Switching from brand name to generic

[Hairless Goat]

Hi,

On Sunday, I switched over to Dr. Reddy's 1mg after taking brand name Propecia for over a year, for money reasons; the cost of Propecia keeps rising. While I could dismiss all the scary internet anecdotes as the work of Merck shills, both a hair restoration surgeon and dermatologist I have seen have mentioned the generic is not as effective for some people. The former made a point of it without my prompting. The latter said he had a few patients on the generic who either did not feel well on it or did not think it was as effective as the brand name.

I'm thinking of filling another prescription for the brand name, at the steep price of $90+ -- just for peace of mind.

Anybody here have a positive experience switching from brand name to Dr. Reddy's? Like, after several months of Dr. Reddy's, you did not lose your gains?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Quantum Cat]

I don't understand why people think generic medications are somehow inferior. All 'generic' means is that it is a drug not made by the original company that developed it, usually because the patent has expired. In the pharmaceutical world generic doesn't mean 'inferior' or 'illegitimate'. Generic drugs are subject to the same stringent manufacturing processes as the 'original' drug is, at least in Western countries.

in the UK virtually every drug that pharamcies dispense are generic. Every medication I've ever had a prescription for has been generic.

Millions of people treat serious, life-threatning illnesses with generic medications every single day.

If it's from a legitimate source like a high-street pharmacy, then it is 100% legitimate, whoever happens to manufacturer it.



all this rampant paranoia, not really surprising on this board mind

NB. if you want to cut costs using 5mg tablets are way cheaper, as you probably already know.

 

[Hairless Goat]

Thanks for your response,

I'm afraid generic drugs are not subject to the same stringent manufacturing processes as the original drug. The FDA requires the bioequivalence of the generic product to be between 80% and 125% of that of their brand name counterpart.

There just appear to be an alarming amount of anecdotal evidence against generic Propecia since it hit the market. Otherwise, I would never suspect a difference between the brand name and generic.

 

[Quantum Cat]

whatever the requirements are, I think it would be pretty scandalous if generic drugs were not as effective at treating what they are supposed to treat. Like I said, people's lives depend on generic drugs.

If people started dying becuase the generic meds they were taking didn't have enough of the active ingredient, or were inferior in some way, it would be a major scandal all over the news. The FDA and the drug manufacturers would be in deep sh!t. I guess the FDA must consider those bioequivalence levels to be safe

as for Propecia, the 1mg dose was selected as a rough convenient dose. It's well known that 0.5mg (or possibly even less) will suppress basically the same amount of DHT, so even if the generics do have 'less' of the active ingredient I can't see why it would matter in this case

as far as 'anecdotal evidence'.... I've found that the online hairloss boards are the most paranoid, irrational, contradictory and often downright ludicrous communities I've ever come across. I just cannot believe some of the crazy things I read here sometimes. There is place for anecdotal evidence, but rarely when it comes to male pattern baldness IMO.

 

[Hairless Goat]

Lol ... very true.

Believe me, everything I read in these parts I take with a heap of salt.

Rather, what I find disconcerting is that two doctors I have seen have called into question the efficacy of the generic form. The second one did not come out and say it but did say a few of his patients thought it was less effective when I asked. I couldn't dig deeper as he chastised me for never getting blood work.

The first doctor, who sowed the seed of concern in my head, is a big proponent of the 5mg generic finasteride, quartering method. He is firm on every OTHER day ingestion too. I don't understand why he is so concerned about the generic in the 1mg form when he endorses it in the 5mg form. In many cases, the two dosages come from the same place. Allegedly a few of his colleagues had patients who lost their gains.

There are cases where some individuals need to take the brand name over the generic. My friend's grandmother, for instance, had a bad experience on a generic blood thinner.

 

[Quantum Cat]

these are some FAQS from a reliable source who I've bought Finasteride from in the past:

:
Q; Are the generic versions of Finasteride reliable:

A: Yes All generic versions of branded drugs have to go through stringent applications and pass regulatory bodies of the respective countries to allow use. They are the exact same active molecule of the original branded version.


Q: I'm still not sure I want to 'risk' using a generic drug

A: This is a common false objection, there is no risk involved. To put this into persepctive in the NHS there is a drive that all drugs prescribed by GP’s should where possible be in the generic form to save on costs. They require between 70-80% of prescriptions to be in the generic form.


Consider this if you're still not sure about using a generic drug:

Plavix was the 2nd largest drug in the world behind Pfizers Lipitor. Plavix is an Oral anti platelet specifically given in
the most fatal life death situation – that of a heart attack. It is administered with aspirin to prevent any more clotting
which can cause an acute MI (heart attack). The original drug cost was at least £35-£40 and was given at the time of a heart
attack and for upto 6 months after to prevent a future heart attack.
If you where to have a heart attack in the UK today you would be given generic clopidogrel which is the same active ingredient
as plavix which now only costs £3.40 along with aspirin which costs a few pence. The NHS will always source the cheapest generic, which often is imported in from overseas.

Just think about your reservation and what is going on in the real world of medicine. Every day life death drugs are being prescribed
through the generic versions.If the most acute life threatening situation relies on generic drugs then it really underlines this misconception that generic drugs are not as good as the branded versions.

Blocking DHT through medication is a life long commitment which means you have to invest for the rest of your life. Why spend
10x more money on branded Propecia than equally as good generic versions?
Also note all generic versions are approved by the major medical regulatory bodies that being the MHRA, – UK and FDA -US..

http://ukfinasteride.info/faq#acc-3

- - - Updated - - -

but did say a few of his patients thought it was less effective when I asked

he's only telling you what he's heard from some of his patients. How reliable are the patients? Not very I would guess. male pattern baldness makes men ultra paranoid and therefore unreliable and irrational

 

[Hairless Goat]

Thanks --

What do you make of articles like this?

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/10/generic-drugs-quality/