Why waste excellent drugs???

[Angela213]

I recently found out that I will be discontinuing using Copaxone. I just don't understand why I can not donate my $$$$ expensive drugs to help another person with MS? Am I the only one who has found themself in this situation? What should I do with my boxes? Thank you for reading and hopefully answers.

[Sequoia]

I recently found out that I will be discontinuing using Copaxone. I just don't understand why I can not donate my $$$$ expensive drugs to help another person with MS? Am I the only one who has found themself in this situation? What should I do with my boxes? Thank you for reading and hopefully answers.

It's illegal to give your own prescription medication to another person, even if that individual has been diagnosed with the same disease as you have.

You might ask your neurologist's office or the local NMSS chapter for suggestions.

[BigA]

Should you bump into someone at one of you MS meetings, you may find someone whose insurance has run out.

Note: this is not legal and you're on your own. My nurse told me that it costs them cents to make. I'd ask my doctor, but they probably can't take it because they have no way of knowing if it has been kept refrigerated or not.

[futurmil2b]

Curious?

I recently found out that I will be discontinuing using Copaxone. I just don't understand why I can not donate my $$$$ expensive drugs to help another person with MS? Am I the only one who has found themself in this situation? What should I do with my boxes? Thank you for reading and hopefully answers.

I am curious to know why you are stopping the Copaxone. How long have you been taking it? Are you going on a different dmd?

I'm starting on Copaxone today after not being on any meds since my dx Feb 2011. I have come to the conclusion maybe it will give me back some quality of life...

Just so tired of feeling crappy day in and day out. Sinus infection, tight neck/shoulders, muscle spasms, tension knots in neck, achy muscles, not able to relax.. stay tensed 24/7.. I do understand Copaxone may not help with those issues... but who knows..

Ms. Jay

Ms. Jay

[dpmich]

I am not telling you to do so, but I was able to donate my Betaseron to another person in need, through my MS clinic support group. That helped me feel better about a few things.

[Temagami]

I too have a box of about 15 doses of C that I will no longer be taking and hate to think it would go to waste. They have been in the fridge. Any ideas?

[KarenR]

MSWorld Guideline#8:
PRESCRIPTION ITEMS: It is illegal to transfer prescription items such as medication or devices for injecting medication to someone other than the person for whom the prescription was written. Members are not allowed to offer to give or sell prescription medicines, devices, or any other types of prescriptions to others via MSWorld.

If you have leftover medication, please talk to your neurologist or your local MS Society. They may have a use for it.

I had leftover Rebif and Copaxone, along with their respective auto-injectors, that I donated to my neurologist's office for training purposes.

Be well,

[CallieCat]

I also had left over Avonex and Copaxone before switching to Gilenya.

The NMSS could not take it, but I talked with my doctor at the Mellen Center (part of the Cleveland Clinic) and was told that I could donate the meds to the research department as long as they had been properly refrigerated.

You might want to see if there is a research department associated with your doctor's office.

Hope this helps.

[mlissa67]

Me too

I have leftover C and can't stand the thought of tossing it because of how much it costs. It's in my fridge cause I just hate to toss it.

[Tracelyn]

I too have left over C after switching to Avonex 8 months ago.

[Mamabug]

I had the same problem when I switched from Betaseron. I had extra that I was unable to use. I looked into a lot of options and made a lot of phone calls to doctors offices, pharmacies, etc, and finally found an idea that worked for me.

Could be, too, that some of the ideas I looked into that didn't work for me could work for you. My email address is in my profile, if you wish to email me for more info.

~ Faith

[Dejibo]

When I stopped I had 3 months! its almost 10k in money! how can you throw that away?? I spoke to my neuro, who said he would take it. I spoke to the MS clinic who said they couldnt risk it as they would give out a new script. Couldnt see if I had stored this med properly and kept it cold or if I had allowed it to sit in the hot sun for months. UGH! So, I went to a local MS support group and asked if anyone else took my drug. Several did. I asked who had trouble making co pays, and one poor woman said she struggled each month to meet hundreds of dollars worth of co pays. After the meeting I spoke in private to her, and gave her the bag from the cooler in my car.

IF you cannot find someone to donate these too, please dispose of them properly. Giving them to a pharmacist to go to medical waste, or squirting them into coffee grounds and putting them into a closed baggie, or other things that prevent them from ending up in our ground water, or recirculating back into the main water treatment plant really helps. It amazes me when I see the tests of how many drugs are in our main water supply because folks flush them or wash them down the sink.