Posted on 09/16/2019 11:37:47 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
If youre a layperson, this is the way you probably think of generics: Theyre the exact same products in different packaging...
In October the Food and Drug Administration took a highly unusual step: It declared that a generic drug it had previously approved a version of the popular antidepressant Wellbutrin was not in fact bioequivalent to the name-brand version. The FDA withdrew its approval.
...Generic drugs diverge from the originals far more than most of us believe. For starters, its not as if the maker of the original pharmaceutical hands over its manufacturing blueprint when its patent runs out or is challenged. The patent reveals the components, but it doesnt explain how to make the drug. In reality, manufacturing a generic requires reverse engineering, and the result is an approximation rather than a duplicate of the original.
The FDAs rules effectively acknowledge that. The agencys definition of bioequivalence is surprisingly broad: A generics maximum concentration of active ingredient in the blood must not fall more than 20% below or 25% above that of the brand name. This means a potential range of 45%, by that measure, among generics labeled as being the same.
There are other differences. The generic must contain the same active ingredient as the original. But the additional ingredients, known as excipients, can be different and are often of lower quality. Those differences can affect whats called bioavailability the amount of drug that could potentially be absorbed into the bloodstream. As the American Heart Association recently noted, Some additives traditionally thought to be inert, such as alcohol sugars, cyclodextrans, and polysorbate-80, may alter a drugs dissolution, thereby impacting its bioavailability.
That can result in drugs that release active ingredients into the blood far more quickly, leaving patients feeling dizzy or nauseated.
(Excerpt) Read more at fortune.com ...
I think you mean 很好 (hen hao) very good.
Probably. What little Mandarin Chinese I learned was from a Taiwanese Ph.D., he may have had an accent...
Altogether I give you a hen hao! for a good effort. 很好!
Have you tried Tirosint? I had a thyroidectomy and am highly allergic to many of the fillers in medicines (as in “find the epipen now” allergies). It contains only 4 ingredients: T-4, gelatin, water & glycerin.
The doctor tried me on generics since that is what was paid for by my insurance. Only problem was I never had any idea which company’s generic I was going to get and what they might have used for fillers this time. Insurance still doesn’t pay for my Tirosint, but I was able to get a coupon from the company and I pay $25.00 a month. Expensive compared to the 87 cents for levothyroxine, but it beats the side effects.
All wise sentiments. :) In which case the dilemma translates to: does one go with the *brand-name* organic-whole-grain-low-cholesterol breakfast cereal OR the *generic*? :)
“Have you tried Tirosint?”
I have never herd of it! Thank you so much for a new thought.
I’ll look into this for sure, and ask my skeptical endo. He’s refused Armour, BUT I have been on growth hormone which has helped tremendously.
Most people probably won’t have issues with most generics. Especially with OTC.
I have had several prescriptions that did not work out so great.
I had Medicaid from June 2010 to August 2015 so I actually went to doctors for a few years. I have had no medical visits since July 2015. I had to cancel all of my appointments including my first of what should have been 5 years of checkups every 6 months to make sure no cancer cells were left behind.
I was prescribed Cymbalta by one doctor and when the dose was doubled my primary doctor decided I didn’t need to take two of the name brand and that one generic would be better. Until then I actually had very little of the worst side effects. They started right after the switch. I also think that is why when I got sick and didn’t keep the pill I took down the withdrawal symptoms were much worse. Brain zaps are no fun. Neither was super hearing with my very noisy nieces in the house because it was Christmas. I could only eat very fatty, salty, sour or sweet foods because everything else was very bitter. This side effect still happens.
Like topamax the drug from hell I took a few years before, this also was off label use for nerve damage pain. Because they helped some people. Neither helped but both did lasting damage.
I was also on Metformin at the time. My pharmacy had been switching the generic brands every few months. Some were good, some smelled slightly fishy and the last one I filled earlier that December was so foul it would have gagged a maggot. I never even tried to take any of that bottle.
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