Expired Cortef, still good?

[gina_malcom]

Hi, my doctor prescribed Cortef(hydrocortisone) for a stomach ulcer about this time last year. I only took a few of the pills and then threw them in the medicine drawer and forgot about them. Now my ulcer is acting up again and I just found the bottle of Cortef and thought "Yes!! Relief!" Unfortunately they expired 08/2007. They've been kept airtight in the RX bottle and in a drawer in my bedroom, not the bathroom! Are they still good?

[tinmuning]

Like food, medications have expiration dates. The expiration date means the medication will be effective until that date, if stored under the proper conditions of light, temperature, and moisture. If not stored under suggested conditions, medicine may even expire before the expiration date. The expiration date on most medications is two years after the drug is manufactured. So if your drugs said they expired 8/2007, that means those drugs were almost 3 years old by now! With the cost of drugs skyrocketing, taking expired drugs may be tempting, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

[gina_malcom]

Thank you very much for your informative reply.