Posted by bleauberry on October 18, 2008, at 9:58:23
In reply to generic ambien to avoid 'RDY 479', posted by elanor roosevelt on October 15, 2008, at 12:40:39
I can't tell you how many people have had bad reports of generic meds. Many many many. It is not just you. It is not someone's imagination.
No one knows how the fillers relate to absorption, or even if they somehow work in conjunction with the active ingredient at a molecular level. Different fillers, different drug. Similar, but different. As far as the active ingredient goes, generics are allowed I think a 8% variation. Which means if one dose is on the 8% low side and one is on the 8% high side, that is a 16% difference, almost a quarter of the dose. And exactly how they got to the end product called the active ingredient makes a difference. Chemistry stuff, like temperature heated, elapsed time in a melting state, other chemicals used in the process, and such.
I did fine at one time on brand name prozac. Also brand xanax. I did badly on the generics. I did a short trial of brand wellbutrin once and then soon followed with generic. Totally different, like night and day. I guarantee you it was not imagination or placebo, and in your case probably not as well.
Just my own opinion, but I think generics are unreliable. They work for some people. I think they should be available to try in order to reduce costs, but that if side effects are worse or condition deteriorates, then a return to the brand should be employed. And insurance companies should stay out of the business of playing doctors and chemists. Give the patient what they need to feel best and don't second guess the patient's life in the name of profit.
In a perfect world, I think everyone should be started on a brand name drug in order to duplicate original FDA clinical studies as close as possible (they were not done with generics). If the patient does well, try a switch to generic. If they still do well, great. If not, go back to brand. At a later date, do a retest and try generic again, this time from a different company. If they do great, cool. If not, get back on brand asap. An approach like that would give everyone a fair shot, including the patient and the insurance company.
poster:bleauberry
thread:857561
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081016/msgs/858075.html