Posted by bleauberry on November 16, 2008, at 11:28:07
In reply to Success Story-surprise result, posted by Neverquit on November 15, 2008, at 16:16:13
To me this is not a surprise result at all. I have a lot of tiretracks across my back from my negative critical view of generics, especially concerning prozac, xanax, lamictal, or wellbutrin. I take a lot of critisism from other people. Most people think it is hogwash. Most doctors are not aware. Research pinheads say the drugs are equivalent. Nobody considers, or when they do they don't admit, that fillers make a difference.
If fillers don't make a difference, then someone explain why original Nardil and new Nardil are so different. The only thing that has changed is the stuff the active ingredient is mixed with. And someone explain to me why dozens of people have relapsed when switched to generic even when they didn't know they had been switched. No placebo effect. And then they got better when switched back to brand.
Fillers can make a significant difference. For example, calcium carbonate can turn a fast release med into a semi-extended release med. That is going to affect how that med works, either positively or negatively, either way, it is different than brand. Fillers can cause unsuspected allergic responses, which set off chain reactions from the gut all the way to the immune system and nervous system that can overwhelm any good that the active ingredient is trying to do. Even the color dyes used in pills and capsules can cause problems, with FDA Red and Yellow being the most problematic. These things are especially true with anyone under stress or chronic illness, which pretty much means most of us here.
We humans, all of us, tend to think we are smarter than we actually are. I believe there is some unknown action of certain fillers in how the active ingredients are absorbed, at what point in the intestinal tract they are absorbed, how they bind to protein, how they enter the brain barrier, and who knows, all kinds of stuff we probably have never ever thought of. There is so much more than we know, and to assume all fillers are neutral is, well, human nature on display.
My own personal experience was what prompted me to keep an eye out for reports of generic vs brand comparisons. I was fine on prozac for several years but within about a month just unexplainably fell apart little by little. I was not even aware I had been switched to generic. When I returned to brand prozac, it felt like a completely different and much more robust drug. I can take a brand xanax or a generic and they feel like two totally different meds. One generic company does make a very good brand subsititute for xanax though.
I've said it before and I will keep at it. That is, when it comes to health and especially mental health, paying 5$ at the pharmacy versus paying $100 should make ZERO difference in the choice of medication. Why? Because the stakes are too high. Get the good stuff. If it works, try switching to the generic afterwards. If that works, awesome. If not, go back to brand.
For any of the generic vs brand experiences to be "all in someone's head" means there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't know each other, never talked to each other, live hundreds or thousands of miles away from each, yet experienced the exact same things.
poster:bleauberry
thread:863245
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081114/msgs/863353.html