GENERIC VS GENERIC

Use this section to discuss your experiences with prescription drugs, iron injections, and other medical interventions that involve the introduction of a drug or medicine into the body. Discuss side effects, successes, failures, published research, information about drug trials, and information about new medications being developed.

Important: Posts and information in this section are based on personal experiences and recommendations; they should not be considered a substitute for the advice of a healthcare provider.
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CHGOBOCA
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 1:22 pm

GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by CHGOBOCA »

Has anyone in this forum ever experienced a distinct difference between different manufacturers of Requip?
I have been on Ropinerole 2XR for 9 years. I just recently changed health insurance companies from Caremark to Express Scripts.
With my new generic manufactured by Mylan vs Trigen , I am experiencing heart palpitations and acute anxiety for the first 2 hours.
I have quantities of both on hand, so I switched back to Trigen on Sunday, and those side effects are not there. This morning I took the new Mylan
and my heart is beating out of my chest.

jmg416
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by jmg416 »

Is there a physical difference between the pills? Maybe one has a coating or some sort of delivery method that is causing the issue. My understanding is the active ingredients should be identical.

Rustsmith
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Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by Rustsmith »

First talk with your doctor and/or local pharmacist about it. I have seen news accounts of how certain generic drugs do not perform as well for some people as from a different generic supplier. The pharmacist may have heard of issues with ropinerole from Mylan. If not, then your doctor can send the prescription to Express Scripts with a notation not to use meds as supplied by Trigen.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

CHGOBOCA
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 1:22 pm

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by CHGOBOCA »

The first thing I checked was to see if I had the correct medication, and I do according to the look up. Both are pale pink, but the Mylan is round and the Trigen is oblong. The Trigen (my old medication) is most similar to the real drug Requip. I just took my second, evening dose, of the Mylan brand, and once again I have a racing heartbeat. I surfed on several generic info sites, and read several blogs discussed coatings on pills which may be different, and also discussed tolerances i.e. plus or minus to 20%. So I guess it is quite possible that the Trigen Ropinerol XR 2mg. might be 10-20% below standard, and the Mylan Ropinerole XR 2mg might be 10-20% higher, so that the difference, in effect, may be that I am taking a 30% higher dosage. Given the third world foreign countries that these drugs are manufactured in, I think this is entirely possible. Thank you for your responses.

Rustsmith
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Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by Rustsmith »

There can also be issues with cross contamination from other products being produced by third world plants. I am exceedingly sensitive to any form of decongestant medication (they change me from Hyde into Jekyll). I had to give up on any form of generic antihistamine because I found that almost all of them had traces of decongestants either from previous runs in the equipment where they produced antihistamine-decongestant products (like generic Zyrtec-C) or else from dust from the next line over. So, you might try to see exactly where Mylan produces their ropinerole and then see if there is something else produced in the plant that might result in your problems.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by badnights »

There was someone on here a few years ago who noticed the same thing, except I think it was generic pramipexole. I can't remember what the side effect was, but it was something she got with a generic and not with Mirapex. She was advised that there might very well be different ingredients in the pills. The active ingredient is the same, but the rest of it can vary. So, assuming this is true, you might be responding to one of the inactive ingredients that aren't present in the other brand.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

mh380
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 5:15 pm

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by mh380 »

I've had the same issue with other medications. The term "inactive ingredient" is really misleading, since they apparently can affect absorption or metabolism of the active ingredient.

Yankiwi
Posts: 548
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:20 am
Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by Yankiwi »

A few years ago New Zealand's drug buying agency changed its generic thyroxine thyroid medication. It didn't affect me but made many people sick. All generics are definitely not the same even if the active ingredients are.

Stainless
Posts: 274
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:30 pm

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by Stainless »

I just started taking 4 mg. Ropinirole ER and had no idea it was a generic based on cost. I looked at bottle and it says generic and TRI so I assume Trigen and fits your description. My observation is it is a wild ride on one brand with very bad days followed by great days. ER seemed to work better at first but bad days are now as bad as 2 mg. cheap Ropinirole. I am really perplexed what to do, especially on a good day like today.

ViewsAskew
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Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by ViewsAskew »

Stainless, could you be augmenting?
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Stainless
Posts: 274
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:30 pm

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by Stainless »

Ann, I very well could be augmenting but I have as many good days as bad. Hard to tell if symptoms are earlier or worse when every day is different. The extended release does seem to have some benefit and is probably better than taking such a high dose of the standard medicine.

ViewsAskew
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Location: Los Angeles

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by ViewsAskew »

It is hard to tell, especially when it is sporadic.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

degan
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 3:53 am

Re: GENERIC VS GENERIC

Post by degan »

Just wanted to share the following....

Earlier this year my insurance company moved to sending all prescriptions via mail-order (when I would normally get refills at my local pharmacy). When I received the medication via mail I noticed it was a different shape. Before taking it I did a search online and confirmed it was the correct medication and dosage, it was just from a different manufacturer (Mylan Manufacturing).
I took the pill at my normal time and within an hour felt extreme nausea & lightheadedness. The medication did not work at all, I did not sleep the entire night and had severe RLS symptoms.
A few weeks after the incident, I learnt (from a FaceBook RLS support group) about a person that also had an issue with the quality and strength of medication manufactured by Mylan.
I reported the issue to the FDA and surprisingly received a letter back in the mail. Mylan are prepared to investigate this further and I was requested to complete a one-page questionnaire and return it with the medication to Mylan to investigate.
Just to clarify, I’m NOT saying that there is a problem with ALL medication from Mylan. Just sharing my experience.

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