grizzlypaw
Journeyman
Reged: 02/23/03
Posts: 87
Loc: Show Me State
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Don't want to start a war or anything, i just ran across this article and thought it might be of interest to some. It is about the pontency of generic versus brand name drugs.
LINK
It is under the Bioequivalence article tab.
Stay as pain free as you can 
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Stay as pain free as you can....grizzlypaw
Edited by drugbuyers (03/12/03 08:01 AM)
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tansun
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/28/02
Posts: 1152
Loc: southern USA
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in my experience, it matters on CERTAIN types of drugs . Soma in particular - and also you have to remember different countries have different standards on what is "acceptable " . But i can tell a generic soma from a Watson anyday
Tansun
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"Madam Meanness"
---------where theres a will, theres a way ----------
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moonshade
Old Hand
Reged: 12/01/02
Posts: 458
Loc: searching for my lost shaker o...
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I think you take a chance when ordering also. Who knows how long the drug has sat in a hot stockroom? I know heat affects potency of most any drug.
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*** insert profound statement here ***
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eyeCandy33
Stranger
Reged: 03/04/03
Posts: 22
Loc: usa
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I think it depends also on the person,diff chemistry.Mostly they are weaker,For some people its ok.The first time i took Ambien had cold sweats,The third time started working fine,I like some generics thou,,, 
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qbird
material girl
Reged: 09/02/02
Posts: 841
Loc: USA
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My feeling is there is a difference between generic and the real thing. The difference being potency for one. I refuse generics when using my card even though it is a couple of bucks cheaper.
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treetp
Journeyman
Reged: 04/08/03
Posts: 54
Loc: mountains-NE
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What an interesting link! After 3 weeks of a breathtaking, could not be controlled arthritic back flare up, I met with my Dr. today , angry and in tears of frustration. He is a very very good Dr, and was mystified that the therapy wasn't working. The 10mg Percocets weren't working, and I was also taking two 7.5 Vicodin every 6 hours, and THAT wasn't working either. After a thorough discusion , he asked if I was getting generic or brand name pain pills from the pharmacy. They were generic. In North Carolina, the law is that a generic is dispensed unless the client requests otherwise. It did not occur to me that there could be a difference. Even though he wrote the script for a brand name, the pharmacist substituted a generic. Dr was furious, wrote a script for Lortab, 10mg, and I insisted that the pharmacist give what was ordered. Bottom line--- when I got home, I took a 1/2 tab of Lortab, and got instant relief that 15mgs of generic Vicodin couldn't touch! My wonderful Dr. really dislikes generics--says that is how pharmacies really make quite a bit of money--plus, as the link you provided said---there can be as much as a 25% difference in potentency. That 25% differnce helped put me through 3 weeks of pure hell--plus I was terrified that my need for such high doses of narcotics was going to be nightmare for me as well as my Dr. Thank God that he is extremely caring and committed to using many different plans to isolate and control pain. He uses everything--steriod shots, therapy 4 or 5 days a week, exercise, and a whole range of pain medication from very simple to potent. But as he said---if the medication isn't the right strength, more harm than good is done. When I read your link, I almost fell off my chair. It's bad enough to be undermedicated by a Dr who is afraid to prescribe the amount of medication needed, but even worse to be given a generic that doesn't have the proper amount of pain mgs within it. Aggggggggh! From now on, We are only requesting non-generic meds. Our Dr agrees. Now this explains many of the complaints on the boards about "weak" meds. Sorry DB for this long rant,and it's probably in the wrong forum, but I was REALLY angry when I saw that link.Please protect yourselves, and research the OPs and pharmacies before you plunk down all thathard earned money, and get little relief.
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dwelling in silence brings peace
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Stacy
Enthusiast
Reged: 11/15/02
Posts: 245
Loc: USA
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A bit off topic....while looking through that link you provided, I did find an interesting area.
The recalls of Foods, Drugs (including blood products)and healthcare products, are listed by week here:
http://www.fda.gov/po/enforceindex/2003enforce.html
I have been reading some of the reasons for recalls and it is very scary. Recalling corneas, blood, etc because people had tested positive for diseases and the products were distributed........
It can keep you up on any recalls though.
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Stacy
Enthusiast
Reged: 11/15/02
Posts: 245
Loc: USA
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I know a lot of people here take Soma, and here is a recall that was issued the end of April, on one of the generics.
Quote:
PRODUCT
Carisoprodol Tablets, USP, 350mg, 500 and 1000 tablet bottles. Recall # D-221-3.
CODE
1,000 tablet bottles -- 210049A exp. 9/04;
210050A exp. 9/04;
500 tablet bottles -- 210051A exp. 9/04;
210052A exp. 9/04; 210053A exp 10/04.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Able Laboratories, Inc., South Plainfield, NJ, by letter dated January 15, 2003. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Incorrect tablet imprinting; some tablets bear the incorrect identification "A265" rather than "A266".
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
7,731 bottles.
DISTRIBUTION
Nationwide.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2003/ENF00793.html
It's about 1/3 the way down the page.
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lovepink
Goddess
Reged: 01/01/02
Posts: 1476
Loc: NYC Metro Area
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Quote:
In North Carolina, the law is that a generic is dispensed unless the client requests otherwise.
I live in NY in a town bordering NJ and see doctors in both states. On prescriptions from both states, unless the doctor specifically indicates the patient is to receive name brand (by writing "daw" - dispense as written - and signing next to it in NY/signing his name a second time in a specified box in NJ), the patient has no choice but to receive generics. I recently asked a pharmacist what the price difference would be for Lortab vs. generic hydrocodone and was told it didn't matter as by law he was required to fill the script generically. This makes absolutely no sense to me. In the future when I know I'll be written a certain prescription I'll have to check pricing beforehand so I know whether to request that my doctor write the script to allow brand name.
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Lovepink
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Stacy
Enthusiast
Reged: 11/15/02
Posts: 245
Loc: USA
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In my state you can choose name brand or generic, unless it is signed "DAW".
There are only two signature places on scripts, one says, "product selection permitted" and the other says, "DAW".
If it says selection permitted and you don't tell the pharmacist you want generic, you will get name brand.
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Boobetty
Veteran
Reged: 12/30/01
Posts: 637
Loc: The windy City...Boo:)
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My local pharmacy ALWAYS seems to fill my scripts generic..I HAVE to tell them I want brand..this just makes me crazy..I do think that generic is a lot less potiant then the brand...Boo
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living with pain is not living at all. Boo
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Daycamp72
Enthusiast
Reged: 06/29/02
Posts: 284
Loc: Tara
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I HAVE to tell them I want brand..this just makes me crazy..I do think that generic is a lot less potiant then the brand...Boo
I agree, Boo. My brother, the pharmacist, says that generic seems not to have the shelf life of brand. My pharmacist knows NOT to fill mine with generic, too! My husband takes Prilosec (a stomach acid inhibitor) and his pharmacist filled a script for him with a knock-off OF a knock-off of Prilosec. Never heard THAT before! Anyway, my husband said that it was like taking a placebo.
I'm for brand name any day.
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toe
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/09/02
Posts: 1425
Loc: MidWest USA
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Quote:
In my state you can choose name brand or generic, unless it is signed "DAW".
There are only two signature places on scripts, one says, "product selection permitted" and the other says, "DAW".
If it says selection permitted and you don't tell the pharmacist you want generic, you will get name brand.
I've never been to a pharmacy in the US that didn't have it posted that "Unless you request brand name, we subsitute high-quality generics." High-quality, as we know, is a questionabale term, but I've never gotten brand name scripts for anything that was out of patent.
Obviously this doesn't count if your doctor writes DAW on the script. You can request a specific generic this way, too. I found out just how big a deal quality control is when my pharmacy changed their supply of generic halcion. Geneva sucked byond a show of a doubt, another brand (Cibo-Geigy or something?) sucked just a little less. A little research cleared up that Greenstone was my generic of choice and my doc wrote that name and DAW on the script.
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"It's the end of the World as We Know it. . ."
-REM "and I'm seeking asylum in Canada"-toe
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fishdude
Member
Reged: 12/27/01
Posts: 161
Loc: Very SW, Very hot.
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Thanks for the link, interesting stuff. What I found even more interesting were some of the other "sub links". Lots of really interesting and useful info in all those links. (It helps a lot to have a background in statistics to really understand a lot of it).
I guess I'm lucky, but having taken hydrocodone preparations made by numerous manufacturers, I can honestly say that FOR ME, it doesn't make diddly squat difference who the manufacturer is.
One thing I've always found interesting in these generic vs brand discussions it this. It seems to me that MALLINCKRODT consistently gets a reputation as a lousy manufacturer. The interesting thing is that the name brand Lortab is manufactured by... MALLINCKRODT. I've gotten into friendly discussions with people who'll say "I've got to have name brand Lortab, I can't take that generic Best if kept off the board from Mallinckrodt." There are lots of examples of a pharmceutical company making BOTH name brand and generic versions of a drug (Watson is probably the most famous around here. Watson manufactures the name brand NORCO as well as its generic).
My guess is that since everyone's body and metabolism are different, the generic vs name brand argument will never end.
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I know I have a brain, the MRI proved it!
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PrivateRealm
Threadhead
Reged: 03/18/03
Posts: 879
Loc: usa
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I have always somewhat thought this was true to some extent. My insurance is through the state, and I always get generic unless there is no generic. I think that for my nexthydro order, I am going to try name brand and see if there is any difference in the potency.
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KeriAnne~~~
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."
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tracerb
Board Addict
Reged: 03/21/03
Posts: 322
Loc: USA
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Quote:
My local pharmacy ALWAYS seems to fill my scripts generic..I HAVE to tell them I want brand..this just makes me crazy..I do think that generic is a lot less potiant then the brand...Boo
I think if you were to read the FDA website regarding generics you would realize that the potency of generic is no less than brand, especially meds such as hydro which usually get an AA rating.
My honestly opinion on the whole debate is the same one I take on people who go into a grocery store and buy brand instead of generic. Packaging. Take norco for instance. Brand is pleasing to the eye, a nice shade of yellow. They have a nice feel to him...they stand out at you say "buy me". Generic norco on the other...plain, bland white pills. Nothing special...no fancy colors, no special stamps like norco...just a few required identifying numbers.
What's even more amusing is the fact that 50% of generic drugs in the US are manufactured by the brand manufacturer.
It's my humble opinion that the whole debate can be boiled down to the placebo effect in reverse. The mind has alot of power over the body, whether we like it or not.
But that's just my opinion and I certainly am not trying to discount yours. Perhaps you got a bad batch of meds along the way that were generic.
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Trampy
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/02/02
Posts: 1239
Loc: Southwest U.S.
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Quote:
I think that for my nexthydro order, I am going to try name brand and see if there is any difference in the potency.
If it's Norco, they look exactly the same as yellow Watsons, which is no surprise because Watson makes Norco as well as making Watsons. Their 10/325 is identical down to the color, shape, coating, and size. The only difference is that Norco says Norco instead of saying Watson 853. Oh. And Norco costs more.
Trampy
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Your mileage may vary ...
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stevesmith
Reged: 10/01/04
Posts: 431
Loc: Southern
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all I know is 3+ doctors & 3 + pharmacists I know in real life and have known for years have all said that generics are at least 20% less potent & depending on the manufacturer and or country they come from maybe more. adn there was soemthing bout different cheaper binders or soemthing being used also on generics. I just know me, myself can tell the difference bwteen a generic V and name brand and generic hydro vs name brand is all I know.
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PPL don't argue over ideas or possible solutions, but instead argue to assert their egos and release frustration. Once U realize this, U will neither argue nor take arguments seriously
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t_oshan2003
Board Addict
Reged: 10/17/03
Posts: 308
Loc: East
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I take diazipan which is the generic for valium. I wonder if I would notice more affects if I took a real valium ???
Anyone with any experience on this?
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stevesmith
Reged: 10/01/04
Posts: 431
Loc: Southern
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Quote:
I take diazipan which is the generic for valium. I wonder if I would notice more affects if I took a real valium ???
Anyone with any experience on this?
I take diazipam also. I can tell a big differecen between the 2. I think my V-cuts are 40% stronger than the generics easy. but anywhere from 13X - 17X the price at rite aid without insurance. so i just get the generics
50 diazepam 10mg = 25.00 at right aid
50 Valium name brand = 199.00 at rite aid
a friedn had a local pharmacy i go to though:
50 generics = 10.00
50 name brand = 130.00 there
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PPL don't argue over ideas or possible solutions, but instead argue to assert their egos and release frustration. Once U realize this, U will neither argue nor take arguments seriously
Edited by stevesmith (10/22/04 11:43 AM)
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tone
Veteran
Reged: 06/29/03
Posts: 539
Loc: Chicago
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Quote:
If it's Norco, they look exactly the same as yellow Watsons, which is no surprise because Watson makes Norco as well as making Watsons. Their 10/325 is identical down to the color, shape, coating, and size. The only difference is that Norco says Norco instead of saying Watson 853. Oh. And Norco costs more.
Trampy
Trampy i always love it when someone compares watsons and norcos, says theres a difference and doesnt know about this.
i suppose their could be a difference with some meds, but with tramadol i tried a lot a brands and there is none. same thing with diphenhydramine and xanax. i think my mood and even how much or what food is in my stomach makes a bigger difference. perhapes if i tried loratab, then went off it and took some oxycodone, then went off that and went on a generic hydro, i might call that hydro worse not thinking that its cross tolerance from the oxy inbetween. there are so many factors, but i guess i wouldnt doubt there there could be some difference with some of them having to low an amount in the pill.
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