Walmart perscription drugs

[Adri]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

Most generic drugs are good but the ingredients are not always the same as the brand name drugs. For example, I know at least some doctors who do not allow substitutions of generics for Synthroid (for a thyroid disorder). My doctor will usually tell me if I can take a generic of a drug or not and my doctor knows that it's my preference to take a generic if it's available and as good as the brand name drug.

manoasurfer123: Unless you're reading medical publications meant for medical professionals, you may not find the "documentation" you're looking for. You might just ask your doctor.

[damontucker]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

manoasurfer123: Unless you're reading medical publications meant for medical professionals, you may not find the "documentation" you're looking for. You might just ask your doctor.

I'm looking here http://jama.ama-assn.org/

If anyone can find documentation that states that generics can be harmful...please forward me the link!

Generic drugs and the prescribing physician

S. L. Nightingale and J. C. Morrison

While generic substitution is not a new phenomenon, a number of factors have combined to markedly increase generic drug use. The most important factor is a 1984 law, the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, which facilitates the entry into the marketplace of generic versions of brand name drugs. This law and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policies are designed to approve for marketing generic drug products that are therapeutically equivalent to their brand name counterparts. With increased availability of generic drugs, physicians have expressed the need for more information about the FDA process for determining that generic versions of brand name drug products are both safe and effective and that generic drug products will produce the same therapeutic results as those achieved by the brand name products. This article describes FDA procedures for approving generic drug products and examines issues important to the prescribing physician, in particular, therapeutic equivalence. The article also describes the role of the states in generic substitution and the availability of information from the FDA on the therapeutic equivalence of drug products.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content...urcetype=HWCIT

[Miulang]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

Manoa, you're not going to find any published accounts of adverse reactions to a generic drug after a patient has had no reaction taking a brand name drug. The manufacturers of generic drugs (very often the same companies who manufacture the brand name pills) do have to report adverse reactions to all prescription drugs to the FDA, but the drug companies and the FDA would not publish those statistics because it's not in their best interest to disclose those figures. All you will hear are anecdotal accounts like Cran's who had no problems when she was on a brand name med and then switched to a generic med.

Even though a generic drug has to contain the same strength of active ingredients as the brand name one, the inactive components (fillers, etc.) of that generic med may be different, and maybe that's why there are allergic reactions to those pills and why it's important to talk with your doctor before going on a generic med if you had previously been on a brand name med.

All drugs have the potential for side effects, regardless of if they are brands or generics. The active ingredients in a generic must be the same as the brand-name drug; inactive ingredients such as coloring agents, flavors, and preservatives may differ. There may be differing side effects based on these differences. The FDA regularly reviews reaction reports and has found no differences overall between generic and brand-name drugs.
...
Not all drugs have a generic available. Also, your doctor may feel that depending on certain circumstances the brand-name drug is the most appropriate medication for you. It's important to talk with your doctor about generics if you are currently using brand-name drugs.

Miulang

[damontucker]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

The FDA regularly reviews reaction reports and has found no differences overall between generic and brand-name drugs.

You quoted it yourself miulang!

[Miulang]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

You quoted it yourself miulang!

<sigh> Manoa...read the rest of that quote, would you, please? And realize that the FDA, which is supposed to watch out for our health, is not exactly the best at enforcement. Look at what happened with Vioxx and Celebrex, among other drugs, that were rushed to market and which caused quite a few deaths before the FDA banned their use. It would take a lot of reports of adverse reactions (and then they would have to result in death) before the FDA would do anything to stop a drug company from making money. Again, before you switch from a brand name med to a generic, GO TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR.

Miulang

[blueyecicle]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

ok..i want to chime in..sometimes generic is not always the best....

i had to take a prescription which i had to pay $200 out of MY pocket....and so i asked the dr is there a generic equivalent instead..he switched me to generic and i had to pay $5.00 but it did not work as well as the name brand..so irealy regretted that....because had i stayed on the name brand i could have avoided a 4 month stay at a hospital :P

If my husband and I were to pay full price for his brand name drugs every month it would be 5000.00 a month! I am not exaggerating his injections are 1500.00 alone. We pay 250.00 to 350.00 as it is with insurance (2 have no generic substitue!).
Equivelant or not there is no choice in our home. I am thrilled about the generic costs. It means when I get sick or my children we can just buy generic and can continue to afford the necessary meds for my husband.

We may have to settle for sub par meds but it is better than nothing.

[damontucker]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

Pinky oh wait... Rudolph ...why do you feel generics are sub par? Because of Cost?

Generics are not sub par and please do what you can to keep your family healthy.

[blueyecicle]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

HA! No I don't think they are, but the choice is much more limited.

I am just saying if they are sub par than so be it. For many families it doesn't matter and is not an option. That's all.

I have not found them to be myself but I don't take many of them, I am just relieved they have them! The poor people always get "tail end" so what's new.
I can believe some drugs may be unequal because they quality of the ingredients vary. But i am going to assume most are ok.

I would be more worried about people substituting for watered down or nothing at all to make money! Now there are 100's of cases reported for that!

For now I will just be thankful for the generic drugs...sub par or not.

[CranBeree]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

are you 100% sure that the switch is what caused the problem??? Could it have been something else possibly? Wouldn't the doctor be at fault for possibly prescribing something that made you sick if that were the case? I'm not doubting that this is what happened... but are you 100% sure that had you not switched... that you would have never ended up in the hospital?

I'm trying to find documented cases where a doctor switching someone to a generic drug has caused problems...and I can't find any (not saying there not... maybe I'm looking in the wrong places).... is there any documented cases that has shown that generic drugs can possibly cause more problems than a brand name drug????????

yes! i am a 100% sure. i am quite involved in my care and regimen of my health issues.... and no it wouldn't be his fault because I requested the switch. bottom line is the generic medication did not work as well as the name brand. has i stayed on teh name brand i would have been ..well lets say i could have avoided a lot of problems.

[CranBeree]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

If my husband and I were to pay full price for his brand name drugs every month it would be 5000.00 a month! I am not exaggerating his injections are 1500.00 alone. We pay 250.00 to 350.00 as it is with insurance (2 have no generic substitue!).
Equivelant or not there is no choice in our home. I am thrilled about the generic costs. It means when I get sick or my children we can just buy generic and can continue to afford the necessary meds for my husband.

We may have to settle for sub par meds but it is better than nothing.

all i can contribute to this..is that meds sucks!! err rather paying for them sucks..i can relate to the 1500.00 injections...im quite astounded when i look at the fees billed in the drug reports

[CranBeree]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

manoa,

im pretty sure you wont find any documented info..i didnt report mine or document or whatever, hell i haven't even sued the hospital (long story) but i wont go there..the point is ..ITS YOUR CHOICE...you're the one paying for it.

be informed and make a decision, if you choose to go with generics or a name brand it is entirely up to you!

[brianca]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

there is also always the possibility of a placebo effect being at work in the efficacy of a generic drug. Meds are certainly one place where placebo has been very well documented. It's also the case that often times a generic of the same class of drug if given rather than a generic of the exact formulation. For example someone requests a generic for Paxil and gets a generic Zoloft. The same class of drug and roughly the same, but formulated in slightly different ways. That will often account for various reactions to generics.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

there is also always the possibility of a placebo effect being at work in the efficacy of a generic drug. Meds are certainly one place where placebo has been very well documented. It's also the case that often times a generic of the same class of drug if given rather than a generic of the exact formulation. For example someone requests a generic for Paxil and gets a generic Zoloft. The same class of drug and roughly the same, but formulated in slightly different ways. That will often account for various reactions to generics.

Huh??

"For example someone requests a generic for Paxil and gets a generic Zoloft."

That is referred to as an error, Brianca. Paxil and Zoloft are different drugs with different formulations. You don't "request" one from a pharmacist and get the other, unless your physician changes the prescription from paroxetine to sertraline.

If there is no change in the prescription by a physician there is no change in what is issued to a patient. Unless, of course, the person filling the prescription makes an error.

Sometimes a generic version of the same class of brand-name drug (for example, the expensive cholesterol-lowering drugs that are still on patent) is substituted but I fail to see why a generic of one drug would be substituted for a generic of another. IIRC, both Paxil and Zoloft are available as generics.

[brianca]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

I didn't say anything about a pharmacist. My comment was about asking your doctor. You doctor has the ability to change your prescribed meds for a number of reasons. If the drug you're taking doesn't have a generic or the generic is in sort supply, or for any number of other reasons your doc may give you the generic for another drug in the same class if you have a desire for a generic. I wouldn't call that an error.

I just went back and checked cranberee's post that I was referring to and it was indeed the Dr. that changed the script as I thought.

[CranBeree]

Re: Walmart perscription drugs

I didn't say anything about a pharmacist. My comment was about asking your doctor. You doctor has the ability to change your prescribed meds for a number of reasons. If the drug you're taking doesn't have a generic or the generic is in sort supply, or for any number of other reasons your doc may give you the generic for another drug in the same class if you have a desire for a generic. I wouldn't call that an error.

I just went back and checked cranberee's post that I was referring to and it was indeed the Dr. that changed the script as I thought.

yes, the dr changed the script due to MY request.. shelling out $200 monthly for MY cost just didnt sit well with me so i asked him for a generic equivalent...which he did...but had i not asked, he would have not changed it.