One of the cost factors for those who have dangerous allergic shock reactions is the expiration date on products like EpiPen. While according to the research injectable epinephrine does lose some of its potency over time, it remains potent enough for emergency use for a number of years beyond the expiration date - so long as what should be a clear fluid does not become cloudy.
If I was in your position (a) I would ask for a generic and(b) I would do my research to determine the loss of effective potency date.
I would add that the FDA owns significant responsibility for this situation since it has contributed to the Mylan monopoly through its slow walking of competitors products and failure to demand stabilizers that lengthen the life of the epinephrine.
bjc wrote:" (b) I would do my research to determine the loss of effective potency date."
Good luck with the research. I have asked pharmacists and physicians for help with this research - to no avail.
I have two offspring requiring access to epinephrine injectors due to allergies (bees, shellfish, seafood, nuts, peanuts, sulpha, penicillin ). While in school and sports, I needed to keep three injector sets for each since there was 7 years between them in age/size. Over the years I saved the 'expired' epi-pens and Auvi-Q's because the liquid remained clear and suddenly became very, very expensive recently to replace. I have many expired sets in cool dark storage which I refuse to discard unless the liquid turns cloudy.