Valium (Diazepam) expiry date

[jackdeth]

SWIM no longer has the box for SWIM's valium and was wondering if the following is the expiry date (roche 5mg) on the blister packs:

v04/11 f04/06

Thanks

[Laudaphun]

If it were SWIM, I'm not sure but I'd guess that he'd say the expiration date to be 4/11/06... Diazepam, 1 year past the expiration date would not concern SWIM one bit, SWIM has taken perodan and vikes that were years past the expiration date and they worked just fine. In most cases medications just lose potency over time... with a few rare examples such as aspirin, old medication can turn toxic.

The only time SWIM was concerned about an expiration date on an RX bottle was on a bottle of Vicodin ES that was about 10 years old... SWIM wasn't quite brave enough at the time to take them, however if he'd been fiending, as he would be years later, I'm sure SWIM might have sampled them.

[jackdeth]

Thanks L. SWIM actually spoke to someone on another forum who thought the EXP date would be 2001!

Either way SWIM has used some!

[jackdeth]

Woops SWIM meant to say 2011...

[toe]

Manufactured April 2006, Expiration April 2011.

[jackdeth]

OK, so they were right first time... thanks.

[soundoffear]

Just interested with regard to this topic. SWIM has a quantity of diazepam built up from feeling he is over prescribed; thing is he says that the expiry date seems quite close to when he recieved it from the chemist. ( he needs to have a stock rotation haha!)

Seeing as the drug itself has a high turnover ( i.e its not something that would be sitting in a chemist for months ), SWIM is curious that they may be premature dating on the packaging. SWIM is wondering if diazepam can 'go off' as such? SWIM can locate the production date on the packaging and from the production date to the expiry date seems, well, quite short, > 1.5 yrs.

SWIM i know usually gets the generic brand that the NHS ( UK ) supplies.

Thanks for any response!

[Politicalchalk]

In liquid form, shelf-life is 3yrs. Shelf-life for solid-form dosages are 5yrs.

Swim doesn't believe that this will be harmful per se to ingest. Not so with other drugs. 5 yr old doxycycline will shut your kidney like that (*sound of snapping).

Swim's guinea-cat also had an experience with 10 year old brand Vicodin and Percodan. no problems there. isn't it funny that the ones that say "Dangerous unless used as directed" as on some, in this setting, fairly innocuous drugs and not others?