I paid $235 for a 3 month supply of Clonidine 0.1mgm patch and now my new doc has taken me off it and switched me to oral meds. I have 10 unused packaged patches. I know I can't just give them away but what a waste of not only my money, but however much the insurance covered for me. Oh well, suck it up, buttercup!
I have been on blood thinners for four months. I was switched from a 5mg to 2mg pills while a was at a hospital. The bottle contained almost 100 5mg pills. I used but a few. Today I have been taken off blood thinners and now I have another bottle of about 50 2mg warfin pills. Furthermore, I have unused blood pressure medication, pain killers, and others that I did not even utilized. While researching about blood clots I found that many people lack the financial means to buy their medication. I was hoping to find a place to donate all those pills and found that laws are very strict about the donation of unused medication. For me, throwing the medication away makes me sad because I know that some people are going without their medications. Luckily I have insurance and the medication is already paid for so I do not see why some of this medication cannot be donated? I understand some of the concerns with donating the medication but why can medical facilities come up with methods in which the medication can be inspected and if deemed up to standards, give it to those that cannot afford it. I also wonder if the medical field knows that millions of medications are being thrown away because patients are switched, no longer used the medication, or die, why do they demand packaging that would allow unused pills to be donated to those that cannot afford them? afterall, these medication are already fully paid for. Big pharma needs to promote single pill packaging in order formedication not go to waste.
The link in the article to the FDA does not go to the official FDA site but to some site run by "Gelinas Associates." Please do not be misled. The official FDA site is at http://www.fda.gov/ . Otherwise this is a helpful article about where to start.
We all know about "safety" and "purity" of medications and do not wish to pass on medications that are unsafe. We would just like to donate medications that have never been used, but may be in large (60, 90 day or more) quantities. Locally, is usually diffcult and we would like to belleve that there is an organization that could use them.
I have medication that is unopened - factory sealed - doesn't expire until May 2017, and I would like to donate it to someone who could use it. It is Aggrenox 25/200, prescribed following a stroke. My doctor has changed my medication and I no longer take this. Any idea's as to where I can donate this? I am in Virginia.
If you have a CVS pharmacy in your community, many of them carry medication disposal 'envelopes' (prepaid), at the pharmacy counter, that you can buy, fill and mail to a secure facility (apparently with the exception of 'controlled' substances) for safe and environmentally sound disposal.
After my mom died of cancer we had a whole bunch of medications that we didn't know what to do with. The hospice nurse took the narcotic ones and washed them down the sink in front of me, but the rest she didn't take. We found out that many veterinarians will take human drugs and give them to the animals of owners who just can't afford those drugs. Win Win.
In my city (California) we have to turn the meds including expired meds into the city. They dispose of them...how I don't know...this includes vitamins and otc meds. We have had a problem with antibiotics being in the water system due to flushing them.
A church in my area accept unneeded drugs for a health care center they built and maintain in Africa. They were happy to get my husband's expensive unused blood thinners after the doc changed him to a new drug.
I was told that it's illegal to give away prescriptions in my state, even if they aren't controlled drugs, but from other posts, it seems like that's either not true or some agencies will do it anyway. It doesn't hurt to ask around in your area, particularly at churches and hospices.
Hospice inventoried and retrieved the more sensitive meds....I think it was morphine. Legally, you are not supposed to give someone else your prescription, and most health care providers would not want the liability of using a med from a source other than the approved distributor.
Having said that, if someone has prescription, for a drug they take, little risk in letting them have it.
We had a vast quantity of medical supplies, medicine and medical foods when we attempted to bring mom home from the nursing home. It didn't go well and she wound up back in the hospital and I had 90 days of stuff left over the pharmacy would not take back. I called the local cancer society and they were THRILLED to get it and even came and picked it up. It was given to someone who could not afford it and needed it badly. At least something good came of it.
It is a terrible waste of tax payers and HMO money to throw away unused,unopened medications that a patient has been removed from but still has an unopened supply. I have received a bottle of expensive prednisone eye drops ($110.28) which I have been taken off of and which my HMO will not take back. It is for eye surgery patients who have had cataract surgery.. Where can these medicines be donated?
such a silly thought about not flushing the meds........ someday you guys will say please do not urinate and potty in the toilet and don't flush, someday it'll mix-up to our drinking water.
When I lived in GA and my husband was doing contract work and we didn't have insurance my medications alone would have ran over $500 per month if I wasn't constantly trying to find ways to bring our medical cost down. My doctor was awesome and had somehow along with his nurse started accepting sealed and almost full bottles of medications (If they had only taken a few and realized the meds not gonna work) Anyway, They would use these after they had thoroughly checked them of course to help out the elderly and people like us who had no insurance. As a nurse for 25 years cleanliness was my first issue but I had to stop and think ... my doctor allowed the meds to be brought back into his office, checked over and then given out to another patient. A huge liability for me to worry about someones fingers on my pills.
Anyway, I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I started out reading this site today looking to see if I could find any information on or if anyone does this (cause I would like to) Start a volunteer collection bank for Leftover medications, food, clothing, etc. for the elderly. Then deliver the needy. All on a volunteer basis.
If you don't have anyone to donate them to in your area - please don't flush them or throw them out. In our area, our drinking water system is our "aquafer" (deep below the town) and medications flushed or thrown out seep into the drinking water table and end up running through the drinking water system. I have heard of research that has found traces of hormone replacement medications, etc in the drinking water system. The local police station in our region will take any unwanted medications and they are sent to a facility to be burned off - thus not ending up in our landfill or drinking water system.
that is a really good idea-- taking them to the vet. I never thought of that but i know my vet uses the same medicine. Thanks for the tip. I will check that out. They change my mom's meds so often to get the right one that we too have alot left over.
We have a program here that takes the unopened meds for low income people, and the opened meds go to a veterinarian that uses many people meds on animals fpr the owners with no or little money.
My hospice would not take the meds and did not really have an answer when I asked what to do with them. The county next to ours has a program with the garbage company that takes old meds but we dont.
When my husband died....I took all of his medicine with us to the hospital....they offered to give the meds back and I asked them to flush it....they asked my permission to donate to hospice.....I agreed
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Can I Donate Unused Medications?
I was told that it's illegal to give away prescriptions in my state, even if they aren't controlled drugs, but from other posts, it seems like that's either not true or some agencies will do it anyway. It doesn't hurt to ask around in your area, particularly at churches and hospices.
Having said that, if someone has prescription, for a drug they take, little risk in letting them have it.
As a nurse for 25 years cleanliness was my first issue but I had to stop and think ... my doctor allowed the meds to be brought back into his office, checked over and then given out to another patient. A huge liability for me to worry about someones fingers on my pills.
Anyway, I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I started out reading this site today looking to see if I could find any information on or if anyone does this (cause I would like to) Start a volunteer collection bank for Leftover medications, food, clothing, etc. for the elderly. Then deliver the needy. All on a volunteer basis.