[soccertese]

started taking 50/200mg cr, caraco generic, and has worked very well. last refill was given apotex generic and seems a lot less effective. anyone had a similar experience?

[lurkingforacure]

Originally Posted by soccertese

started taking 50/200mg cr, caraco generic, and has worked very well. last refill was given apotex generic and seems a lot less effective. anyone had a similar experience?

Soccertease,

We tried generics and they totally did not work for us. I can't remember the brand (ha) of the generic, though.

There are some articles, I think here even, about generics and how they differ from name brand...fillers, etc., all of which affect bioavailability and timing. The only thing generics must have that is the same is the active ingredient: EVERYTHING ELSE CAN BE DIFFERENT!! Most people have no clue and pharmacists border on lying when they tell people generics are the same, identical, etc. etc. What a crock.

I'd look that up, and ask your neuro to rewrite the script as it's not working for you. You might ask him how many patients have done the same. I've been surprised when we've been given something and when it didn't work, or we had a problem, the neuro would say something like "yes, that happens a lot". Makes me wonder WHY he tried it out on us if he knew it wasn't particularly successful.

[soccertese]

Originally Posted by lurkingforacure

Soccertease,

We tried generics and they totally did not work for us. I can't remember the brand (ha) of the generic, though.

There are some articles, I think here even, about generics and how they differ from name brand...fillers, etc., all of which affect bioavailability and timing. The only thing generics must have that is the same is the active ingredient: EVERYTHING ELSE CAN BE DIFFERENT!! Most people have no clue and pharmacists border on lying when they tell people generics are the same, identical, etc. etc. What a crock.

I'd look that up, and ask your neuro to rewrite the script as it's not working for you. You might ask him how many patients have done the same. I've been surprised when we've been given something and when it didn't work, or we had a problem, the neuro would say something like "yes, that happens a lot". Makes me wonder WHY he tried it out on us if he knew it wasn't particularly successful.

i pay out of pocket, i can't afford sinemet and i can get the generic that works well for me if i specify the mfg to my pharmacy. god forbid if we had no generics. and some generics are manufactured by the brand name mfg. for my regular carbidopa/lev i request teva.

i put computers into independent pharmacies for a living and they want to do what's best for patients. unfortunately, they only make money if they fill rx's and will order the cheapest generic because insurance reimbursement is so low. thanks for the advice but my post was not to condemn pharmacists and generics but to remind people to try to get the same generic if they find one they like. and to tell their pharmacist and insco. if a "new" generic isn't as good.