5 Generic Products That Are Just As Good

**pomtzu** · 08-10-2010, 07:54 AM

I am on Medicare, but do not have prescription coverage with them since that add-on is very expensive. With the few/next to none prescriptions that I take, it would be very cost inefficient for me. I have a little bit of a discount on drugs with my AARP membership, and I comparison shop, and most of the time fall into the 3 month/$10 deal that a lot of pharmacies offer.
That one for $1000 certainly wasn't the norm, and I was using that as an extreme example of drug charges. As it is, I get the Boniva quarterly I.V. (same thing as the Reclast once a year with less side effects), and since it has to be given by a doctor at an infusion center, then Medicare pays it since it is considered a treatment/procedure, and not just a prescription I can pick up at the pharmacy. That runs almost $1000 per treatment, but I never have to pay anything with Medicare and supplemental insurance.

**snakemama** · 08-12-2010, 11:57 PM

I STRONGLY disagree with the statement that prescription drugs are just as good as name brand. I was taking Lamictal for some time, I got a generic refill to save some money, and within 48 hours I was covered in hives from the soles of my feet up to my waist and arms. It was AWFUL. My doctor said afterward that he sees reactions like that frequently when people switch to generic lamictal.

**smokey the elder** · 08-13-2010, 11:09 AM

I'll put my pharma industry hat on for a minute...

Generics have to have the same active ingredient, but all the other stuff that makes a pill a pill are up for grabs. They have to be non-toxic, but allergic reactions do exist.

My observation is, the more potent the drug is (i.e. the lower the dose), OR the narrower the "window" of efficacy, the more likely that other other ingredients will affect what is called "bioavailability", or how the drug is actually used by the body. Synthroid is a classic example: it is very potent (25-200 micrograms; basically a speck) for dose. Also, just a little too much or too little can cause problems.

Also, did you know that the dose can vary by 10%? So, say you're on 100 micrograms of Synthroid. The range can be 90-110 mics. I think you can see the problem here.

/pharma hat off