How Long Is Dicyclomine Good For After Expiration Date

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How long will Dicyclomine HCL remain usable past the expiration date?

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According to Solco Healthcare, the shelf-life of Bentyl (Dicyclomine) capsules [NDC 43547-634] is listed as 24 months (or 2 years): solcohealthcare.com/product/dicyclomine-capsules

However, the following article from the FDA suggests that the listed 2 year shelf-life for Dicyclomine is arbitrary at best, as they declared certain lots of Doxycycline hyclate 100 mg capsules to be eligible for use beyond the manufacturer’s labeled expiration date by up to 7 YEARS for the purpose of strategic reserves and emergency preparedness: fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/expiration-date-extensions-certain-lots-doxycycline-hyclate-capsules

“Most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. What they found from their study is that 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date. So, the expiration date doesn't really indicate a point at which the medication is no longer effective or has become unsafe to use. It's true the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date.”

Ref: health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/drug-expiration-dates-do-they-mean-anything

Once a medication has expired, it is usually best to just dispose of it properly, but as you can see from the articles above, there may be valid exceptions to the rule depending on the type of medication and how it is stored.

Learn more about Dicyclomine: MedlinePlus

Hope this helps!
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2

My husband got prescribed Dicyclomine in June of 2011. The bottle doesn't have an expiration date, is it still good?

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3

Medication degrades, but the pharmaceutical companies are not expected to test for the degradation beyond the expiration date. Stuff goes bad- how does that milk that expired yesterday smell? It's usually fine and the risk for a mistake is minimal there.

The only real answer is maybe it will work, maybe it won't. Would I rely on expired meds to keep my heart beating? Nope. For IBS? Maybe, depending on how bad the symptoms affect me and I would probably try them if my guts hurt and it was midnight and I didn't have anything else to resort to.

Some things hold up beyond the expiration. Just make sure that they don't degrade into something toxic- I don't think that this is likely, but look at the pharmacokinetics in the presence of water, C02, or oxygen just to be sure.

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4

I came here looking for the answer to this question. Now that I look more closely at the prescription bottle it shows the exiration date. Which is exactly 1 year from date of purchase.

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5

I was just givena script for Dycyclomine I just found dome I forgot I had and it says do not use passed July of 2016 Just curious if it wuld still be effective or should i get rid of it

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6

Thank you for the info. I usually always throw away expired meds but my stomach was killing me last night so I took a 2yr old bentyl n it actually worked. I wouldn't recommend for others to do the same but I took a chance n if still worked out for me

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7

How long dicyclomine will remain usable after expiration date

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8

Re: Adrian (# 7) Expand Referenced Message

All medications usually expire a year after you filled it

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9

Re: Labguy (# 3) Expand Referenced Message

I'm going to use an old bottle (I mean OLD OLD) of it today because my insurance is giving them a difficult time with the new script. I'll let you know how it does if I remember.
I'm always doing this but I agree with the analogy re: heart meds vs. IBS meds.
Just sayin'

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10

I had a very hurting IBS problem this past weekend and forced to use old Bentyl (4 years old+) and it worked. Cramps stopped completely after two days. My personal experience only but may not be advised or useful for others. Always stored meds in dark cabinet at room temperature.

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11

Re: Bob (# 10) Expand Referenced Message
I began taking 4 year old Dicyclomine last night and it worked great! I usually only take it for flare ups, so i have plenty left, but it expired in 2014. I was desperate in the middle of the night with horrible pain, so i took it!

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12

Re: Bob (# 10) Expand Referenced Message

I have used bentyl 4 + years after exp. and it works fine. Same with buspar

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13

Re: Bob (# 10) Expand Referenced Message

Friday flair up, Dr didn’t renew my scrip. Started taking 10mg Bentyl capsules, it’s Saturday night and I’m feeling ok....they were prescribed in 2014, so after 6 years they appear to work fine.

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14

I just used a pill from a bottle from Dec of 2005. Todays date is 9-18-23. I was stored properly and worked just fine. Same as when I got them. Dicyclomine 20mg

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