Is it ok to take expired cyclobenzaprine?

If you haven’t taken cyclobenzaprine you might want to check with your provider or local pharmacist your medical condition and/or medications may have changed over time. Medications are considered good for 1 year after dispensing.

Flexeril is related to the tricyclic antidepressants (TCA.) Tricylcic are one of the most gruesome overdoses with confusion, agitation, somnolence progressing to seizures and lethal arrhythmias. Never, I repeat never take more than the ordered 10mg and do not mix with other TCAs such as Elavil. It is a difficult overdose to treat and most unpleasant.

Of course you can but it is not advisable. You can have a very miserable experience by doing that. It will make you drowsy but difficult to sleep. Some people get a weird “restless” feeling all over their body. You can’t rest and you can’t walk it off. You just have to wait. So I don’t recommend it. Just take one.

The reason for the experation date is because with time, all things biodegrade. And medication is no exception. That means that the medicine could not have any effect now as it would have four years ago.

if you’re ignoring the legal side of taking old perscription meds then also think of the bio process again. The medication has specific properties to do specific things, if one of those properties is off, then it stands to reason one of the specific things it’s supposed to do could do something entirely different (like an allergic reaction to put it mildly).

Alternatively, all (or most) prescription meds are set at an experiation date of exactly one year it was filled. As for OTC those might be different, which also brings up, do prescribed meds actually start to biodegrade after that year mark? It’s hard to find out. And to find out for every different medication at that.

The short answer would be yes, in most cases it is not harmful to take expired medication. (This is not the case for many liquid based medications, however.)

Typically speaking, most prescription medications in the form of a tablet or capsule are entirely harmless if taken after they've expired. Depending on the length of time that the medication has been expired, it will likely still work as well.

The only difference may be how effectively it works, as expiration dates on these forms of medications is often more of “use by...” rather than a “expires on...” date. The longer a medication has been expired, the less likely it is to be effective.

I've always advised that two years past expiration is essentially the “sweet spot.” Meaning any longer and the medication will likely have a significant decrease in how effective it is, where as anything under 2 years will probably be just as, or nearly as effective as the day it was prescribed. Of course, this isn't true for all medications, or even all medications in pill form, but it's a general guideline that I've given to many customers during my years in a white coat.

That being said, if you're uncertain in the slightest amount or uncomfortable taking an expired medication - that is absolutely, positively okay. I am offering a simple guideline that I personally use, however, I am not a medical professional and this advice is no substitute for professional medical care.

If you do take an expired medication, I'm assuming (hopefully) at the intended and prescribed dose by a medical professional, and it does not seem to be effective, do not take an additional dose. Doubling the dose will not safely increase the effectiveness, and can potentially be dangerous. If it doesn't seem to work, dispose of the medication — I do not recommend flushing medication down toilets, but I recognize that not everyone has available transportation to a local pharmacy to drop off expired medications. If you're one of those people, then dispose of the medication in the toilet if necessary. Otherwise, put away the medication out of reach for the time being and whenever possible, take the expired medication to a local pharmacy. Many pharmacies will accept unused, expired, or no longer needed medications and dispose of them properly. There shouldn't be a fee that's charged for this, nor any intrusive personal questions.

Basically, many medications are relatively safe to use even after expiration. I personally believe that 2 years after expiration is an acceptable cut off point at which the effect of the medication will decrease significantly or steadily. If you have any questions about the specific medication that you've taken after expiration, you can always call and speak to a local pharmacist, whether you've filled prescriptions at that store or not. Pharmacists are usually more than happy to answer general questions from customers and non-customers alike.

For simple, non-life threatening issues like muscle aches. It’s not going to hurt. Pharmaceuticals out an expiration date in medication because they cannot guarantee the full potency of the medication. I believe it loses somewhere around 20% of its potency after the listed expiration date so it’s not going to hurt you but you may not benefit very much from it either for 2 reasons. Cyclobenzapirine is the generic version of Flexeril. All generic forms of medications only have to be 80% as potent as the brand name so with it being expired, you’re looking at a 60% chance of benefiting from it at all (deduct 20% for it being generic and another 20% for it being expired) - Do I think it will hurt you? No. I’m just not sure how much you’ll benefit from it. I’d make it a point to call your doctor tomorrow or whoever is taking call for him/her for the weekend and request a refill. It a very inexpensive medication. I’d recommend Skelaxin, just think that works better personally, but you’re looking at a reasonable price difference RX of Cyclobenzaprine should be around $8-$15 and Skelaxin could cost you up to $50 - All depending on which pharmacy you use and/or your insurance coverage

It is commonly referred to by the brand name Flexeril, though other brands and generics are available. Cyclobenzaprine usually begins working about one hour after it is ingested, relaxing muscles and relieving muscle spasms. Flexeril should not be taken more than three times a day. This chemical is relatively stable… Since the USA army once purged it’s medicine shelves of dated medication, we have been plagued with ‘shelf-life’, companies have used it to increase sales, purchasers have become suspicious… Remember that shelf-life is not nearly as critical as many would have you believe…

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Cyclobenzaprine is a muscle relaxer that is not a benzo but a form of a tricyclic antidepressant. It will put you to sleep and relieve muscle spasm but not get you high. Possibly you could kill yourself if you took too much. It is not a Xanax.

How expired is it? It’s not likely to hurt you, really. You could get a little bit less of the active drug if it’s just a year or two beyond the expiration.

A lot of potency depends on the storage conditions. It would probably take years after the expiration date to lose 20% of its potency if it’s stored in controlled temperatures, but if it’s stored in light, heat, or humidity, a lot less.

For more info, ProPublica has an excellent treatise on this, called The Myth of Drug Expiration Dates — ProPublica