What did you do with your dialysis meds?

[Deanne]

I had my Renvela prescription filled right before my transplant. I hadn't even opened the new bottles yet when I was called. I think I have a bottle or two of Sensipar, too. What did you do with your leftovers?

[cattlekid]

I took everything to my local independent pharmacy for disposal.  That's what I do with all of my expired/unneeded medications.  The only meds they won't take are federally controlled substances (pain meds).  Those, I have to save and take to the police station when they do their drug drop-off days a few times a year.

If you don't have a local pharmacy that takes back meds, CVS sells a bag for a few dollars that you can stuff full and send off for disposal. 

[Angiepkd]

I plan on checking with my dialysis center to see if I can give it to someone. That Renvela is so expensive, I would hate to throw it away.  It may not be possible, but it is worth a shot! I will let you know if it works!

[nursey66]

I agree, it would be wonderful to help out someone who needs the meds and has to pay a lot. We paid $850 for a 3 month supply of Renvela [810 pills]  and may have a bunch left due to a recent dosage cut and hopefully ,upcoming transplant. I think talking to the Dialysis nurses would be a start. However, meds do last quit a while, and heaven forbid, some transplants just don't make it very long. Meds can normally be counted on to be good for at least 2 years. It might even be illegal to give meds to anouther person.  Then there is the liability issue. Talk to your Dialysis nurse, or Transplant team before getting rid of those high $$$$$ Binders.

[obsidianom]

Unfortunatly Federal Law makes it illegal to give any prescription medication to another person . That is absolute.

[nursey66]

Yes , obsidianom , I was sure that would be the case.  Illegal.  I know you can't give scheduled drugs to anouther person. It's too bad. Who would take Binders if they didn't need them?  But I understand- liability and safety- I was a nurse before I retired.

[Sydnee]

Maybe I should not say this if it's illegal, but my husband got a full bottle of renvela from his Dr who got it from a patient who received a transplant. He took all his renvela to the neph after he got a transplant.

After my hubby got his transplant he gave me his renvela, I'll  take it to my neph if/when I get a transplant.

[Joe]

I have a ton of meds that I was using while on dialysis, including almost a whole 90 day Renvella delivery. And at 6 pills a meal and 2 with snacks, it's a ton. I'm waiting for our city prescription drop-off that they do twice a year to drop them off.

[cariad]

Unfortunatly Federal Law makes it illegal to give any prescription medication to another person . That is absolute.

It can't be that absolute unless I've known a surprisingly large number of medical people who are either ignorant of the law or are willing to risk their careers to save someone else a bit of dosh.

I gave syringes of Aranesp to my nephrologist in Long Beach to pass along to another patient when we left California, and we donated a large box of Albuterol and machine that went with it to our local free clinic. I've heard UCSF post-transplant clinic keeps a meds closet where patients can donate their unused drugs to other patients if they are taken off a certain prescription. I gave several immunosuppressants to Northwestern after I was taken off them, although I think they did bin those in the end because they didn't have a program in place to get them to other patients. I'm pretty sure there are programs where so long as a qualified pharmacist checks them over, you can donate them and they will be redistributed. Someone once mentioned hospice programs might take certain meds, may have been on this site.

If you prefer to go the disposal route you don't have to wait for specific collections. Before we moved here I rang Poison Control and they said to take the tablets and mix them in a plastic bag with used coffee grounds to keep the animals (and even people) from getting into them, then tie off the bag and discard with your regular rubbish. Don't flush or put down the sink as it will enter your local water supply (a huge problem already). Although this was only instructions for tablets, if you have fluids then I don't know what the best procedure for disposal is.

[RichardMEL]

Yes, same down here re giving back or to others meds. I was really upset at the waste. Even worse I took some to the pharmacy to dispose of "properly" and it seemed to me they were very blase about it and I think just threw them in the bin. I did manage to pass some to a fellow patient but that was about it sadly. Such waste.

I also got the renal ward I was in to take some for their "spares" supply but that was very "on the side" deal with one nurse. Normally they're only to use meds dispensed for each patient, but on occasion they did have small amounts of stuff on hand for new patients rushed in etc where there would be no time to get an order etc in.

I understand the laws and why - don't get me wrong - but it is disappointing, specially with some of them that cost a small fortune (eg: sensipar) that unused blister packs couldn't be used somehow.

[noahvale]

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[Zach]

I've given UNOPENED extra bottles of Renvela, Fosrenol and other meds like Calcitriol (all with personal labels removed) to dialysis center dietitians.  They only distributed to patients in need who had been prescribed those meds.  It does help a lot.  I benefited in the past by getting cyclosporine from other patients when not being able to afford it.  Yes, there are rules and regs, but many know the times when heads can look the other way.  Our disease, and its delivery isn't always a black/white situation.  At times, humanity trumps regulations.

 

[Deanne]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try contacting my dialysis center and neph first. I don't see throwing them out as an option right now, it's about $2000 of meds and I know someone would love to have it.

[Angiepkd]

I plan on doing the same, Deanne!  Wish I had been in-center so I might have known other patients I could give the Renvela directly to.  Hope you are doing well with your new bean!

[Deanne]

I haven't done anything with my medications yet and now I'm glad I haven't given them away yet. My transplant team told me to restart sensipar. My calcium level has been high since my transplant and it keeps getting higher at nearly every lab test. My last labs on Thursday were an issue in general and I need to have them redone tomorrow. My calcium is over 12, my creatinine is 1.2, my tacrolimus level is 15.9. I think most of it is related to the tacrolimus level and that's been lowered, so I'm not freaking out.