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Water Pollution from used pharmaceuticals... a step you can take...


VitaminB

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Hello All,

 

I want to do the water titration method, but I realized it would be irresponsible to throw out the water from my percentage drop into the sink. 

 

One idea I had was getting a used pan from a thrift store and putting the waste water into it and keeping it around until my taper was done. I could heat the pan to evaporate the water periodically and make room for more waste water. 

 

Or, I could use all my old supplement bottles to store the water and throw them in the dumpster, but sometimes trash is compacted, so the water would end up in a drain anyway. 

 

I wanted to bring up the inconvenient truth that when we take drugs those drugs end up in our pee and in to municipal water systems to be recycled without much technology being applied to remove them. 

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pharmaceuticals-in-the-water/

 

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/emerging/info_sheet_pharmaceuticals/en/

 

There are used medicines in the water, and in the USA it has contributed to frogs mutating since they absorb so much through their skin. They are the canary in the coal mine. 

 

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_pharmaceutical_use_soars_drugs_taint_water_and_wildlife/2263/

 

And, as many of you may know, give your solid pills back that you haven't used to a medical professional or a local governmental agency to be disposed of properly.

Edited by scallywag
white space removed from end of post

I was on Seroquel from 2008-2016 because Seroquel doesn't cause akathisia (in my case) and all other drugs do.   

 

I am tapering slowly off Seroquel- got down to 393.75mg, Fall 2016 ... 3% taper still couldn't keep me from hospital. 

 

Hospital stay switched me to 300 clozapine/clozaril.

 

Summer 2017: slowly cut and weighed clozapine/clozaril from 300mg to 275mg over 3 months. 

 
 

 

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Thanks for bringing this up VitB!

 

I have wondered this, and I worry, especially when people  - angry with the drugs - flush the lot of them down the toilet.

 

As a result, drugs are getting into the sewage, the water treatment plant.  And the water treatment plant doesn't treat for prozac, birth control drugs, or any other pharmaceuticals.  

 

Apparently frogs - I guess amphibians are particularly susceptible - and fish are having sex changes due to pharmaceuticals.  

 

Here's fish - salmon - testing positive for pharmaceuticals:

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/drugs-flooding-into-puget-sound-and-its-salmon/

 

So I will be linking to this, even "throwing them away" might land them in the soil or the water.

 

If you have tablets or capsules, the protocol is to take them back to the pharmacy for safe "medical waste" disposal.

 

However, I doubt you could take a jar or pan of mysterious liquid to the pharmacy!

 

Thanks for this one Vit B, this is one I've wondered about.

"Easy, easy - just go easy and you'll finish." - Hawaiian Kapuna

 

Holding is hard work, holding is a blessing. Give your brain time to heal before you try again.

 

My suggestions are not medical advice, you are in charge of your own medical choices.

 

A lifetime of being prescribed antidepressants that caused problems (30 years in total). At age 35 flipped to "bipolar," but was not diagnosed for 5 years. Started my journey in Midwest United States. Crossed the Pacific for love and hope; currently living in Australia.   CT Seroquel 25 mg some time in 2013.   Tapered Reboxetine 4 mg Oct 2013 to Sept 2014 = GONE (3 years on Reboxetine).     Tapered Lithium 900 to 475 MG (alternating with the SNRI) Jan 2014 - Nov 2014, tapered Lithium 475 mg Jan 2015 -  Feb 2016 = GONE (10 years  on Lithium).  Many mistakes in dry cutting dosages were made.


The tedious thread (my intro):  JanCarol ☼ Reboxetine first, then Lithium

The happy thread (my success story):  JanCarol - Undiagnosed  Off all bipolar drugs

My own blog:  https://shamanexplorations.com/shamans-blog/

 

 

I have been psych drug FREE since 1 Feb 2016!

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Yes, the pot would need to be triple bagged and in the dumpster. 

I was on Seroquel from 2008-2016 because Seroquel doesn't cause akathisia (in my case) and all other drugs do.   

 

I am tapering slowly off Seroquel- got down to 393.75mg, Fall 2016 ... 3% taper still couldn't keep me from hospital. 

 

Hospital stay switched me to 300 clozapine/clozaril.

 

Summer 2017: slowly cut and weighed clozapine/clozaril from 300mg to 275mg over 3 months. 

 
 

 

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  • 1 month later...

The last paragraph is another way to dispose:

 

How to Dispose of Expired Medications

Most medications can be safely thrown away, but read the label or package instructions to see what the recommendations are for that particular medication. When you need to dispose of your expired medications another way, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends these methods:

  • See if your community has a "take-back" program to bring medications to a specific location. This is the best option if it's available.
  • Give your expired or unused medications to authorized Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sites. Visit the DEA's website for more information.
  • If you can't do either of these and there are no disposal directions on the package, take the medication out of the original packaging and mix it with something like used coffee grounds, kitty litter or dirt. Put this mixture in a sealed container or plastic bag so it can't leak and throw it away.

 

https://www.verywell.com/when-do-medications-actually-expire-380347

I was on Seroquel from 2008-2016 because Seroquel doesn't cause akathisia (in my case) and all other drugs do.   

 

I am tapering slowly off Seroquel- got down to 393.75mg, Fall 2016 ... 3% taper still couldn't keep me from hospital. 

 

Hospital stay switched me to 300 clozapine/clozaril.

 

Summer 2017: slowly cut and weighed clozapine/clozaril from 300mg to 275mg over 3 months. 

 
 

 

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