Posted by laima on February 27, 2007, at 11:23:38
In reply to Re: Drug manufacturing and quality control, posted by notfred on February 27, 2007, at 10:36:09
You know what- you all can prove whatever you like about "bioequivalency", but the issue in this particular case is, Shire brand adderall and Barr generic adderall behaved LIKE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MEDS. That's the practical reality. Theories can't help me with that. So I don't care if they technically are considered bio-equivalent by anyone, for they produce SEVERLY distinct effects for me. THAT's what the problem is. After looking at some ADD blogs last night- lo and behold- loads of people had the same sorts of distinct reactions to Barr generic vs Shire regular as me. I'm grateful that at least I have a doctor who acknowledges that indeed, there can be differences of action with some generics vs some brand versions of the "same" meds.And if Barr bought Shire's adderall- will there be subtle changes enacted, ones deemed insignificant "biologically"? Ie, different suppliers of raw materials, shortcuts in cooking, whatever- that render it ineffective or unhelpful for me?
And do you really think the fda is carefully monitoring quality of generic drugs, when they've barely got any grip on brand name situations, ie zyprexa, and new drug trials? Not to mention looking into the fake drugs which are being reported as showing up in US pharmacies? Illegal importations? Monitoring online pharmacies? They are kind of behind on inspecting meat plants, spinache processing centers, peanut butter- do you really think they are scrutinizing every single generic medication carefully and regularly for quality conrol, and that every single manufacturer, out of the goodness of their hearts, is doing a top notch job of not skimping somewhere??
And if they are supposedly the same, why is Barr now working with a generic AND a brand version of same "bioequivalent" medication? And spent a fortune to buy it-especially since they already had their own "bioequivalent" version? They didn't kill it- they could have killed it and raised their own prices. Pharmacies push generics, so I doubt they were losing tons of sales to the much more expensive brand version offered by Shire. Walgreens seems to eclusively offer Barr generic for generic adderall- sounds like a profitable deal? But what about choices for consumers?
I've already noticed a new effect which I can't attribute to being psychsomatic. My appetite has VANISHED. When I am upset, I eat more, not less. I'm starving. I love food- but it now seems appealing in theory only. Sure, stims can do that- but somehow I haven't experienced this before anywhere near to this extent. Not even close. Even when my stomache was so messed up that I required an endoscopy- I ate. So what's up? And the new "brand" of Adderal, courtesy Barr, is the only new variable that I've got going.
I know you are a wikipedia fan- I did notice that they were a bit, how shall we say, "nuanced" in their "generic drugs" article.
> "So I am not quite "getting" this bioequivalency thing,"
>
>
> Take a look at what Cam W or Ed UK have had to say about this, that might make it more clear.
poster:laima
thread:735309
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070224/msgs/736770.html