Unused Humira

[longtrr]

I changed my prescription and have 3 Humira pens left that are expired in 2021. I don't want to throw them away or send to someone personally. I'd like to donate to medical groups or hospitals but don't know how. Please give me some suggestion. Thanks.

[Caroline]

I changed my prescription and have 3 Humira pens left that are expired in 2021. I don't want to throw them away or send to someone personally. I'd like to donate to medical groups or hospitals but don't know how. Please give me some suggestion. Thanks.

Hi Longtrr,

Welcome to psoriasisclub.
(Un)used medication is not allowed to be passed on again. They cannot be used for other patients, because you don’t know how old they are and what happened with them. Of course yes “you” will know that, but the pharmacy is not allowed to believe that.
And the only thing a medical group or hospital will do, is throw it away in the chemical garbage bin.

So unfortunately you will have to give them back to the pharmacy (drugstore?) you have got them from.

The fact that you want pass them on is why? Don’t they work for you anymore? Is your psoriasis in remission? Are you on another drug ?

Cheers 
Caroline

[KatT]

 to the psoriasis club longtrr 

Sadly yes, Caroline is correct.  They will simply throw it away as the pharmacies cannot take the risk.

I was appalled when I learnt that myself.  Given the cost of the medication, I wanted to return it too.

I was lucky and found out one of my colleagues used the same medication so I gave it to him.

Have you started another treatment?

[Fred]

I think you will find it is illegal to give prescribed medication to someone else KatT. Just pointing it out as we have been asked before if members can give unused treatments away to others on Psoriasis Club, I looked into it and the answer is no.

You giving it to a friend is your choice however and nothing to do with Psoriasis Club as we can only advise like you and Caroline said. "You must return unused medication to your supplier"

Good luck with your new treatment longtrr and welcome to Psoriasis Club. 

Fred.

[jiml]

Hi and a big welcome to the club and like Fred has said I know that in the UK and Europe it's illegal to pass on unused prescribed medicines... But you might have different rules  over there, but it would be wise to check with a pharmacy before getting into trouble

What treatment are you on now is it another bio, and is it working

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[longtrr]

I changed from Humira to Tremfya. There is nothing wrong with the Humira. I concerned about my weak immune system due to the Covid pandemic and my doctor changed my prescription to Tremfya. I like it too because of one dose in 2 months.  
The reason I wanted to pass the Humira on is that  simply I don't want to throw thousand bucks to the garbage. Anyway, the rule is rule. 
Thanks all for your comments.

[jiml]

It's a shame about the rules and is very wasteful I agree it's not like throwing an aspirin away as these drugs cost loads

Good luck on the Tremfya

[Kat]

I ran into that with my last dose of Taltz.

I knew I couldn't give it to anyone. Also it made no sense to send it back as they couldn't reissue it. I wasn't sure about just throwing it away either since they are very concerned over how to dispose of medications so I have a friend who is a nurse and asked her. She said to put it in the sharpie container just like what I'd do if it were an empty pen (or syringe) so that is what I ended up doing.

I agree that with the cost of them it's sad there isn't a way to give it to someone who could use it, but understandably due to concerns for safety that just isn't possible (well without breaking the law since it's a prescribed treatment)

[Fred]

Dare I say it's a fault of the makers or the USA health system. Here in France you can not get more than your prescription says.

For me I get one shot of Tremfya every 8 weeks, if I ask for two shots from my pharmacie they will refuse unless my doctor writes a new prescription.

So either the maker of the treatment or the whole system is to blame for letting a patient have more than they need ?

When I was on Humira (if my memory serves me well it was two shots per month) but I was only allowed to collect one shot at a time. The only one I remember getting more often was Enbrel which I think was two shots per week but I couldn't get 4 shots.

No offence intended to you or your health system, it's just my thoughts on why our members from the USA often ask the question about passing on their unused treatment

[Kat]

Dare I say it's a fault of the makers or the USA health system. Here in France you can not get more than your prescription says.

For me I get one shot of Tremfya every 8 weeks, if I ask for two shots from my pharmacie they will refuse unless my doctor writes a new prescription.

So either the maker of the treatment or the whole system is to blame for letting a patient have more than they need ?

When I was on Humira (if my memory serves me well it was two shots per month) but I was only allowed to collect one shot at a time. The only one I remember getting more often was Enbrel which I think was two shots per week but I couldn't get 4 shots.

No offence intended to you or your health system, it's just my thoughts on why our members from the USA often ask the question about passing on their unused treatment

No offense taken.

I will admit that I love that I can get a 90 day supply of medicine that I take daily and will most likely take the rest of my life. Much more convenient than possibly running out of meds while I try to get a refill. Although most of my prescriptions are for 30 days with 3 refills before needing a new prescription. Also, most prescriptions I get are the "take until all medicine is gone" variety so I rarely waste oral meds. Although I did get a 3 month supply on an expensive inhaler that I had a coughing reaction to so that was wasted.

As for the injections for psoriasis, since they are so expensive then it really doesn't make sense to get a 3 month supply at one time (as that was what they sent me) because the dermatologist took me off of it. But you are correct Fred that the waste comes from being able to get advanced dosages. I'm thinking since the pharmas get money from the insurance it's a sale to them whether you take or dispose. Not totally sure why insurance would be okay with it other than less work for them to approve multiple doses at a time vs every use. The pharma doesn't get to decide how much a patient gets, that is from the doctor. Doctors see patients once every 3-6 months usually for follow ups here so I think they prefer writing (or calling in) the prescriptions so that you don't have to call or contact them in between visits. Just my guesses on why it is the way it is here.