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Author Topic: How do you handle empty medicine containers?  (Read 11924 times)

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Offline retroMan

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How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« on: February 15, 2012, 12:47:54 pm »
Every month when I'm done with pills, I peel the labels off before putting bottles in the trash.  Should I be concerned about privacy issues?  I'm curious how others address this.

When I get shipments from the pharmacy its always with a ton of paperwork and summary sheets.  I've been able to reduce some of it by calling and requesting it minimized.

Offline bear60

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2012, 02:49:47 pm »
We peel the labels off and put the bottles into the recycling bin.  Glas and most plastic is recycled here.
As for paperwork, we keep a file for tax purposes and shred the rest.  The shreded paper goes into recycling.
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline leatherman

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2012, 03:19:11 pm »
i save some bottles to put seeds in for next year's garden and some for craft projects (after they have been washed and dried of course). the rest I just pitch in the garbage. LOL I'm open about being poz and I'm too poor to have my identity stolen, so I've never given this a thought before. ;)
leatherman (aka Michael)

We were standing all alone
You were leaning in to speak to me
Acting like a mover shaker
Dancing to Madonna then you kissed me
And I think about it all the time
- Darren Hayes, "Chained to You"

Offline jkinatl2

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2012, 04:33:05 pm »
I I just pitch mine in the trash. Never occurs to me to peel off a label or anything.
"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline denb45

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2012, 04:58:12 pm »
I just pitch them, I don't even pull the labels off of them, there really isn't much info printed on the bottles for me to worry about identity theft, and I really don't care if someone knows where I live, never worried about this before......
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline mecch

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2012, 05:29:08 pm »
I dunno. I live in a building of about 15 apartments and we share trash containers in the courtyard. Also, we are expected to recycle paper. My city doesn't have recycling of this kind of plastic.  Anyone who wants to snoop into my mixed trash among the potato peels and yucky yucky, far as I am concerned, gets what they deserve - probably more information than they would ever want, as a good Swiss.  Swiss don't pry. 
If you are concerned about privacy it does seem prudent to take care how you trash "the evidence." But do you share containers with neighbors??

I'll throw the paper boxes of the pill bottles in the paper bin. But I don't throw in anything with credit card numbers, so go figure.
“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Offline weasel

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2012, 05:59:11 pm »


    Here in Possum Village  .............

       I just toss them . Whom is going to look ?

       These people would not know what they were looking at anyway  :)

                                                    Weasel  :-*
" Live and let Live "

Offline J.R.E.

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2012, 07:03:30 pm »

I peel the label off, and then their recycled at the town recycle center.

Ray
Current Meds ; Viramune / Epzicom Eliquis, Diltiazem. Pravastatin 80mg, Ezetimibe. UPDATED 2/18/24
 Tested positive in 1985,.. In October of 2003, My t-cell count was 16, Viral load was over 500,000, Percentage at that time was 5%. I started on  HAART on October 24th, 2003.

 As of Oct 2nd, 2023, Viral load Undetectable.
CD 4 @676 /  CD4 % @ 18 %
Lymphocytes,absolute-3815 (within range)


72 YEARS YOUNG

Offline LongTimeSurvivor

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2012, 09:11:47 pm »
I just toss them in the trash. Also toss in all the injection waste except for the syringe and needles. Those go in the Little Red Safety Box. I turn that in at my doc's office. If I had started drugs earlier I might have done some things different. But by the time I had to start Atripla, etc., I was already pretty open about being HIV+. Do what makes you feel comfortable. That's always the best direction to go.
Of course it's important. It's an email...

Offline retroMan

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2012, 11:28:41 pm »
Thank you all.  This was very helpful.  I can at least recycle them now.

Offline wolfter

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2012, 07:13:46 am »
Don't forget about repurposing.  The larger ones are especially great in the work shop.  Use them to hold paint left over from projects.  They seal really nicely and all you need to do is dab paint on the lid for quick reference.  The large clearer ones are great for keeping thing sorted and are easy to see what they contain. 

I currently have about 2 grocery bags full of them so I decided to start trashing them.  We don't have a recycle program here.  I guess I've never worried about the labels.  I'm not worried about my name and address being on them as they already have that information if they're at my home going through my trash.  As far as showing what meds I'm on?  I'm way past that point of caring.  There was a time though that I kept everything in our safe for fear of privacy.  Now my bottles all just hang out on a shelf by my bed.

Wolfie
Being honest is not wronging others, continuing the dishonesty is.

Offline retroMan

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2012, 10:09:56 am »
Great idea, Wolfie!  You've just inspired me to get back into my creativity.  Thanks!

Offline bear60

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2012, 12:01:32 pm »
oh my god...i just remembered...plastic medicine containers....we used those to put our marijuana in.  Keeps well in plastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGJvzwKqg0&feature=share
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #13 on: February 20, 2012, 12:06:35 pm »
I I just pitch mine in the trash. Never occurs to me to peel off a label or anything.

ditto
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline Rev. Moon

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #14 on: February 20, 2012, 12:13:40 pm »
I create really cute crafts with mine.




Edited to add: my apologies for posting in LTS.  Somehow I thought this was in Living With
« Last Edit: February 20, 2012, 11:51:49 pm by Rev. Moon »
"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Offline bear60

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #15 on: February 20, 2012, 12:34:34 pm »
school science project?
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline RapidRod

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #16 on: February 20, 2012, 04:34:41 pm »
I create really cute crafts with mine.



Didn't you mother tell you not to play with your medications? ;)

Offline Joe K

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #17 on: February 20, 2012, 08:33:47 pm »
I create really cute crafts with mine.



All it needs is a moat filled with liquid Norvir.  That would kill any trespassers.

Joe

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #18 on: February 20, 2012, 08:38:51 pm »
All it needs is a moat filled with liquid Norvir.  That would kill any trespassers.

Joe

Oh, she's already trespassed by illegally entering Golden Acres.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline denb45

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #19 on: February 20, 2012, 08:45:38 pm »
oh my god...i just remembered...plastic medicine containers....we used those to put our marijuana in.  Keeps well in plastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGJvzwKqg0&feature=share

Joel,   that song changed my life, as well as a few thousand brain-cells  ;D
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline Buckmark

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #20 on: February 21, 2012, 01:33:05 pm »
I can't remove the labels from my med containers, so use a permanent marker to black out the info on the label, and then toss them in the recycle bin.

"Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things:
     One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell.
     The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love."
- Butch Hancock, Musician, The Flatlanders

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #21 on: February 21, 2012, 01:37:11 pm »
Can someone tell me what the point of doing such thing is for? All the label has of a source for identity theft is your name. There's no mailing address or social security number. You don't think someone can access your name in some easier manner?
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline LongTimeSurvivor

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  • I don'no...there may be Zombears...in theres...
Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #22 on: February 21, 2012, 09:54:21 pm »
Some might live in large apartment buildings and not want the staff or nosy neighbors to know that person's HIV status.

For me I could care less. Anyone who thinks I'm "bad" because of my status is someone whose opinion means nothing to me. They are rather sad people who try to make other people's lives miserable so their life has some meaning.

But that's just my opinion...
Of course it's important. It's an email...

Offline deibster

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #23 on: February 22, 2012, 06:48:44 pm »
Hi all, I live on Cape Cod. We don't have a landfill; the closest one is over four hours away, so trash is expensive. We recycle almost everything, but with the cost of diesel that's also getting expensive. We take old computers & small appliances to one of the non-profit thrift shops in town, or the transfer station where we can swap them for things others are discarding.

I don't blackout the labels, we have probably the oldest ASO in the country & there's virtually no stigma here. Besides, my straight & lesbian neighbors volunteer at the ASO & see me coming in to see my case manager. The ASO is so well accepted that it is the contact point for heating assistance (HEAP) for the whole town gay & straight, unless they want to drive an hour to the county seat, & many of the people on assistance don't have cars.

We also use well water; the town water system runs on well water. So we don't flush old meds down the drown. Take care, Deibster  ;)
Poz since Dec 1992. Meds since 1995. Disability since 2005. Constantly fighting the Lipodystrophy 'beer gut.'

Prezista/Norvir, Epzicom, Cytomel, Prevacid, Coumadin, pravastatin, Fenofibrate, Remeron, Zoloft, Concerta, Flomax, Allegra180, Nasacort, Centrum, Flax Oil, Fish Oil

Offline J.R.E.

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #24 on: February 22, 2012, 07:13:18 pm »


We also use well water; the town water system runs on well water. So we don't flush old meds down the drown. Take care, Deibster  ;)

Good point!!! Medication ( expired/ unused) shouldn't be flushed at all.  We have collection centers for meds.

http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/meds-wind-tap-water-despite-drug-disposal-regulations-2960


Ray
« Last Edit: February 22, 2012, 07:15:11 pm by J.R.E. »
Current Meds ; Viramune / Epzicom Eliquis, Diltiazem. Pravastatin 80mg, Ezetimibe. UPDATED 2/18/24
 Tested positive in 1985,.. In October of 2003, My t-cell count was 16, Viral load was over 500,000, Percentage at that time was 5%. I started on  HAART on October 24th, 2003.

 As of Oct 2nd, 2023, Viral load Undetectable.
CD 4 @676 /  CD4 % @ 18 %
Lymphocytes,absolute-3815 (within range)


72 YEARS YOUNG

Offline NY2011

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #25 on: February 22, 2012, 09:20:49 pm »
That castle is creative, but I can't help but think about the number of people you could have helped who do not have insurance by donating your unused meds to AID FOR AIDS. 

http://www.aidforaids.org/index.php/site/donate/

Please consider this next time before adding another wing to your art project.  Thanks.
10/26/2011 - SEROCONVERSION (fever+rash, 104 degrees F)
10/31/2011 - CD4= 154  VL>500,000 
10/31/2011 - started on Truvada+Prezista+Norvir
12/14/2011 - CD4= 750 VL=6412 (45%)
01/27/2012 - switched to Atripla
04/23/2012 - CD4=1,221 VL= 140  (47%)
06/22/2012 - CD4=1,224 VL= ud    (49%)
12/18/2012 - CD4=1,031 VL= ud    (51%)
09/16/2013 - CD4=1,151 VL= ud   (49%)
03/26/2014 - CD4=1,050 VL= ud
11/25/2014 - CD4=1,335 VL= ud
12/01/2015 - CD4=1,115 VL= ud (55%)
11/22/2016 - CD4=1,071 VL= ud (52%)
06/01/2017 - CD4=1,014 VL= ud (53%)
switched to Biktarvy in 2018
04/23/2019 - CD4=1,072 VL= ud (52%)
01/15/2020 - CD4=  925  VL= ud (50%)

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #26 on: February 22, 2012, 09:59:02 pm »
That castle is creative, but I can't help but think about the number of people you could have helped who do not have insurance by donating your unused meds to AID FOR AIDS. 

http://www.aidforaids.org/index.php/site/donate/

Please consider this next time before adding another wing to your art project.  Thanks.

Lighten up, Shirley. It was a joke.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline aztecan

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #27 on: February 22, 2012, 11:23:09 pm »
Well, not wishing to spoil the beauty of the desert, I recycle as much as I can, including the med bottles that are recyclable. I don't remove the labels. Most of the people wouldn't know what the medication was for anyway, and those that figure it out are of no consequence to me.

Those med bottles which are not recyclable, I reuse for other things, like vegetable seeds for my garden.

But, unfortunately, some things do end up in the landfill.

HUGS,

Mark
« Last Edit: February 22, 2012, 11:26:11 pm by aztecan »
"May your life preach more loudly than your lips."
~ William Ellery Channing (Unitarian Minister)

Offline Ann

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Re: How do you handle empty medicine containers?
« Reply #28 on: February 23, 2012, 05:17:15 am »
That castle is creative, but I can't help but think about the number of people you could have helped who do not have insurance by donating your unused meds to AID FOR AIDS. 

http://www.aidforaids.org/index.php/site/donate/

Please consider this next time before adding another wing to your art project.  Thanks.

NY, as someone who was not diagnosed before 1996, you should not be posting in the Long Term Survivors forum. Please read this forum's Welcome Thread. Also, please read any other Welcome threads where they appear, as some other forums have posting restrictions as well.

We all understand you meant well, but for one, it was a joke as Miss P pointed out (none of those pills are hiv meds anyway) and two, most LTS have been around long enough to know what to do with unneeded meds.

Please do not post in this forum again. Thank you for your cooperation.

Ann



edited to fix broken linky
« Last Edit: February 23, 2012, 05:23:12 am by Ann »
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