Does Trazodone Expire?
In our latest question and answer, the pharmacist discusses whether or not trazodone expires.
My trazodone expired in 2017. Is it harmful to take now?
Jun 27, 2022- Trazodone does expire and you should not take it after the expiration date because it may not retain its full potency and effectiveness. After the expiration date, there is no stability data guaranteeing the medication will work as intended, which could lead to treatment failure. If your trazodone prescription is expired, contact your doctor for a refill rather than using the old medication.
Trazodone, like all prescription drugs, does expire. It is not recommended that you take trazodone if it had an expiration date of 2017.
Concerns
The main concern with taking expired medication is that it may not have retained the desired potency level or effectiveness. This decreased potency can lead to incorrect dosing of the medication resulting in an increased risk for adverse effects.
The expiration date on trazodone is determined by multiple factors but, most importantly, it refers to how long the manufacturer is willing to guarantee that the product meets the labeled standards of potency and purity.
Most medication is listed with an expiration date of 2-3 years from the time of manufacturing and typically correlates with the time period for which the manufacturer performed stability testing.
After this expiration date, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the medication “goes bad”, it just means that there is no stability data regarding whether or not the medication will retain the listed potency and purity when stored under proper conditions.
When a pharmacy dispenses you a medication, it must be labeled with an expiration date or a beyond-use date.
The beyond-use date that is listed depends on the product being dispensed and takes into account how long a drug is stable after being dispensed. In most cases, the beyond-use date will be shorter than the manufacturer's expiration date as the beyond-use date specifically refers to an expiration time after dispensing or repackaging a medication.
The state in which you are located has laws to determine the beyond-use date for most dispensed products.
Most commonly, and as a general rule of thumb, the beyond-use date (commonly listed as the expiration date on the prescription bottle) will be one year, or the manufacturer listed expiration date, whichever is sooner.
Final Words
So, as mentioned above, expired trazodone shouldn't be harmful to take, but it may not be as potent as it once was.
This can potentially lead to treatment failure, which of course can be deleterious to your health. If you have been prescribed trazodone but your prescription is expired, it is recommended to reach out to your doctor for a refill.
References & sources
Glossary — Terms in This Answer
- Potency
- The strength or effectiveness of a medication to produce its intended effect.
- Adverse effects
- Unwanted or harmful reactions that occur when taking a medication.
- Purity
- The degree to which a medication contains only its active ingredient without contaminants or impurities.
- Stability testing
- Laboratory testing performed to determine how long a medication remains safe and effective under various storage conditions.
- Beyond-use date
- The expiration date assigned to a medication after it has been dispensed or repackaged by a pharmacy.
- Dispenses
- When a pharmacy provides a medication to a patient according to a doctor's prescription.
- Treatment failure
- When a medication does not work as expected to treat a patient's condition.
- Deleterious
- Harmful or damaging to health or well-being.
Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD
Doctor of Pharmacy, board certified clinical pharmacist (BCPS), American Herbalist Guild, Medication Therapy Management certified
Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS, is a licensed pharmacist with more than 13 years of experience across retail pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, medication safety, pharmacy program development, and healthcare administration. He is the founder of HelloPharmacist.com, where he helps patients...
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