A place to post your experiences with Generic vs Brand.

chardana Posted:- Have any of you noticed a difference in how you feel while taking generic prozac vs. the brand name?

Insanity replied:- I may be mistaken but i think they have to be exactlly the same ingredients by law. Researched some things about brand name vs. generic. Though they are the exact same ingredients as they have to pass certain government regulations in order to go on the market. It's how these ingredients are put together that makes the difference. I personally don't feel a difference. but it makes sense that it may affect many people different.

sunfire replied:- Sarafem has the exact same ingredients as Prozac does.

Sarafem is exactally the same thing as Prozac. The patent on prozac has run out , so generics are now being produced. So this is a marketing technique for the company. Here is the web site for sarafem.www.sarafem.com

Insanity replied:- PROZAC is the brand name for a medication called FLUOXTINE , the patent for Prozac has expired allowing other manufacturers to start making and selling cheaper generic versions.

The active ingredients is absolutely the same, though some of the non-active fillers can differ. Since the Prozac was allowed to go generic, the original Prozac company started marketing their new creation Prozac Weekly, because they knew they would lose sales on their original Prozac because of the cheaper generic versions. If you truely believe the generic version is not "doing it" for you, have your doctor say no substitutions allowed on your script.

Dekka Posted:- Since Prozac was deregulated in a sense, other non brand (generic) names such as Sarafem have come onto the market, is there any more generic brands such as Sarafem out there?

Prozac I believe did introduce its Prozac Weekly medication, do you know if they continued with this?

Is Fluoxtine & Prozac one in the same?

Catwomans reply:- Sarafem is actually considered "name-brand" because Lily produces it; it just so happens to be Prozac in a different package.

I think that Lily came up with this because it was known that their patent on Prozac was coming up, which is also why they invented this "weekly Prozac" as well. Which to my knowlege is still available.

Fluoxtine is the generic name for Prozac.

Artistic Girls reply:- As far I know, Eli Lily has been getting a bit of flack for this, as each is the SAME exact drug (Sarafem & Prozac). I think that Sarafem is still prescribed, but I am pretty sure that Prozac Weekly was taken off the market (at least for a little while), because it was considered false advertising.

Everyone of those drugs is exactly the same... and Catwoman is right. Lily was getting nervous about the patent expiring and decided to try and introduce these two to continue pulling in the amount of money they were before. Even now, with the generic out, they have had to reduce their prices so that they might still bring in money. The market is not their own, anymore, and they are not happy about it at all.

bluemomof3 Posted:- I was wondering if anyone could answer a question about Prozac and anxiety.Do you know if the Prozac is effective in a higher dose for anxiety? I'm only on 20mg right now and it helps with the depression, but my night time anxiety is bad

Artistic Girls & Dekka's reply:- You might want to contact your doctor and ask about upping your dosage to see if it helps you. Also, I don't know what time you take your meds, but I take mine at night, and it really seems to help calm me down (most of the time) from the day. Here are some links with some more information.

*3under3*Posted:- My doc just prescribed Sarafem. I know its the same ingredients as Prozac supposedly, but he told me his drug reps say its different in that it helps with PMS. I just dont get it.

Dekka replied
Irritability, sadness, sudden mood changes, tension, bloating. If you suffer from many of these symptoms month after month and they clearly interfere with your daily activities and relationships you could have PMDD. PMDD, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, is a distinct medical condition that is characterized by intense mood and physical symptoms right before your period.

Sarafem can help. Doctors can treat PMDD with Sarafem the first and only prescription medication for PMDD. I went to the Sarafem website and this info was their. I am sure you will get more replies from someone who will know a lot more about this than I do.

Call me crazy:p  but I still think brand is better than generic. For me anyway. I have been back on brand Prozac for 3 weeks now and, coupled with the Lexapro, I feel much better. I can't promise it will stay this way, I have been having to up every 3 mo with Lex and am hoping to reconvert to Prozac. The generic did nothing but make me sick although, to be fair, I was in a REALLY bad place then and basicly stable this time.
I won't give an officail thumbs up intil 4 mo have passed and I'm still smiling:D  but as of now name brand Prozac is worth the price over generic any day.
P.S. I think adding it to the Lexapro was a great idea. I had NO side effects ( which I had before on brand and generic ) and I think it kicked in faster ( prozac takes so long to get into my system. Like 2 mo ). Wishful thinking? We'll see...

I've never HAD branded.. didn't even know you could get it here :). I've had no real worries with the generic though...

I've only ever been on the generic, fluoxetine, and for me it works really well.  Our insurance doesn't cover the name brand...I wonder how expensive the name brand is as opposed to the generic...

Josephine, I see you've read Watership Down too...excellent book!

Angie

I never used the name brand, but I took the generic for about four or six months. It didn't seem to help. I wonder if it would have made any difference if I'd had the name brand. Probably not - they are supposed to be just the same.

I had the brand name for my first course.Felt great.No side effects.

A couple of years later,I was given the generic.Felt OK but permenant stomach ache for the last 6 months of taking them.I felt that the cure was worse than the problem!

I have been offered an even cheaper,nastier looking generic,this time.stomach ache started after taking three capsules.
I have decided I would rather suffer the depression than the side effects.

Mike.

Hello all!

I am new to the board. My cancaer board can't deal with me.

I am curently on 60 ml prozac after doing zoloft, wellbutrin, and other stress and anti dep meds. I am getting realy p*****, is there no hope for me? I started wellbutrin a few months ago and started smoking and drinking after 5 years of semi sober living. Whats up with that? I am off the wellbutrin and sticking with prozac but still drinking. Zoloft seemed to help for a month or so then I switched to prozac felt good for a month or so and uped to 60 from 40 I can't seem to get back to  that normal feeling?????
long story short not a day goes bye where I wish I was dead. Funny thing is I am not suicidal I just hate living, excisting. There has been a few weeks on differnt meds were I felt cool with life for a week or two.
Any sugestions?

Jeff

I started on brand name Prozac then switched to generic at my doctor's suggestion. For me I noticed a difference as I felt really jittery while on the generic. After a time I switched back to brand name even though it's far more expensive. I know they are supposed to be the same but for some unknown reason I felt much worse while using the generic, so I don't risk it.

The medicine in both the name-brand and generic are the same, but the delivery and availability to the body can vary. I've found a difference in some meds with the generic also.
Don't give up! There is a med or combo out there that will help you. Meanwhile, we're here to offer our support.

My opinion is generics are identical to name brands. Assuming of course the generics are coming from a reputable source, and not out of some guys trunk.

I found no difference when switching from Prozac to the generic. My insurance would no longer pay for the name brand once there were generics available. I couldn't go back to Prozac even if my doc wrote no substitutions on the scrip. I am off of it now and on 2 other ADs (one is generic and the other is still under patent).
Sheepwoman

I know they say the generic are identical to the name brands,-- Taking meds over the past 15 years I have noticed a difference in generic and brand names, some medicine I have taken and prefered the generic, while others the name brand works better, for example I prefer the generic valium, but usually I prefer the name brand on anti-depressants. The generic prozac made me jittery, I'm starting the name brand prozac today to see if it's better. I'll post back and let you know how it goes.



Will

This post has been edited by will: Aug 17 2006, 12:17 PM

Hi,

I am taking the brand name prozac bec my pdoc says the generic
does not work as well. She said you have to take a lot more of the
generic for the same effect as the brand name. She is usually
all for generics so I trust her opinion. It's been 7 months and I
feel great.

Best wishes,
starr

Hi, i dont know if im doing this right or what but ive been looking for somewer to ask anyone for help. I want to get off prozac, ive been on it for 3 1/2 years and ive been out of counceling for about 1 1/2 years. Im 18 this year and ive tried many times to get off prozac but it just doesnt work i gave it over a month and it just made me try to kill myself unsuccessfully of course. it just makes me need to go back to counseling and just back into the cycle again. I need help. I dont know if this is the aproprieate forum to be on ive not really read much on it, I really want to get off it,but anytime i try i just seem to go back to the beginnnigng. Sarah-Jane

I like generic tablets. So cheap and can be broken in half. Cost me 50cents a day for medication. Unfortunatly, I havent found tablets bigger than 20mg. So Ive been taking 10mg instead of the 20mg. Im gonna try the 10mg dose a couple of months. Maybe it will be enough.

They should be exactly the same, if from a above board manufacturer (ie regulated)

As for differences felt, its likely you would be unable to tell the difference if you were not told which was which pill, ie given them blind so to speak.

If a doctor said there is a difference, then that doctor should be struck off the medical registrar if they have not reported their medical facts to the relavent authorities, assuming they have facts, which I doubt in this case.

I'm on Prozac for the second time. It pooped out on me about ayear ago and I was on 100mg and was springing for the name brand, because My Doc confided in me that the generics could be as much as 60% ineffective. I struggled without anything for a while, Tried Cymbalta didn't give it a good chance at me. Cold turkyed off everything again because of an argument with my wife. (Whole 'nother story)-----Anyway now Im back on 80mg floxitine, 6mg generic atavan PRN, and Provigil 200mg twice a day.

I am scared to death that it's going to poop out on me again. The cocktail I'm on has me stabilized pretty well but what am I going to do if the Prozac poops out?

Also, If I am posting in a weird way or wrong spot, please enlighten me I'm new to forum protocol

Hmm I just started on generic fluoxetine, too soon to tell if its working for me but I'm definately not jittery.

If they are the same chemical I sincerely doubt their could be much difference between generic and brand, its likely just because if you know its different you might imagine different reactions.

I personally wouldn't believe my psychiatrist 100% if he told me brand was better.... because many of these big brand companies take doctors out for fancy dinners and give them cute little note-pads and pens with the brand name on them (i know, i've seen them in my psych's office and my mom is a doctor and she has tons of them too). The brands want support from the doctors.

I dunno maybe I'm just a conspiracy theorist...

i just started with fluoxetine made by lilly (who make prozac) so it should be as close to the real thing as you can get.

Good luck Superman, let us know how you are doing while using Prozac

SN

Thanks Sarah,

I will most certainly keep you posted.

How are you doing ?

I am alright, thank you for asking. I have been on Prozac since Febr. 06, with a few weeks off last summer, but I went back on pretty quickly cause I was going downhill fast. I am on 60 mgr/ day.

SN

Glad to hear that you are doing well. Do you find tha the prozac is working for you ?

Did you try any other meds besides that prozac ?

btw I decided to carry on with the zoloft and not the prozac. I found that it was making me angry which was the reason i stoppe dthe last time. Its great for energy but it makes me a bit mad !

hi all

I live in a country where Lilly manufactures a brand of fluoxetine called Lilly fluoxetine. Can anyone give me some feedback on it ? I expect it to be esxactly the same as the origional because Lilly was teh orgional manufacturer of prozac ...

Any comments ?

Hi Superman,

I must admit I am not sure whether or not I take the generic kind or the brand.........oops............soory, can't answer your question. Maybe I should go check what it says on the box

SN

Hi Sarah

Just to give you some feedback. I have been feeling MUCh less aggitated on the lilly-fluoxetine than the orgional prozac , so much so that i am a bit worried if it will do anything for me. I dont feel as speedy or anxious , which i suppose is a good thing, although i am taking prozac for its extra little kick of energy. I have written lilly an email on requesting the difference between prozac and its lilly fluoxetine. I will post what their reponse is . So far feeling more 'normal' than i have EVER felt on an AD. Almost feels like i am taking nothing ;) Not sure if its lifing my mood - but then again its only my 2nd day of lilly Fluox and about my 13 th day of prozac since being on zoloft for 7 weeks. Early days i know ....

-S

Just an update on my previous post. I spoke to the very sweet lady from Eli Lilly in my country and this is what she had to report. Lilly fluoxetine is exactly the same drug as prozac down to the very last filler. She assured me that what i was experiencing was not normal. She took down all my details and asked me to report back to her in a week or two re my experiences. Overall I was very impressed with her information and the way in which my questions were addressed. I now have peace of mind and will continue to take the fluoxetine ...

CIAO - stay strong !

-S

Been on the generic for almost a couple of weeks now. I am jittery on only 10mgs, but I am sensitive to SSRI's.

Hi all

just an update . i have been on fluoxetine now for nearly 6 weeks and i dont think its working very well for me. I am considering getting the brand name for my next refill. It may be a conincidence but every time i have gone from fluoxetine to prozac I could feel an almost immediate mood lift. It may all be in my mind though...

just another update on my experiences with the brand vs fluoxetine. My last repeat i decided to try the brand and for the last 2 days , since being on it, I have felt much better. I cant pinpont why i am feeling better but i feel less drugged up on the brand, more alert and that it has help my mood better. I may at some point in the future try the fluoxetine again but for now i am going to pay the extra for the brand because i believe there is some difference eventhough the drug company has said otherwise...

Interesting, in the country that I live in there are some 5 brand names of Fluoxetine marketed by different labs.
First time I took Fluoxetine it was Prozac for 4 months and I felt great.
I don´t know whether it was the getting used to it or not, but the other brand version I tried, cheaper, helps me as well with the panic but makes me feel tired which I did not feel while taking Prozac. Well, at least, I felt least tired while on Prozac.
Anyway it is interesting... my pdoc at the first time said there was a difference and I should take Prozac. Then I switched to another pdoc and have switched 2 times and all of them say there is no difference at all. I´m wondering , I´ll try another of the cheaper versions because Prozac is double the price of these other versions but they all contain exactly the same thing and they are all inspected by government health agency. So there should be no difference, although Lilly may have some excipient or something that they do with the ingredients which was not registered on the patent and that would explain a difference. I don´t know and unfortunately there´s no way to know for sure.
About the labs buying the pdocs, it´s also common here. I had to give up my last pdoc because he was completely sold off to labs which sell these new antipsychotics and said I was 'bipolar' and prescribed me lots of these, which made me a robot. And I was never bipolar, never had the symptoms. This sucks. These doctors should be hanged!

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I can say without a doubt that for my body there is a difference between the brand and generic, but even a difference with the generics. The pharmacy used a different generic this time and I feel like I am taking sugar pills. I am going to talk to my pcp and see if there is any way to get the brand because if I have this effect from the generic I might as well go without. This is how I felt before I started taking my drugs.
merry meet, merry part, merry meet again.

I have been on prozac several times before using both brand and generic (in fact when I first started there was no generic) and did not notice any difference, but this time I am on 60 mg and the doctor wrote it for one 20 mg and one 40 mg of the generic. Last month I felt much better at the higher dose, but when I got it refilled this time they used a different generic on the 40mg pill. It was like I was taking a sugar pill. I even wonder if it is the right medication since generics only seem to have letters and numbers on them. Does anyone know if there is a site on the net that you can put in the generic numbers and it says what the drug is? I know poison control can do it, but it definately takes a while and I would hate to tie them up on something like this.

After two weeks on the new generic I stopped it and started taking 3 of the 20mg. It made a world of difference so now I am waiting to see how my doc has my refill done. I may even push to try the brand to see if it makes a difference. The generic has to be within 20% either way of the brand so you may be getting one set of pills that are only 80% of the brands level or 120% of the brand and there is no way to know. That can be a big difference if you are just on the boarder of the level you need to be.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problem?

when i was last on prozac i remember i had been doing well for a while then i got my prescription from a different chemist and for that month i felt awful.they were both generic versions but different ones.when i got the next lot from my normal chemist all was ok again.i did wonder at the time if it was due to them being different makes,but i thought i must be wrong as i knew they had to have the same ingredients.

i have been back on fluoxetine for almost 3 weeks,cross-tapering with effexor which wasnt working for me.the fluoxetine i got this time were really cheap looking things,and i have been getting really bad indigestion and also vomiting alot with them.

i dont want to say anything to my gp though as she will just think ive been reading too much on the internet again.i am in the uk and get my prescriptions free at the moment so i would feel like i was taking liberties asking for a different brand.

Doctors are there to consult with, if a med isn't agreeing with you, you have every right to ask for an opinion or different med! It is not taking liberties... its getting the right help and the right medication for you! Don't be afraid to discuss your side effects or your issues with your doctor, thats what they are there for!

I hope to read from you soon, that you went and got something a little more suited for you

Looking Up

well,i still had some of the ones left from last summer when i switched to effexor,so i have been taking them instead and have had no indigestion or heartburn!i have still had vomiting but i have now found out that could be due to effexor withdrawal.

i have a drs appointment tomorrow and if i get another prescription i will ask the chemist what brand they provide before handing it over.there are plenty of chemists in my area so i can pick and choose where i get the drugs from

I have been taking a low dose of the generic for several years now and it has worked very well for me (I have never tried the brand name though)

I was taking the generic Prozac for almost a year, and got approved for free brand name Prozac. I did not believe it would make a difference, but within days the anxiety that my condition causes was noticeably better. Now I've been taking brand name for almost two months, and it's working better. It's still not effective enough, but definitely a difference from the generic.

I know it's all Fluoxetine Hydrochloride, so I don't understand it either, but the proof is in the pudding.

Now the only question is if it will keep working or play out again.

our of curiosity, what do you mean not effective "enough"? how effective or what would it need to do to be "enough"?

i've often had difficulty taking meds and they've helped me but i didn't think they were worth the effort b/c they didn't make too much of a difference. is that what you mean?