Advice on disposing of insulin pens

[Guest guest]

I have 4 brand new insulin pens sitting in my fridge from when i was

pregnant. Should i use a few needles and send all the insulin down the drain or

turn

them in to my pharmacist or a local hospital???

[Guest guest]

Maybe you could call your pharmacist with this question.

I'm not saying the following Yahoo news article pertains to insulin

pens; but considering the cost of many prescriptions, I thought it was

an interesting concept:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story & u=/nm/20040904/hl_nm/bizdrugs_re

cycling_dc_2

--- TheDiabeticDiva@a... wrote:

> I have 4 brand new insulin pens sitting in my fridge from when i was

> pregnant. Should i use a few needles and send all the insulin down

the drain or turn

> them in to my pharmacist or a local hospital???

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry...The link in my previous post does not work, so I copied and

pasted this article for YAHOO NEWS:

DRUG RECYCLING OFFERS ALTERNATIVE TO IMPORTS

By Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Joana Ramos' father-

in-law died

recently, family members in Georgia sent her

his left-over Parkinson's

drugs rather than throw them out, in hopes they

would help someone

who couldn't afford them.

" I was able to find a home

for them here, " said

Ramos, a social worker with

cancer patients

in Seattle, Washington.

Patients like Ramos'

clients, who are

struggling to afford their

prescription

medicines, are finding a

source besides

cheaper Canadian imports --

other patients.

They turn to the Internet,

clinics or other

individuals in search of

drugs left over when

someone else with their condition recovers,

changes prescriptions, or

dies.

Some experts say a more formal, national

swapping program could be a

better option to the controversial imports the

U.S. government says

cannot be adequately screened at the country's

borders.

" We're throwing away perfectly good pills, "

said Dr. Jay Pomerantz, a

practicing psychiatrist and professor at

Harvard Medical School (news -

web sites). " It's always simpler to buy brand

new, but not everyone can

afford that. "

A growing number of states -- including

Florida, Texas, Nevada and

Wisconsin -- are experimenting with recycling

or have passed laws

defining how drugs can be reused.

Some states, like Oklahoma, have set up pilot

programs that limit

recycled drugs to nursing facilities, while

others, like Utah, allow for

wider distribution for medicines that meet

certain standards.

" The safest approach to this is the more

limited one, " said

Cauchi, who follows health issues for the

National Conference of State

Legislatures.

Reports of nursing homes and other facilities

that " literally flush (drugs)

down the toilet " helped launch the recycling

programs, Cauchi said.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(news - web sites)

opposes importation, it has left domestic reuse

of medicines up to

individual states, but does not endorsed the

practice.

FDA (news - web sites) recommends that patients

return left-over drugs

to pharmacies or contact the Environmental

Protection Agency (news -

web sites) about their disposal.

Silverman, who oversees new drugs and

labeling compliance for

the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and

Research, said the agency

" can't absolutely endorse " second-hand products

would be " as safe as

when they came to the pharmacy from the

original manufacturer. "

RISKS WEIGHED

Many drug companies offer free medicines to the

poorest patients, but

critics say the process is complicated and

still leaves many needy

patients searching for alternative sources,

often via the Internet.

" Trading goes on all the time on cancer patient

discussion lists, " said

Ramos. Most drugs are given away, but some

people try to sell them,

she said.

Doctors and nurses say left-over drugs can be

risky but they can also be

better than none at all.

" People just need to be wisely cautious, " said

Dr. Langston,

a family physician in Lafayette, Ind. and an

American Medical

Association board member.

Patients who are familiar with the drug they

need, know the donor

and check for tampering are less likely to have

problems, said

Langston, a former a pharmacist. They can also

ask their doctor for

samples or try cheaper, generic drugs, he

added.

Drug recycling advocates say a formal system

should rely on

individually packaged drugs and new

technologies like radio

frequency identification tags and bar codes to

track medicines and

ensure they are genuine.

Others warn it is impossible to know what

happens to medicines once

they leave the pharmacy and would require

extensive testing before

they are returned for reuse.

Alan Goldhammer, associate vice president for

regulatory affairs at

the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers

of America, said

drugs can lose potency if they are not stored

appropriately or have

expired.