Is it safe to take top care pain relief if it expired in 2006? just wondering before i took it

Expirations : Expirations are arbitrarily set by the fda. There are no scientific studies that can demonstrate exactly when a medication will expire; it depends on many things such as where the medicine was stored, the heat, and the type of medication. Although many medications are good past their date, the fda does not advise taking medications past the expiration date.

Shelf life: medications usually have a shelf life as to their duration of effectiveness. I don't know of any that last 18 years and will still be effective