Generic vs Name Brand drugs

[DreamWeaver]

My piece of shit insurance co. just changed their policy on mental health prescriptions. They will now only cover 50% of name brand drugs. So that means Paxil costs $150 a month instead of the usual $15. INSANE.

My shrink suggested I take the generic brand. Is there really any difference? She said it has the same basic ingredients just a different name. I have trouble believing this. I'll buy Shoprite Iced Tea but I would never buy a COBY (the generic sony) dvd player. There are some things you just don't buy generic.


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[JPMNICK]

From what I remember from my chemistry class, a generic drug was have the same amount of active ingredient in order to be sold as the generic form of a name brand drug. Also, this can only happen after a certain amount of years that the name brand drug has been on the market. Anyway, i remember my teacher saying that although the active ingredient is the same, the generic version is not always produce the same efffect. Other things used to make the drug do not have to be the same, and therefore may affect the way it is obsorbed into the blood stream etc. not to scare you or anything, just what i remember. I am sure you will be fine, and you should save the money if you can.
Also, i think almost 1/2 of all drugs filled in the country are generic, so obviously they do work well.

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[Mike Teacher]

The Generics must follow the USP, just like their expensive counterparts. JPNick is indeed correct-o-mundo regarding the 'active'.

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[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but if a "generic" of a certain drug is available, does that mean the patent on the original drug expired and other drug companies can make a generic version of it?

And I'd imagine a generic of any medication would have to pass FDA standards.

I think you'll be ok Gina. I'm currently taking Abilify. It's new so there is no generic. It's fucking expensive! I'd welcome a generic!

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[Mike Teacher]

Alice, yep.

The life of the patent varies, but is almost always longer then the patent life in Canada, hence the Generics for American drugs may show up there first.

This is a huge battle between the Pharma companies the FDA and peeps like us. The companies, of course, want the exclusive rights as long as possible; and sometimes for good reason, it is often their initial blood sweat and Millions that went into it; plus multi-year long clinical trials to get it on the shelves in the first place. A huge hornet's nest; but im already rambling...

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[HBox]

My father recently switiched from Paxil to the generic, and he's fine. Check with your insurance company and see if they have a mail-away pharmacy. Usually you can get it through a mail-away MUCH cheaper than at your local pharmacy. But you usually have to buy like three-month supplies, and you will have to tell your doctor to fill out a prescription for a three month supply. It's good for medicines that you are on all the time.

And I fear my insurance company is going the same route as yours. They still cover brand name drugs, but they have a list of "preferred drugs." So because my insurance company couldn't cut a sweetheart deal with the makers of Zyrtec-D, I had to go from paying $15 for a 3 month supply to $90. Still a better deal than most of the people I know have, but our monthly premium is murder. Literally. We have to contract kill.

EDIT: I don't want to trash my insurance company that much. I recently was prescribed by my doctor an antibiotic called Zyvox. I had to go searching for a pharmacy that carried it, my usual one did not. On my third try I found one, and I soon found out why pharmacies didn't carry it. A two week supply cost over $1000! And I had to only pay $15. Yay insurance company!

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This message was edited by HBox on 5-4-04 @ 7:44 PM

[Crippler]

The Generics must follow the USP
That's it...essentially that means it's the same drug, made with the same ingredients, in the same ratios, using the same process, just in a different company's building. Have no fear.

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[DreamWeaver]

Thanks for the reassurance. I was freaking out for a while there.

Check with your insurance company and see if they have a mail-away pharmacy. Usually you can get it through a mail-away MUCH cheaper than at your local pharmacy. But you usually have to buy like three-month supplies, and you will have to tell your doctor to fill out a prescription for a three month supply. It's good for medicines that you are on all the time.
Yes they do. I had planned on doing that this month but my doc game me the 3 month script for Paxil, not the generic. Does the mail-away pharmacy charge you less for the name brand than if you went to the regular pharmacy? I'm confused. I think she forgot she was supposed to make it out for the generic.

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[mdr55]

My shrink suggested I take the generic brand. Is there really any difference? She said it has the same basic ingredients just a different name. I have trouble believing this.


The difference is in how they COOK it. ;)

[TooCute]

Eh, I'm not on any medications so I can't comment on that, but I do always bu generic OTC drugs. However, I do have it on good authority with first hand experience in this that in some instances the generics simply don't work the same as the brand name.

My assumpton is that since they can be made with different fillers or whatever, regardless of whether they have the same amount of active ingredient, individual people have different reactions to the different formulations.

I'd say give the generic a shot and if it's not working as well as the brand name, decide if the difference in price is worth it to you.

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[HBox]

Yes they do. I had planned on doing that this month but my doc game me the 3 month script for Paxil, not the generic. Does the mail-away pharmacy charge you less for the name brand than if you went to the regular pharmacy? I'm confused. I think she forgot she was supposed to make it out for the generic.

I get my drugs through advance RX, and on their order form you actually have to specify if you want brand name drugs; otherwise, if there is a generic drug available they will automatically subsitute the generic without telling you.

They should be able to give you the generic even if the prescription says Paxil on it, but I'd call them first to make sure. I'm in New Jersey, the laws on prescriptions in each state are different.

As for the prices, they should be cheaper across the board from the mail-order. But if generics are cheaper than brand names in your plan they will likely remain that way from the mail-away. It's that way in my plan.

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[ADF]

Like TooCute, I'm not on any prescribed drugs, so I can only say that I always go with the generic if possible. I haven't noticed a difference. Those generic placebos work tremendously well for me.

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[Arienette]

as everyone said, it's just a patent thing. once it expires, the formula becomes fair game.

as far as the pharmacies giving you generic - if you want to be sure you get the name brand, have your doctor write you a "dispense as written" prescription. then, it's illegal for the pharmacy to fill it with the generic version.

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[JPMNICK]

Eh, I'm not on any medications so I can't comment on that, but I do always bu generic OTC drugs. However, I do have it on good authority with first hand experience in this that in some instances the generics simply don't work the same as the brand name.

My assumpton is that since they can be made with different fillers or whatever, regardless of whether they have the same amount of active ingredient, individual people have different reactions to the different formulations.


This is 100% correct. The fillers are actually specifically designed and engineered in order to help speed absortion into the stomach as well as the amount of the chemical that enters your blood stream.
I just called my friend who is a chemical engineer from Pfizer. She said that the generic drugs to do have the same success rate in clinical studies as the name brand due to the fillers. They are good, but not as good. If possible, she said take the name brand. If not, hopefully(and there is a good chance), you will be fine on the generic.
We are also friends with a girl who had some wierd surgery when she was 16 and is on birth control for life. Doctors prescribed her the B.C., and she got the generic. well 3 months later she was all messed up and he got pissed that the pharmacy filled in generic. From now on, she can only take the name brand stuff. Just a side note.

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[FollowThisLogic]

Having worked for a generic OTC company, I can definitely tell you that the stuff about the patent expiring, therefore making the formula open to anyone, is absolutely true. They're making the same basic stuff, same formula, same active ingredient.

It wouldn't surprise me if the testimonials about generic drugs not working as well, are just psychological... you don't expect it to work, so it doesn't.

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[JustJon]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but if a "generic" of a certain drug is available, does that mean the patent on the original drug expired and other drug companies can make a generic version of it?
As a current (and soon to be former) pharma employee, let me just say that they don't always wait till the patent expires.

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[GaryWyze]

[color=purple]
Yes they do. I had planned on doing that this month but my doc game me the 3 month script for Paxil, not the generic. Does the mail-away pharmacy charge you less for the name brand than if you went to the regular pharmacy? I'm confused. I think she forgot she was supposed to make it out for the generic.

Unless your doctor wrote "DAW" (Dispense As Written) you should have no problem substituting the generic for the original.

And I would assume that buying in bulk through the mail is always cheaper, although the saving percentage on generics may be less since they cost less to begin with.

Does Paxil come in varying dosages? The cost or co-pay of drugs doesn't always vary by strength, so it's sometimes worth it to have a double than actually needed dose prescribed and invest a few dollars in a pill cutter (although doctors might have some hesitance when it comes to anti-depressants).

Personally, I think Paxil & Zoloff should be added to the water supply, but that's just me.





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[JPMNICK]

Pill cutting is not always recomended due to the outer coating which helps time realease the medicine. sometimes cutting the pill meses this up and give you to much medicine at one time. It can be dangerous.


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[DreamWeaver]

Personally, I think Paxil & Zoloff should be added to the water supply, but that's just me Just add a little Wellbutrin to balance things out and the world would be a much happier place.

I'm not sure about Paxil dosages. I'm currently taking Paxil CR (controlled release) which has no generic so I'll be switching to Paxil. I take 3-25mg pills. I believe that's the highest dosage. I think the norm is 1-12.5 mg pill which most people take (pussies).
So I don't know about regular Paxil. I'm assuming it's the same.

My doc didn't seem to care about pill cutting. She had me on 2 1/2 - 25mg pills which I bit in half with my teeth.

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[angrymissy]

you can cut paxil paxil pills as long as they're not the CR paxil... i did that when i tapered myself off Paxil (2 months of absolute hell) i had to go from 30mg, 20mg, 15mg, 10mg... after 10mg I had to slowly go down 2mg a week or face awful withdrawl... be careful with the Paxil gina, its really really rough to come off of even though they say it's non-addictive.

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[DreamWeaver]

you can cut paxil paxil pills as long as they're not the CR paxil But those were the ones I was cutting in half. Should I not have done that? oops.

I've heard about Paxil being very addictive.....another reason why I was hesitant to switch to the generic. Over the past 9 months I gradually got up to 75mg. I was going to start weening off them so I went down to 62.5 and added Wellbutrin XL. I had to get off of the Wellbutrin thanks to the insurance co. so now I'm back to 75. I know it's only a little less but I was having dizzy spells to the point where I couldn't walk without stopping every few feet to get my balance. And there was this crazy jolt or wave like feeling that ran from my toes up to my head. It was kinda scary.

Just a side note for mods...This is for entertainment purposes only.....

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[Hosp]

My Meds cost me $220 a month, between Asthma, Diabetes, Kidney Damage, and now Lipitor for Cholesterol. And the Diabetes and Lipitor are only name brand and are about $150 combined.

It sucks that I can either be healthy or live financialy comfortably.

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[angrymissy]

And there was this crazy jolt or wave like feeling that ran from my toes up to my head.

ugh those were the worst... when i was going off the paxil those were constant, every 2 minutes I'd get one.

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