The shelf life of drugs: longer than you think

I was cleaning out the medicine cabinet the other day and came across some prednisone that a friend had given me over 20 years ago. Prednisone is a powerful corticosteroid anti-inflammatory drug that I’ve taken to combat poison ivy. In that case, it was miraculous. Anyhow, I took one just to see what would happen. The answer: nothing. Dang. I had a newly pulled muscle plus other aches and pains to test it on. I guess 20 years is pushing it.

Maybe not. Some scientists at the California Poison Control System tested the effectiveness of eight drugs that had been sitting around unopened in pharmacies a full 28 to 40 years past their expiration dates. They used a mass spectrometer to analyze how much of the active ingredients remained in the pills. Of the 14 active ingredients, 12 were still at a high enough concentration to qualify as “acceptable potency.” Some of these ingredients included acetaminophen, codeine, hydrocodone, methaqualone (Quaaludes!), and caffeine. Aspirin as an active ingredient didn’t make the cut. 

At any rate, many drugs are just fine after their expiration date. The expiration date on a drug is usually one to five years after it was manufactured. But those dates are often set arbitrarily. The FDA doesn’t require pharmaceutical makers to test how long the active ingredients will last. So basically, they don’t really know.

The poison control researchers are all for extending expiration dates for many drugs. In fact the Shelf Life Extension  Program (SLEP) does just that for drugs in federal stockpiles. The program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Defense in cooperation with the FDA, acknowledges that the actual shelf life of drugs may be longer than their stated expiration date. They allow drugs in federal stockpiles to be retained for up to 278 months if tests show they are still potent. Some of the ingredients remained good for 480 months—so far.

The most important implications of the study is the cost savings. As one of the researchers said, “Given that Americans currently spend more than $300 billion annual on prescription medications, extending drug expiration dates could yield enormous health care expenditure savings.” Kind of a no-brainer.

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Cholesterol: the longevity diet

Emma Morano is the oldest person in the world and the only living person who was born in the 1800s. She is 117, is in excellent health, and has a sharp memory. Her secret to longevity: eating three raw eggs a day. She’s been doing this since she was a teenager. By now, she will have consumed around 100,000 eggs in her lifetime. So let’s hear it for cholesterol! (Egg yolks, I’m sure you know, rate the highest for cholesterol.) Maybe I should up my egg intake from two a day to three.

Then there’s the oldest living yoga teacher: Tao Porchon-Lynch, who’s 98 and teaches five 90-minute yoga classes a week! She drives with confidence and travels all over the world giving yoga workshops. She doesn’t drink water (only wine and tea). Here’s what really gets me: she wears only high heels, saying that they help “elevate her consciousness.” I can’t imagine! (I haven’t worn high heels in about 60 years—and not very high ones at that).

Athletes in the World Masters track and field events include Ruth Frith who competes in the 100-plus category in shot put. She eats no vegetables. Ugo Sansonetti, 97, who is a world record holder for various races in the Masters is fueled mostly by cow’s milk. 

All this is to say you might do well to ignore diet advice.

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.

Breathe or sing to boost your immune system

I have an Apple watch. The other day, it tapped me on the wrist. When I looked at the watch face, it said “Breathe.” The message came unbidden. Although I have since learned there’s an app for that, I had no idea that it existed and did nothing to make the message appear. Just as suddenly, the message stopped appearing.

At any rate, the message only appeared a couple of times a day. So it wasn’t a nuisance, but I thought it was silly and ignored it. Shortly after that I learned that a type of breathing called “controlled” breathing is beneficial in lots of ways, including reducing stress, increasing alertness, boosting your immune system, and reducing symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and depression.

Controlled breathing (also called “coherent breathing”) is easy: place your hands on your belly and slowly breathe in, expanding your belly, to the count of five. Pause, then slowly breathe out to the count of six. (We do this in my yoga class.) Practice this pattern for 10 to 20 minutes a day.

Apparently this kind of breathing sends signals to your brain that all is well. In response, your brain adjusts your parasympathetic nervous system—the system that controls unconscious processes such as heart rate and digestion as well as your body’s stress response. A number of scientific studies support the benefits of slow deep breathing. By testing people’s saliva following controlled breathing exercises researchers have found significantly lower levels of chemicals associated with inflammation and stress. Similar studies have shown that singing for an hour produces the same results.

I should probably figure out how to turn that “Breathe” app on again. Or I could join a choir.

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.

Recap for 2016

This January marks the second anniversary of my blog. I thought I might have run out of material by now, but it hasn't happened. I will soldier on.

I turned 80 last August and have learned the truth of the adage, "old age is not for sissies." As you know if you follow this blog, I try to avoid doctors, procedures, and medicines. However, last year, I did go to doctors a few times.

I've been to the dermatologist once or twice because of skin cancer. For me, this is kind of  ho hum.

I've been to orthopedic doctors a few times: once because of an accident in which my leg swelled horribly and stayed that way (no serious damage), and a couple of times because bending my knee was painful. An MRI showed that I have a "shredded" meniscus (cartilage) in one knee.  It turns out the pain is caused by excess fluid, which is caused by inflammation, which is caused by the messed-up meniscus. Except for two cortisone shots, I’m not doing anything about it. The cortisone shots helped, but my squatting days are over. At least it doesn’t hurt to walk.

I have discovered that Advil wreaks havoc on my immune system. One of those orthopedic guys had suggested four Advil pills morning and night for hip bursitis. After about a week of that regimen I got a terrible cold. So I stopped, but I kept using it in smaller doses, probably too often, with the result that I had two more colds last year—absolutely unheard of for me. I usually get one cold every five years at most. The journal, Cell Immunology says that ibuprofen (Advil) interferes with antibody production. Antibodies neutralize sick-making bacteria and viruses that are hanging around just waiting to pounce when my guard is down. 

Now I am 100% med free. No other anti-inflammatory did anything for me. So I’m just toughing it out. That's where not being a sissy comes in.

Other than that, I'm doing OK, golfing, going to Jazzercise and yoga, etc. I still refuse annual checkups including any blood workups. I think it's been 13 years since I last had one. I'm sticking with that program.

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.

Cartoons for the holidays II

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.