I am Psyched!

I went to order DH's medication from my drug insurance website. Usually, it costs $87.50 for a 3 month supply. That is better than paying full price of over $2000 but still a lot of money to me. Imagine my surprise to find out that there is now a generic and the cost is only going to be $25.00! We always choose the generic if possible since we have never had any problems taking it. The generic still costs a lot without insurance (over $1500 for 3 months) but I am happy that we will be saving even more money. One of my medications is going to generic too saving me ever more!.

Thank goodness for generics!

My parent's have to order their medications from Canada to save money. BUT when they go generic, mucho money savings

I'm not sure why people are so jaded to Generics. At least in the US, the FDA states it has to be the exact medicine. Legally it can't be different. I always buy generic when possible.........I was so glad when my DuoNeb inhalation solution for the nebulizer (Albuterol Sulfate and Ipratroprium Bromide) went generic...... Also, the day Zyrtec went OTC and generic- Happy days!! 88 cents for 14 tablets at Wal Mart
 

I've had people tell me that the generic meds don't work as well......... It has to be a mind thing.

Catkiki said:

I went to order DH's medication from my drug insurance website. Usually, it costs $87.50 for a 3 month supply. That is better than paying full price of over $2000 but still a lot of money to me. Imagine my surprise to find out that there is now a generic and the cost is only going to be $25.00! We always choose the generic if possible since we have never had any problems taking it. The generic still costs a lot without insurance (over $1500 for 3 months) but I am happy that we will be saving even more money. One of my medications is going to generic too saving me ever more!.

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That is good news indeed! 

Nebula said:

I'm not sure why people are so jaded to Generics. At least in the US, the FDA states it has to be the exact medicine. Legally it can't be different. I always buy generic when possible.........I was so glad when my DuoNeb inhalation solution for the nebulizer (Albuterol Sulfate and Ipratroprium Bromide) went generic...... Also, the day Zyrtec went OTC and generic- Happy days!! 88 cents for 14 tablets at Wal Mart
 

I've had people tell me that the generic meds don't work as well......... It has to be a mind thing.

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I always take generic over the name brand and have never had a problem. I will be saving $300 on medication this year, which is good!

The one thing I've never been able to take in generic form is my thyroid pills. I've tried a couple of times, felt horrible, and blood tests taken to appease my health insurance company confirmed that my levels were all screwed up.

Nebula said:

I'm not sure why people are so jaded to Generics. At least in the US, the FDA states it has to be the exact medicine. Legally it can't be different. I always buy generic when possible.........I was so glad when my DuoNeb inhalation solution for the nebulizer (Albuterol Sulfate and Ipratroprium Bromide) went generic...... Also, the day Zyrtec went OTC and generic- Happy days!! 88 cents for 14 tablets at Wal Mart
 

I've had people tell me that the generic meds don't work as well......... It has to be a mind thing.

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jcat said:

The one thing I've never been able to take in generic form is my thyroid pills. I've tried a couple of times, felt horrible, and blood tests taken to appease my health insurance company confirmed that my levels were all screwed up.

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Levothyroxine is one of those that has been pinpointed as a medication that the potency is not necessarily equal across generic formulations.  It wouldn't be too bad if the patient could consistently use the same generic manufacturer, but generics are changed as price/availability change  And from my own experiences of hypothyroidism, it is tough getting the right dosage levels. There are blood tests every 4-6 weeks and doctor visits.  So if the pharmacy changes to another generic, that could start the whole process over.

Also, while the FDA requires the same levels of active ingredients, sometimes the generics don't have the same delivery system which is usually patented.
This is the issue with Wellbutrin SR.  The generics sometimes will not consistently release the medication so the person receives spikes of medication.

So it may not just be a mind thing, but a sensitivity to the medication and the formulations of the drug.

I know someone who takes medicines to control seizures and her levels were off with generics. She was told that the active medicines are the same but the additives are different. The additives changed how her body absorbed the medication so she went back to the name brand. It probably makes a difference what type of medication it is. Some medicines have such a small range in the levels that need to be in the body.

Denice said:

I know someone who takes medicines to control seizures and her levels were off with generics. She was told that the active medicines are the same but the additives are different. The additives changed how her body absorbed the medication so she went back to the name brand. It probably makes a difference what type of medication it is. Some medicines have such a small range in the levels that need to be in the body.

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This is very true for anti-seizure medications. About 30 yrs ago, I had to take Dilantin for a few years. I started taking the generic and my doctor about had a cow. He stated that I had to take the name brand.

But I have never had any problems taking generic. Maybe it is because I have started out by taking the generic. We will see what happens when DH starts taking the generic of his meds. In about 3 months, I will start taking the generic of my meds.

In this economy, it is a good thing to save money every way possible.  Congratulations.