What happens if you take expired Hydrocodone?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Most times when you take an expired medication,the active ingredient starts to deminish. I dont think that it can really hurt as long as you are not abusing the drug

Answer 2

Nothing. It will likely work as desired. Drugs may begin to lose effectiveness after the expiration date.

Answer 3

It won't hurt you, but then again it may not help you depending on how long they've been expired. Most meds are still okay and at full strength for a few years after the expiration date (the huge exception to this would be nitro!). Eventually the active ingredient will diminish and render your med to nothing more than a placebo, but it won't make you ill if that's your concern. If the pills are not discolored or smell weird chances are they're still ok.

Answer 4

If it's expired it probably won't be as potent. You should see your doctor before beginning to take a narcotic.

Answer 5

It might not be full-strength if it's very old.

If you're in enough pain that you feel you need heavy-duty painkillers, I'd really urge you to go to a doctor and get checked out before you take that stuff. Unless you have some chronic condition like migraine and the pain clearly fits that condition's profile, you might have something serious going on with your body and need medical help, not painkillers that might mask the problem while it gets worse.

Source(s):

Experience.