your getting your meds through a prescription mail order program, they should be giving you fresh medication, which usually last about 1 1/2 years + or - a few months. As long as your not getting all the refills at once, I would think you'd be o.k., but for safety sake, wait for Al's reply.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Jim

I never seem to use all of my refills. In retrospect, it does not really make a difference as the doctor will be writing the RX when needed. Your refills are usually valid with the pharmacy one year from the fill date. I never keep any medication on hand longer than 12 months from the original filling date.

Coumadin is a 'sensitive' medication. Properties can change under certain circumstances. Nailing down an exact expiration would be difficult unless you get it directly from the pharmacist. Or, your meds are dispensed in the original packaging.

Ps. Out of curiosity when refilling the old pill box today. Took a look at the RX label on my Coumadin. Walgreens gives you a year from the fill date as the 'use by date'. I would stick to that. Lovenox has a longer shelf life, 1-1/2 yrs. I believe. They are usually dispensed in the original packaging with the expiration date clearly marked. Yo may find this with other RX's that are sold in original packaging.

 

[KIRSONRON]

My company uses a mail order prescription service in Florida for long term medication. I too get a prescription good for a year's supply and usually order 6 months at a time with no problem. As long as you are getting 90 day perscription refills, then just order them 3 months at a time and you will never have stale medication. By the way, I do the same alternating dosages as you do - things do change so you cannot depend on the doses remaining constant. Sometimes I use more of one than the other and other times, it reverses. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[sharon]

how long does coumadin last

how long does coumadin last

Hi Jim,
If you don't keep them in a dry, cool place that could be a problem too. I get mine through the mail and order every 3 or 4 mos.

Sharon

 

[Chris Ramcharan]

Low dose aspirin

Low dose aspirin

This is a follow up to some comments on low dose aspirin I made a few days ago. A recent article from medscape indicates the beneficial effect of 100mg aspirin on mild hypertension particularly where it occurs at night in cases like myself. Would again appreciate comments from anyone The article can be viewed at:
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/433734

Thank you all,
ChrisR

 

[Guest]

I do not worry too much about expiration dates. They are rather phony. When the drug company brings out a drug, they have to show stability data. They have to rush a product to market to have as long as possible to sell it before the patent runs out. So they cannot sit a bunch on a shelf for a year or two to see how ages. The tests are done under high temperature conditions and then extrapolated.
When a retail pharmacy puts a date of one year on a container, they are doing so out of convenience for them. There is no scientific data that the stuff is only good for one year (or that it will be good for a year) under all types of conditions. Also, when you get a prescription filled, probably at least half of the time, there are two different lots with different expiration dates in the container. Can you imagine how long it would take to fill prescriptions if you had to put 21 pills in one container with one expiration date and 9 pills in another container with another expiration date?
When I was in the Army and worked for the VA, they would quite often have huge quantities of drugs warehoused that were about to go out of date. They could afford to run their own tests on the stuff and quite often we would get memo's extending the manufacturers expiration date by a year or two.
Much more important is the way you store the prescription. Don't put it on a south facing window sill where it will be in the sun for hours every day. Don't put it on the back of the stove where it will get excessively hot. Don't keep them in your car. I have only heard of one warfarin treatment failure related to storage. The person lived in a hot, humid place and kept the warfarin in the refrigerator. Every time she opened the container, moisture evidently condensed on the inside of the container and on the pills. Eventually the pills were ruined but she kept trying to guestimate how much crumbly stuff equaled one pill.

 

[Zipper]

Thanks Al

Thanks Al

You are great! We can sure count on you to keep us informed. Much apreciated!!

I notice my scripts have dates way far ahead...Lots will have the year 2004 on them.

The storage info you give is very important for any Meds!!! Thanks for being here for us!!!

Zipper

 

[KIRSONRON]

Just to reinforce that reply, when I get my mail order drugs in bulk, the service puts an expiration date on the container. Many times, the drugs come in the manufacturer's container which is marked with a much later expiration date than the one the pharmacy listed.

 

[JimL]

Thanks Al!

You told me exactly what I wanted to hear. I will order my warfarin with confidence -- of course, only ninety pills at a time.