Is generic okay for me?

Avatar for leapfrog555
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Is generic okay for me?
3
Thu, 04-29-2004 - 12:34pm
Has anyone changed from name brand birth control to generic about a year into taking it?

I dropped off a prescription at a different pharmacy the other day and didn't think to tell them I didn't want generic. I happily walked out of the pharmacy with my prescription filled yesterday only to get home and find out it was the generic.

Does anyone know if there is a difference in the Ortho-Cept name brand and generic.

I was once told by a pharmacist that once you start taking a name brand med you shouldn't swap over to the generic...or vice versa because they aren't always EXACTLY the same. Of course when she told me this we weren't talking about birth control.

It also concerns me to take the generic because I was told I needed a high dose pill in order to counter act another med that I am taking.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Rhonda

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 04-29-2004 - 12:52pm
Hi leapfrog555, welcome!

If I were you I'd ask my pharmacist, but if what you were given is the generic for what was prescribed you should be ok.

This is what the U.S. FDA has to say about generic drugs:

Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers

http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/generics_q&a.htm

Therapeutic Equivalence of Generic Drugs Letter to Health Practitioners

http://www.fda.gov/cder/news/nightgenlett.htm

Even though the FDA requires 'Therapeutic Equivalence' some women will notice a difference (not in effectiveness but in side effects) between some generics and their brand equivalents.

Good luck

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2003
Thu, 04-29-2004 - 1:17pm
Hi Rhonda,

Well, my BF is a pharmacist and I know he's never said anything like that! Generics are required by law to have the exact same active ingredients in same exact same concentrations. The fillers are what can change. That's why some people don't agree with some generics or brands even due to the fillers. Anyway, I understand that people sometimes feel funny about taking generics, but don't worry, it will work the same!

~heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-21-2003
Mon, 05-03-2004 - 4:03pm
I was on Ortho-Cept before switching to the generic (Apri). It was HORRIBLE! I experienced a whole range of side effects that I didn't have on the name brand, not to mention that the Apri packaging was really CHEAP and kept falling apart. It did work though -- no surprises and it was a whole lot cheaper, I just wasn't willing to live with the extra side effects.