Bupe Pharmacy dispensed different manufactured Suboxone than I take regularly. Should I be feeling feelings of withdrawal?

[Doom 4174]

My pharmacy gave me pink Suboxone after I've been taking the orange tablets for 2 years. Why do I feel so sick almost like withdrawal symptoms? Has anyone else ever experienced this?

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

My pharmacy gave me pink Suboxone after I've been taking the orange tablets for 2 years. Why do I feel so sick almost like withdrawal symptoms? Has anyone else ever experienced this?

No, they're all EXACTLY the same.

 

[negrogesic]

Generics can vary in effect though in theory a bioequivalence is requires. At least in the US, there is weak regulation of this. Some of these generic meds are cranked out in less than ideal conditions throughout the third world utilizing all possible slight-of-hand style cost cutting measures, and some are lazily made in a similar fashion here the US.

I've always wanted to create some independent privately funded organizations that tests generic drugs but it would be expensive and would likely face frequent lawsuits by the likes of aurobindo and other subpar generic manufacturers.

 

[Pickledlemons]

I actually prefer a generic. Suboxone tastes like shit. But the pms brand bupe has a nice sweet lemon flavour. Mmmmmm. I wouldn't understand why you would be feeling withdrawal unless there's some defect in the medication. Get your doc to write on your rx the brand you prefer.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Aren't generics allowed like a 20% leeway when it comes to adding fillers and such? And brand name must have 100% of the dosage?

Could be wrong.


What is your dose? In my expeirence with bupe, if you're taking a high enough dose, even if you got a little bit less in your system than usual, it should all still kinda feel the same.
You can always request another generic.

I've had brand name, white ones (with no naloxone), pink ones & the orange tablets. The generics do seem to vary but it's really hard to tell with such a subjective long acting partial agonist.
Honestly, being on bupe after awhile feels like being in a state in between withdrawal and normal all the time anyway.

 

[G_Chem]

This happens to me every time I take anything but brand name. Don’t ask me why… On one occasion I relied on generics for a couple weeks and even at 4x more normal dosage I felt like I was in withdrawal. I felt fuzzy in the head but no energy and body pains.

-GC

 

[Nas47]

Dont know about subs,but years ago felt a real difference from two various brands Mst cont.Heard simmilar stories of different potency of same benzo from different brands

 

[negrogesic]

Aren't generics allowed like a 20% leeway when it comes to adding fillers and such? And brand name must have 100% of the dosage?

Could be wrong.


What is your dose? In my expeirence with bupe, if you're taking a high enough dose, even if you got a little bit less in your system than usual, it should all still kinda feel the same.
You can always request another generic.

I've had brand name, white ones (with no naloxone), pink ones & the orange tablets. The generics do seem to vary but it's really hard to tell with such a subjective long acting partial agonist.
Honestly, being on bupe after awhile feels like being in a state in between withdrawal and normal all the time anyway.

It is a bit trickier than that. This is from the FDA:

Generic applicants must scientifically demonstrate that their product is bioequivalent (i.e., performs in the same manner) to the pioneer drug.

One way scientists demonstrate bioequivalence is to measure the time it takes the generic drug to reach the bloodstream and its concentration in the bloodstream in 24 to 36 healthy, normal volunteers. This gives them the rate and extent of absorption-or bioavailability-of the generic drug, which they then compare to that of the pioneer drug. The generic version must deliver the same amount of active ingredients into a patient's bloodstream in the same amount of time as the pioneer drug.

What is unclear is how often this bioequivalence certification reoccurs with a generic, and also what the cutoffs are. This of course says "the same amount" but of course they must have a number of acceptable ranges in a variety or areas.

There are many elements to a drug concentration time curve, and they probably have a variety of cutoffs for a number of metrics:



Say for instance that acceptable peak concentration (Cmax) can be +/- 20% (which I hope isn't the case). That gives a theoretically total range of 40% between two generics. Now add in allowances for differences in Tmax (time to reach peak) and other variables like absorption and post-absorption slope, and you can wind up with a drug that feels quite different. Then of course this doesn't take into any subtleties of the synthesis of the drug itself. And who knows how often this certification takes place or how well controlled the tests are on the mere "24 to 36 healthy volunteers".

Any slight of hand here can save a generic manufacturer millions of dollars.

The FDA doesn't come across to me as the brightest bunch, residing more in the box-checking bureaucrat arena. They seem easily fooled. An independent NGO oversight watchdog should really exist given the high stakes, and it could probably be done for only a few million dollars a year (which equates to maybe 1 penny per American).

 

[G_Chem]

My bet is, like many drug dealers, send off the good stuff for testing then sell the bad shit at wholesale. I too wonder, after initial certification, how often they check in on these manufacturers.

-GC

 

[axe battler]

I would definitely tell your doctor this and hope that your insurance covers the old brand you were using.

We're having the same problems with methadone liquid over here but don't get a choice what brand we get sadly. I need to get off the shit soon