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I noticed that every pharmacy especially big chains have their own specific brand of generics they carry. If I use Walgreens they always fill the generic with Qualitest or Purepac. If I go to Longs it's Watson brand and the brand is always different at Savon also. Can you ask your pharmacist for a specific brand of Generic?? I asked a longs pharmacist once about how I wanted brand for a certain med and she tried to push the generic. I was just curious about the criteria on how pharmacies choose wich generic to use and I'm guessing it's probably the pharm makes a deal with the diferent companies and is based on who has the best offer. Info appreciated!
Just to help out with info...pharmacies choose meds through med distributors. They usually sign up with one or another based on cost or better shipping options, etc. WHichever distributor has the better options to choose from in general, they sign up with. Often they may hear about another place to get it cheaper but they are often so busy they just stick with what they already get...depends on their energy level and how busy they are.
And you can ask around at pharmacies for particular brands but it's also true that that will often come with an attitude on the part of the pharmacy personnel. They are taught that generic drugs are the exact same chemical makeup as brands. Often times they are and sometimes come from the same company with different labels put on the same meds. But I know many paople who prefer certain brands, so who's to say which is better...I don't know for sure.
Also, many people at pharmacies harbor an attitude that people asking for a certain brand are either addicts or dealers who can get a better price for one over another or they think people are fooling themselves into beleiving one is better than another.
But it's still your right to ask...and if you find a helpful person at the pharmacy they are able to look in their ditributor's book of drugs they are able to order and often there is more than one brand to choose from. They automatically go for the cheapest but they CAN special order a brand for you if it's in their distributor's book.
Speaking from experience not all generics are the same. I use NWW and before they switched to Unipharm and were using St Petes, i recieved a generic brand of Soma ( which i have taken soma off and on for several years with no problems) But this particular brand made me so sick i ended up in the hospital. The Dr told me that alot of times the fillers that the different generics use is what effects people, not the actual med you are taking it for. It sure wasnt fun
That makes sense that the fillers are different in different brands...I always figured there was a reason some people got sick off of some brands. I guess all that is regulated is the principle ingredient(s) in the meds but not the rest so much!
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