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Generic Alprazolam versus Xanax

tourette

tourette

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 21, 1999
Messages
593
Location
San Francisco
I was wondering if anyone has noticed any potency/quality differences in generic versus brand name alprazolam? One of my friends uses benzos frequently, and claims that the generics feel about half as strong to him. That could just be an excuse to use twice as much though. I know they are supposed to be the same. Anyone have any personal experience they can share?
 
Generics are by definition identical to brand names in the type and quantities of substances.
However, I too have noticed a discrepancy on occasion (only on occasion though). For some reason, my tolerance to generic fiorinal with codeine (basically T3s with barbitual + caffeine in them) builds about twice as quickly as my tolerance to brand name fiorinal with codeine. I have experienced this on 4 or 5 different occasionas as well. I know another friend who has had similar problems with painkillers (I dont recall which ones precisely) manufactured by the same company as the generic fiorinal that I had problems with. Apparently this company has a 'pact 'with my pharmacy to make all or most of its generic meds.
After I had these problems with my fiorinal I went back to the pharmacy (CVS pharmacy in Mass.) to get my refill I request the brand name version. They tell me that unless I have a written prescription from my doctor that specifically says "no generic" then they are REQUIRED BY LAW to fill the prescription with generic meds. And this is even if I am paying with my own money, it's not an insurance issue. Of course, this ended up being really annoying, as my doctor usually calls my scripts in. And it just doesn't make sense to me that there would be a LAW that RESTRICTS the consumer's choice in such a manner. Personally, the whole situation smells of conspiracy to me...
 
methinks that fairnymph was being fed a line.
it's general practice to use a generic unless the brand name is specified. usually it's the insurance companies that have agreements with the pharmacies to do this, as it makes it cheaper for them.
many doctors also get incentives from pharmecuetical companies to push their pills. it sucks but the industry donates billions to politicians.
maybe phreex knows more about this issue since he has a pharm tech certificate?
 
Thats somewhat shocking - You HAVE to buy the Generic under penalty of What exactly?! If thats not some sort of scam, its total Bullsh*t.
Back to the point of this post - although I've never tried brand name Xanax or Diazapam, the forign versions I got didn't seem to be up to the Trip Report/Rec Dose standards I expected...but maybe thats just a coincidence.
 
Thats somewhat shocking - You HAVE to buy the Generic under penalty of What exactly?! If thats not some sort of scam, its total Bullsh*t.
Back to the point of this post - although I've never tried brand name Xanax or Diazapam, the forign versions I got didn't seem to be up to the Trip Report/Rec Dose standards I expected...but maybe thats just a coincidence.
 
can't speak for xanax vs alprolazam but i have definitely noticed a difference between some diazapam and valium. i have had some supershitty diazapam when compared to valium. sorry i can't add more.
peace, outkast
 
OK, here is the scoop. There is no law in MA (I live in Boston, MA) stating that pharmacies HAVE to replace the branded product with the generic equivalent. There are however, a few other laws that address this issue. By law, a script can be changed with the consent of 2 out of the 3 parties involved:
1. The Doctor
2. The Pharmacist
3. You, the patient
IF you and the doc decide to change the script, or the doc and the pharmacist, or the pharmacist and you - then it is kosher.
Bear this in mind... Although there is not an official law saying that the pharmacy HAS to change over every script to a generic... there are corporate guidelines that they are made to follow. CVS, for example makes it much more worthwhile to the Pharmacist to dispense generics. The Pharmacy makes FAR more profit pushing the generic over the branded product, and in turn passes this along to the Pharmacist.
As far as equivalency is concerned, this is an argument that has raged since the enception generics. Some say that there is a difference with the quality, and others state that they are absolutely identical. I stand somewhere in the middle. Working myself for a Biotech firm and being in this industry for the past 5 years, I can honestly say there IS a difference with some meds - but I do not feel that it would be fair to say that all generics are less efficacious. Drugs like inhalable cortico-steroids (ventilin, albuterol, Aerobid, etc.) have generic equivalents that are notorious for not providing the same degree of release from asthma (ie. the patient has to take 3 puffs of the generic, whereas they only need 1 puff of the branded product. Also, hormonal drugs that have doses that need to be titrated up in a patient very carefully are often prescribed as DAW (Dispense As Written) or NSA (No Substitution Allowed) because many physicians find that the dosage precision and consistency with the generic product is not up to par. Synthroid is a perfect example of this, as it is still widely used, despite the fact that it has gone off patent years ago.
Things like binders, delivery mechanisms and the quality of other non-active ingredients may also vary with generics - and this may or may not deduct from there efficacy/tolerability. I know that generic Norco (Hydrocodone/APAP) lacks the waxy matrix binder that the branded product has. This ironically, proved to be an advantage in my case, as the generic, powdery, non-waxy pills were more easily crushed up and consumed... where as this could not be done with thew waxy branded Norcos.
As far as good old fashioned Alprazolam, I wouldnt expect there to be a tremendous difference. Although it is possible, it might also just be an issuee of tolerence building up or simply a placebo effect.
SG
 
For one thing, brand name meds have to be manufactured in accordance with the highest standards for purity and potency, as specified by the FDA. Generics only have to meet a lesser FDA crieteria for quality, which is one of the reasons why they are cheaper.
No, this doesn't mean that brand name xanax bars are 2mg and generics are 1.5 or 1.75 mg. But there can be some difference in potency. Also, different fillers and binders used can affect absorption rates for the drugs (generic methylphenidate isn't nearly as well absorbed as ritalin in a lot of people, for instance). This is also why some doctors advise their patients to always buy brand name heart medications, thyroid hormones, etc instead of generic because these medicines are very dose sensitive and sometimes have microgram dose ranges.
 
Back when I used to take Ritalin I could notice diminished effects when I took the generic, Methylphenid. That could have just been a placebo effect though. I told my pharmicist that I would prefer the brand name though, and from that point on he gave it to me.
 
After I had these problems with my fiorinal I went back to the pharmacy (CVS pharmacy in Mass.) to get my refill I request the brand name version. They tell me that unless I have a written prescription from my doctor that specifically says "no generic" then they are REQUIRED BY LAW to fill the prescription with generic meds. And this is even if I am paying with my own money, it's not an insurance issue. Of course, this ended up being really annoying, as my doctor usually calls my scripts in. And it just doesn't make sense to me that there would be a LAW that RESTRICTS the consumer's choice in such a manner. Personally, the whole situation smells of conspiracy to me...
That's bullshit.
Written prescriptions have two little boxes at the bottom. One is for "prescription as written" and one is for "voluntary formulary". If it checked as prescription as written, you can only get the name of the medication the doctor wrote, which is generally the big brand.. Xanax vs. generic alprazolam, for instance. If it's voluntary forumalary, then the pharmacy can give you the main brand or the generic AT YOUR DISCRETION ASSUMING THEY HAVE THE TYPE YOU WANT. If no boxes are checked, the prescription is AUTOMATICALLY voluntary formulary.
So I'm not sure exactly how your doctor calls these things in or whatever, but I would say "the generic feels different, I would feel better having the name brand and if you don't want to give it to me then I will go to another store."
Click to expand...
 
My granny takes the generic and I take them all the time. Speaking of it i am on 11 blocks of them and 4 footballs!!!! I did take the actual brand name blue football and didn't notice a difference between the effects of the generic ones but ym friends said that they are just a tad bit unpotent as the brand named ones so i don't know they are the ame thing so I am gonna keep popping them.
 
By law, a script can be changed with the consent of 2 out of the 3 parties involved:
1. The Doctor
2. The Pharmacist
3. You, the patient
So basically, because the pharmacist was a bitch, they could get away with giving me their generic crap even when I wanted the brand name? It's still a shitty fucking law; if I am paying money and the medicine contains the same active ingredients, there should be NO WAY the pharmacy can restrict my choosing brand name over generic.
Click to expand...
 
from what i heard from a pretty reliable source is that they dont test as many pills from other country's like here in the us (ie here in us they test 1 outta 100, overseas its like 1in 5000)that not exact numbers but just an example so sometimes i get really strong ones and sometimes they suck...other then that i only heard from other poeple that they arent as potent as the blue footballs...guess its all personal opinion
thats just what ive heard sorry if im wrong
 
blah -- yep, the ingredients are EXACTLY the same. I can't tell about the proportions of the binders etc but I don't see why there would be a difference.
As for it all being in my head, I wish that were the case! I doubt it is, however, as the first time I got generic instead of brand name (this was the first time I refilled my meds after starting to use fiorinal for my cramps 5 years ago) I didn't even KNOW that I was on generic. I told my doctor (who also happens to be my stepdad) that I was having these tolerance issues and he asked me to remind him what I was taking...I went and got the prescription bottle and he was like "wait, I prescribed you the brand name." and that's when I realized.
I haven't had problems with other generics and I always buy generic OTC stuff like p-ephed and acetaminophen etc. I'm not generally a brand name person or anything. In fact I have even done chemical analysis comparing different brands of aspirin and acetaminophen and found that some generic versions contained more of the drug than the name brands did.
Personally, I think it's this one pharmacuticual company (that supplies CVS with its generics) that is evil.
 
generics and substitution are on going arguements in New Zealand. Now generics will be prescribed as first line unless specified otherwise. As a physician prescribing many many medications to different patients regularly I have not come across any problems with the usage of generics from the point of efficacy. Yes, some patients will grumble that the generic does not look like their old medication and as such is not effective. Clinically I have not seen any differences to suggest that generics are in any way inferior. Certainly no one has come back to say that their generic alprazolam is inferior to Xanax.
On a side note: ventolin and albuterol are not corticosteroids. They are beta-agonists, quite a different type of compound altogether.
 
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