[Ditter]

Interesting & something I've wondered about.

[GovernmentShrinker]

It makes a big difference whether the package has been opened or not, and what conditions it has been stored under (especially if opened). Factory-sealed packages kept in room-temperature or cooler conditions are good for a looooooong time past the expiration date, just as the military research showed (that's how they'd been storing their stockpile). However, loss of potency and more serious changes are a lot more likely in the several-times-opened bottle of pills that have sitting in the bathroom medicine cabinet getting steamed and heated repeatedly.

[boris]

Some do. My cat has to take a suspension of Cipro every day (I squirt it down his throat with a teensy syringe). The suspension cannot be refrigerated (destroys the little spheres containing the drug) and may not be used after 14 days (it goes bad).

So, heigh-ho, every 2 weeks I make a 30-mile (one-way) drive to the only compounding pharmacy around to buy him a new $50 bottle of Cipro suspension.

Just learned from my (human) doctor that a similar suspension is now offered by non-compounding pharmacies. Unfortunately it is cherry-flavored, and the vet and I are unsure as to how the Cat will "tolerate" (i.e., not up-chuck) the cherry sort. We plan to give it a try.

--Boris