Expired Meto Useful?

[Sailfisher]

Any idea how long after the expiration date a course of Meto would be useful?

 

[Superfluous]

I remember reading somewhere (maybe one of Ben Goldacre's books) that expiration dates are a requirement by the FDA due to pressure from the US military to ensure 100% efficacy for drugs they store, and as such that requirement needs to apply to all drugs. I can't find a link to the exact text, but here's an interesting article on the website of the American Coucil for Health and Science:

When Aspirin Goes Bad Is It Bad?

You may have seen a warning, that when you detect a vinegar smell from your bottle of aspirin it's time to toss it. But is this really a concern? Here are a few facts you may not know.

www.acsh.org

Whilst the article is mostly related to aspirin, the following opening paragraph makes interesting reading

The expiration dates on drugs can be arbitrary and tell us little about whether the drug in the bottle is still OK to use. Most drugs remain just as potent for years, or even decades, after the expiration date on the bottle. This does not mean that you should disregard the dates; some of them are there for a valid reason, especially antibiotics (1) or drugs in liquid form (2). But an organic chemist can take a look at the chemical structure of a drug and make a pretty good guess about whether the drug in a dry tablet or capsule will decompose or remain intact.

I can't give you a definitive answer on meto specifically though.

Edit: Do we have any organic chemists here?

 

[bilamajina]

@Sailfisher, PPH March 2019 has a section on the shelf life of medication. See the "Introduction to Drugs" chapter.

The March PPH is posted here.

 

[TimeToBiteTheDust]

I think six months after expiry date