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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on March 17, 2006, at 23:31:48
I'm used to taking 2 mg of brand Xanax (IR) per day..my doctor's not exactly comfortable with the thought of me needing to take it so often. He doesn't want me taking it at all, actually, since I have a history of substance abuse. So I recommended Xanax XR, considering it doesn't hit you like a freight the way the other one did (not to mention the fact that blood levels remain fairly consistent throughout the day. So, he wrote a perscription for 2 mg of the XR, he says the IR and XR are equally in potency. When I got to the pharmacy, they told me they'd have it, then later on last night I receieved a phone call from them saying they don't have it and asked me if I wouldn't mind it if they order the generic formulation. I didn't know Xanax XR came in generic..has anyone else used "alprazolam ER"? If so, regardless of whether or not you took the brand name, how did the XR compare to IR?
Posted by yxibow on March 18, 2006, at 2:27:46
In reply to Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback, posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on March 17, 2006, at 23:31:48
> I'm used to taking 2 mg of brand Xanax (IR) per day..my doctor's not exactly comfortable with the thought of me needing to take it so often. He doesn't want me taking it at all, actually, since I have a history of substance abuse. So I recommended Xanax XR, considering it doesn't hit you like a freight the way the other one did (not to mention the fact that blood levels remain fairly consistent throughout the day. So, he wrote a perscription for 2 mg of the XR, he says the IR and XR are equally in potency. When I got to the pharmacy, they told me they'd have it, then later on last night I receieved a phone call from them saying they don't have it and asked me if I wouldn't mind it if they order the generic formulation. I didn't know Xanax XR came in generic..has anyone else used "alprazolam ER"? If so, regardless of whether or not you took the brand name, how did the XR compare to IR?
Mylan applied for a ANDA for Alprazolam XR and was approved Jan 26 2006 http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/appletter/2006/077391ltr.pdfWalgreens lists it as "Greenstone". Who knows.
Thats as much as I can say as I only take alprazolam generic PRN for excessive anxiety complexes.
Tidings
-- J
Posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on March 18, 2006, at 5:39:09
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback » BIGDaddyachmed69, posted by yxibow on March 18, 2006, at 2:27:46
Thanks, appreciated your input.
> Mylan applied for a ANDA for Alprazolam XR and was approved Jan 26 2006 http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/appletter/2006/077391ltr.pdf
>
> Walgreens lists it as "Greenstone". Who knows.
>
> Thats as much as I can say as I only take alprazolam generic PRN for excessive anxiety complexes.
>
> Tidings
>
> -- J
Posted by bassman on March 18, 2006, at 8:03:07
In reply to Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback, posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on March 17, 2006, at 23:31:48
Wow, do I ever have input! I have panic disorder, decided that the 1 mg/day Klonopin I'm taking was making me depressed and decided to switch to my ol' buddy, Xanax, which seeems to have an antidepressant effect on me. The XR seemed to make sense because then it would be somewhat like the long half-life of Klonopin (other than it would drop like a rock at some point). I added the XR to the Klonopin I was taking before decreasing the Klonopin, and bad things happened-I ended up with panic in the mornings. It may be because I tried 0.5 mg XR once a day...I had tried the 1 mg XR previously and no such effect. If you do decide to try the XR, I'd suggest considering 1 mg XR twice a day or something other than just taking the XR once a day-even if you look at the serum concentration graphs on the Xanax XR site, they drop below the point where Xanax would "remind you" it's time for more medication well before 24 hours.
Just as a person who has been a research chemist in the pharmaceutical area for 25+ years, I wouldn't take the generic XR. If you want to save money by taking the generic, take the brand name XR first, be sure it works and then switch to the generic. And don't be surprised if the generic acts differently. If you are interested, I could tell you many, many reasons to avoid generics-but that is a story for a different day.
IR Xanax works very well for me, even at the 0.25 mg level. BTW, if there are dependence concerns with the Xanax IR, I found that the switching to Klonopin followed by decreasing the Klonopin really worked well. When I withdrew from 4 mg Xanax/day, I had to taper very slowly-with the Klonopin, I decreased the dose by 0.25 mg and felt a litle stimulated the next day and that was it. I decreased Xanax once during the taper process by 0.25 mg and I didn't stop shaking for two weeks. The point is, if you need to decrease the Xanax at some point, it may be easier than your doc thinks.
In my opinion, if meds are working, why mess with them? I think most of us have have the great idea that we were going to decrease or eliminate a med only to really mess ourselves up for a couple months. If you are doing well on the 2 mg Xanax IR/day, why change-because your DOC is uncomfortable? Maybe you could remind him that you are coming to see him to help you, not him...:>}
Posted by Phillipa on March 18, 2006, at 20:10:53
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback » BIGDaddyachmed69, posted by yxibow on March 18, 2006, at 2:27:46
Greenstone is really xanax. The company is the same offshoot as the original xanax. My pharmacist told me not to spend the money on the real xanax they're the same. I do not take xanax anymore. But when I did it worked great for panic attacks. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on March 19, 2006, at 2:51:40
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback » yxibow, posted by Phillipa on March 18, 2006, at 20:10:53
> Greenstone is really xanax. The company is the same offshoot as the original xanax. My pharmacist told me not to spend the money on the real xanax they're the same. I do not take xanax anymore. But when I did it worked great for panic attacks. Fondly, Phillipa
Huh -- I couldn't dig into any more details about them. Yes, we could discuss into the night about generics and non, its been on here at least twice I think, the topic... but I can say safely that for occasional use, a severe anxiety situation, 1mg of generic alprazolam is very effective.
-- J
Posted by bassman on March 19, 2006, at 7:34:11
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback » Phillipa, posted by yxibow on March 19, 2006, at 2:51:40
Generics are fine if you already know what response to expect; my point is that I'd hate to see someone try a course of an AD/benzo and decide it didn't work because of the way the formulation or drug was made, not because of the drug itself. Trying a new AD is bad enough, for example, without having to worry about that...
Posted by yxibow on March 19, 2006, at 14:16:16
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback, posted by bassman on March 19, 2006, at 7:34:11
> Generics are fine if you already know what response to expect; my point is that I'd hate to see someone try a course of an AD/benzo and decide it didn't work because of the way the formulation or drug was made, not because of the drug itself. Trying a new AD is bad enough, for example, without having to worry about that...
I agree -- and I'm most certainly not on the side of insurance companies, but requesting non-generics when (not in your case) many generics are available (e.g. diazepam, clonazepam, fluoxetine, etc.) drives up the cost of insurance for others in one's insurance company because they will use it as an excuse to do so. Or they may simply eventually refuse to do so at all. And being on an [censored] PPO, I can tell you insurance costs are high.
Just pondering
-- J
Posted by Phillipa on March 19, 2006, at 18:15:07
In reply to Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback, posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on March 17, 2006, at 23:31:48
Jay I meant Greenstone the generic is really the real xanax. They have an assembly line and some go to the real batch of brandname xanax and the others from the same batch go to the other side and it is the same pill but with different labels. So the generic is really the real xanax just placed in a greenstone bottle. The ingregiants are exactly the same. Fondly, Philllipa
Posted by Phillipa on March 19, 2006, at 18:17:36
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback » BIGDaddyachmed69, posted by Phillipa on March 19, 2006, at 18:15:07
Was meant for xiybow. Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on March 20, 2006, at 3:35:49
In reply to Re: Was prescribed Xanax XR..need feedback » BIGDaddyachmed69, posted by Phillipa on March 19, 2006, at 18:15:07
> Jay I meant Greenstone the generic is really the real xanax. They have an assembly line and some go to the real batch of brandname xanax and the others from the same batch go to the other side and it is the same pill but with different labels. So the generic is really the real xanax just placed in a greenstone bottle. The ingregiants are exactly the same. Fondly, Philllipa
Interesting -- one strike against brand vs. generics. Pfizer bought Greenstone, I now see. Actually I was curious what the G on my gabapentin, and sure enough the bottle said Greenstone. Teva is trying to inch into the generic Neurontin market against Greenstone.
This is the end of the thread.
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