Unused Avonex

[Angelea]

I had to recently stop using Avonex and I have 8 doses of the pre-filled syringes and 8 pens. I don't know what to do with all of this and can't just dispose of it. I did the titrate for the first month and they were supposed to send me a three month supply of the pens but they sent a three month supply of pre-filled instead. So after I called them they just sent a three month supply of pens at no charge. I had already used four pre-filled when I received the pens and I went thru four pens and I just couldn't tolerate it so I had to stop taking it.

Any advice on what I can do ***?

Per MSWorld guideline #7 - SELLING ITEMS AND SOLICITING MEMBERS: Offering items for sale, trade, or free is not allowed. thus, part of your post had to be deleted.

[Westgrl]

I think most people contact the doctor that prescribed it & they will take it off your hands for you.

[BigA]

I was told by a nurse once not to worry about it, that it costs a fraction of what our insurance companies paid for it.

I threw out a whole box of Copaxone after not finding anyone who needed it.

I'd be curious if anyone's doctor took it. how could they know if you kept it refrigerated or not.

[JerryD]

If it doesn't work with dropping it off at the doctor's office, I am pretty sure the local pharmacy will probably take it from you. Any local pharmacy.

[Angelea]

Thanks for the info. I did talk to my dr about it and he said he couldn't take it directly from me but he would see if any of his patients that are taking it might want to get in touch with me. That's the only thing he can do. And I was told once by a pharmacist that they can't take drugs from patients even if they're unopened.


Sorry, but I have to remind you that: Per MSWorld guideline #7 - SELLING ITEMS AND SOLICITING MEMBERS: Offering items for sale, trade, or free is not allowed. thus, part of your post had to be deleted.

[BigA]

Just put them in your sharps container. Or call Avonex and get an "Eco Sharps" container sent to you. They will mail it to you with a return label and you can mail it to them for free.

[Angelea]

But it needs to be kept refrigerated.

[Spydre]

My pharmacy told me to put the pre-filled syringes in my sharps container and dispose of them that way.

[Angelea]

Ok, I guess I'll just have to dispose of it all unless my doc can hook me up with another one of his patients.

Thanks everyone for the tips.

[Spydre]

Yeah, unfortunately, it's illegal to for pharmacies to accept meds back, and for medication prescribed to one person to go to another (although I've given non MS medication to my husband, like muscle relaxers). Well, I guess I shouldn't say unfortunately, since that law is there to "prevent" selling painkiller medication, but still, it leaves us with a problem disposing unused medication.

You can also check and see if there is an expired medication drop off in your area. There is one at the police station here - or some communities have events every so often to collect them, so people don't flush the meds or throw them away, leading to contamination.

[Westgrl]

I found out there is a program called TakeAway Environmental Return System. They accept unused medication and dispose of it. You can do this by mail or at a participating pharmacy. The pharmacist has a special bin that they put the medication in and it's eventually sent off for proper disposal. Controlled substances aren't allowed.

They do accept liquid medications but not the needles. If you Google the name of program, you should see it and you can search for local pharmacies that participate. I would call ahead though to verify & make sure you bring it in properly.

[Nanobaby]

Man, it just seems so wasteful!

I know that the laws re: medication handling are for peoples' protection but at the same time - I know that some people in other countries simply can't afford any MS meds due to lack of insurance or supportive programs. Read an article in a magazine from Hong Kong discussing an increase in MS diagnoses & because of the way medical care is there, many people simply can't afford treatment. I'm sure it's not dissimilar in other nations. So sad.

[BigA]

There are enough people in this country who can't afford treatment.

But the meds won't help anyone anyway. Would you take an injection that sat in a stranger's refrigerator and was transported to you somehow?

I once had a box of copaxone i wanted to give away. Especially for people on Copaxone, they can run out if they change insurance (Shared Solutions doesn't have a free program, just copay assistance). I met a woman and wanted to give it to her, but it never worked out and I just chucked it finally. It's difficult and feels somewhat sinful to throw out meds that cost $3000 but then again, it probably took $25 to produce them, the expensive part being inventing and testing.

It's like the cost of a movie. It takes $millions to make, but if they lost a DVD, they have not really lost anything.