Posted by pollyjean on February 18, 2008, at 18:06:03
In reply to Re: Budeprion (Generic) vs. Wellbutrin » mom2, posted by 30years on February 18, 2008, at 3:51:40
>> I've never noticed any difference whatsoever between the brand and the generics over the 30 years
>> I've been taking medication (and that's about all of them--I'm treatment resistant). They are chemically
>> identical, which means there is no way your body can tell the difference (as long as the generic
>> is identical in all aspects; for example: immediate release, sustained release (SR), extended
>> release (XR or XL), etc.)
>>
>> My guess is that for those that notice a difference, it is either psychological or symptoms that
>> would have occurred regardless. Aspirin is aspirin, regardless of what brand you buy.That's not entirely true. Generics are supposed to be identical to brand name with respect to their "active" ingredients, but their "inactive" ingredients can differ (which is why generic pills often look different than their brand name analogs). The inactive ingredients are things other than the drug itself, like fillers, coloring, etc, and so differences aren't supposed to affect the efficacy of the drug. However, sometimes switching between generic and brand name can result in different symptoms either because your body has an allergy to one of the inactives, or because your body is just used to the combination of the drug with specific inactives.
So it certainly isn't supposed to make any difference whether you take generic or brand, and generic is a lot cheaper. But if you have a problem on generic it's worth trying the brand name (if you can afford it or get insurance to cover it).
Judging from message boards like this, it seems to me that there have been a lot more negative responses to generic Wellbutrin than there usually are to generics, which would suggest that the generic companies are either using inactive ingredients that are problematic or they aren't being very consistent with their quality/strength/etc. (They have to meet strict FDA quality conditions to get certified as a generic, but that doesn't mean they don't slack off on quality once they've got approval).
poster:pollyjean
thread:397165
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080207/msgs/813484.html