Does hydrocodone expire?

[oj626]

My buddy wants to know if the hydrocodone/vicodens he was prescribed to are still good. He has 500mg WATSONS that he was originally prescribed to on 6/05. Yay or nay?

[Forthesevenlakes]

The short answer is that theyre not expired, if theyre only a bit over a year old.

The long answer is that it takes opiates a while to expire, but the acetaminophen in the pill could eventually expire. This process, however, it takes years.

Also, the hydrocodone is not 500 mg. That is the amount of acetaminophen in the pill. there should be another number before the "/500" on the bottle. That first number is the amount of hydrocodone in the pill. Most likely a "5".

[oj626]

My buddy is new to this. You where right it says 5/500. Thanks.

[Forthesevenlakes]

Anytime. Have fun, but not too much fun =]

May SWIM suggest using the opiate dosages guide if he is new to hydrocodone.

[oj626]

SWIM said the first time he did hydrocodone he had taken 2 of the pills mentioned above along with a couple glasses of wine. SWIM was messed up.

[Forthesevenlakes]

2 pills is a good starting dose. Be careful with the alcohol though, its easy to overdo.

[SPWIM]

If your buddy got these on prescription then the packaging probably has an expiration date on it (not to be confused with prescription date).