451. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Sep 04, 2007, 8:27 pm PDT

I take synthroid, brand drug, never recalled, the generics are often recalled.

Report Abuse

452. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Sep 04, 2007, 9:14 pm PDT

lennycapricorn in some cases it it not a few bucks but a few hundred or even thousand bucks. My friend pays a percentage of every prescription after she meets a $1500 annual deductible (including prescriptions) even with insurance. It is literally hundreds of dollars a month and she must accept generics to be able to afford rent, utilities and food. She also buys at different pharmacies because the prices vary so much. Not everyone make thousands of dollars a week. Most of us are just getting by and it isn't getting any better. I personally have had mixed results with generics and will have my doctor write DAW when it is one I have had a bad reaction with. I take them because my insurance copays, while lower than my friend, are twice as much for non generics whether one if available or not.

Report Abuse

453. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Sep 04, 2007, 9:35 pm PDT

Take the posted advice and look at the FDA Orange Book. Although generics contain the same active ingredient and are supposed to be equivalent in efficacy/safety to the brand name medication, there is an allowed variance in how the generic drug works compared to the branded medication. For critical dose drugs that variance can cause problems, including severe side effects. Switching to a generic may require extra drug monitoring with blood tests. So what you save in medication costs can be eaten up with doctor visits and blood work. Don't just accept a generic to save the almighty dollar for yourself or your insurance company. Talk to your doctor first to make sure he/she feels that it's safe for the condition you're taking it for and whether it's a critical dose drug.

Report Abuse

454. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Sep 04, 2007, 9:35 pm PDT

Take the posted advice and look at the FDA Orange Book. Although generics contain the same active ingredient and are supposed to be equivalent in efficacy/safety to the brand name medication, there is an allowed variance in how the generic drug works compared to the branded medication. For critical dose drugs that variance can cause problems, including severe side effects. Switching to a generic may require extra drug monitoring with blood tests. So what you save in medication costs can be eaten up with doctor visits and blood work. Don't just accept a generic to save the almighty dollar for yourself or your insurance company. Talk to your doctor first to make sure he/she feels that it's safe for the condition you're taking it for and whether it's a critical dose drug.

Report Abuse

455. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Sep 04, 2007, 10:11 pm PDT

100 mg tropal, question, can I cut it in half and controll blood pressure

Report Abuse

456. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Sep 05, 2007, 1:09 am PDT

As a registered nurse in the Philippines and practicing for the past 21 years, I had welcomed the generic law in the Philippines with open arms. As a struggling country and financially and economically deprived, the Generic Law greatly helped the majority of my sick fellowmen.I too, did not hesitate to avail of generic medicines and found them effective as well.Much as we would like to buy branded medicines, the sad fact remains that we just can not afford them.Now a lot of Filipinos get well because of the Generic Law. Thank you for allowing us to express our views.

Report Abuse

457. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Sep 05, 2007, 3:09 am PDT

I have had experiences with a generic form of Ritalin, an ADHD medicine, where the generic absolutely did not perform as well as the name brand. My children did not know the difference, but it was evident in their behavior and school performance. Also I had a generic for prednisone which didn't work as well as another generic for the same thing which came from a different pharmacy. FDA,explain that!

Report Abuse

458. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Sep 05, 2007, 5:43 am PDT

What a waste of space. Although this article listed the FDA requirements, why didn't it say whether or not they are usually met or whether people are having problems. Instead the only real issue addressed is halving pills. I was hoping for a lot more information than this.

Report Abuse

459. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Sep 05, 2007, 5:36 pm PDT

I myself am a phramacy technician and deal with this question every day at work. The answer is yes they are equivalent in almost every way. For the amount of money they save patients in a year they are a true blessing.

Report Abuse

460. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Sep 06, 2007, 9:50 am PDT

I was surprised that the author completely ignored the fact that all, well most, drugs have binders, fillers and dyes that many people can't tolerate. For example, $ynthroid and Lexoxyl make me swell up and send me to the ER, while generic Levothroid, generic T4 doesn't. On the other hand generic natural thyroid makes me extremely ill, but name brand Armour Thyroid works great. If the only reason to not take get a generic drug is that it may not split as evenly as a name brand seems lame, unless of course your life depends upon an exact dose every so many hours/day. And that would seem rare. I guess there is no easy answer. Buy the one that works for you! Too, bad they all aren't more reasonably priced though!

Report Abuse

461. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sun, Oct 28, 2007, 2:53 pm PDT

It is not reasonable to assume that different inactive ingredients in a modified release dosage form will produce a product having exactly the same release profile in the human body. Generic products are only required to meet the same laboratory specifications as branded products and be within or - 25% of blood levels in limited clinical studies. Actual performance can be very different and the branded and generic products should not be used interchangably. Once again the FDA has caved to political pressure and is using junk science.

Report Abuse