Greetings to all the familair names here, well.... all the unfamiliar ones too!
I was happy to see this site come up during the dragged out downtime on BT.
A big thanks to the Doc for helping us all out, way to go!!
Also thanks to Bobbi, for letting me know about this site.

Now to the topic.

I would like to hear any comments, or your experiences with the generic
fentanyl patch. I have always used the brand name patch, but recently
they increased my copay to $45 for the brand name, so I find the need to
try the other brands. I first tried the Mylan version, and it didn't seem to work as well as the real deal, so I went back on the brand name, and got better pain control right away. This month I tried the Sandoz brand.
I thought I would get better results, since this brand looked the same as the Janssen, and I have also heard that they were supposedly made by the same manufacturer. On close inspection, it does not appear to have the same amount of gell as the original, and the glue is different, a lot stickier.
The first day I used it, my pain levels went right up, and I had to take more BT meds to compensate. I normally change the patch every 2 days, but find with the generic, there is still a lot of gell left inside, when I change it. With the brand name, there isn't very much left at all after 2 days, that makes me wonder if the absorbtion rate is different with the two. I am taking into consideration that more will be absorbed on a hot day, or if I am exerting myself doing some task.
Has anyone had a similiar experience with the generics?
If this is what they are like, I will gladly pay the extra $40 for the real deal.
I'm sure the generic/brand name thing has been beaten to death in many posts, but I would like some input as far as the fentanyl patch goes.
I am nuts or what? To me there is a real difference with these products.
People may say that since I don't expect them to work as well, then they don't, but I really don't buy that, since the pain I feel is very real, and is very much affected by these different brands.
I realize by law, they must use the correct amount of the med, in my case7.5mgs of fentanyl, or a 75ugram/hr patch. I think the differance might be with the transfer layer in the gelpack, or possible the glue itself, which also has the medecine in it, but may not be transfering as well with the generic.
I have had similar experience with other generic drugs, the biggest one was
Darvocette, I was on them for years, and the generics were total junk.
So, is it me? am I just to sensitive to the changes, or am I not really getting what I pad for at my pharmacy. I wonder how how much testing is done with these products (generic) before they are allowed on the market? Or is more like, since the manufacturer already makes the brand name, its easier to get the generic on the market then, since the testing was already done on the brand name? Making it easier for drug company to slip an inferior product to the marketplace. I'm just saying.....they are NOT the same.

Peace
Rags

One added note, I love the speed of this site!!
Thanks to the Doc for the extra bandwidth!
BT-BT2 is like the tortise and the hare...