Brand name vs generic medications?

Question

Are generic medications as good as brand name ones? Specifically in anti-depressants and sleep aids?

Answer 1

Yes. The active ingredients are chemically identical.

Answer 2

C'mon people, just because the active ingredients are the same does NOT mean the drug effectiveness is the same. This is easy to assume, I know but if you really do the research and think outside the box, it's about the BA (bioavailability) of that active ingredient. I know that for generic ibuprofin, the INactive ingredients, the imolsifiers, fillers etc are crap and do not help the active ingredient get absorbed into the system nearly as well as the brand names who have done 18 years of research to make the best product. People are Sheeple and will believe anything that is popular to believe. And don't gimme this "placebo" BS either.. I used to think like most people and thought that they were all the same and started buying generic ibuprofin for my bad headaches that i always got. I was tired of paying for the brand names.. I "thought" it was gonna work the exact same way (placebo effect would have made this happen) however, i noticed that I NEVER got any relief. I switched back to brand name advil and BOOM.. relief gone everytime. This led me to do my own research on it and not just assume they are all the same. If placebo was involved then I would have had NO problem w the generic as I Thought it was going to work the same

Answer 3

For most medications, generics do just fine. However, you should be aware that there can be differences in "bio-availability" between different preparations of the same drug. This means that if you take 30 milligrams of one company's version of a drug and compare how much gets into your system with that produced by another company's 30-milligram pill, the blood-levels can differ. In order for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve a generic drug, it must put between 80 and 120 percent of the medication in the bloodstream as the brand-name drug.

For most drugs and medical purposes that's good enough. But there are certain drugs and medical conditions (such as epilepsy and heart failure) for which that much variation might not be healthy. Consider the following scenario: One month, your drugstore stocks a generic drug from company A that produces a blood-level 20 percent higher than that of the brand-name drug. Then, in the following month, the drugstore instead stocks a generic drug from company B that produces a blood-level 20 percent lower than that of the brand-name drug. That's a sudden 40 percent change! Depending on the medical condition, that might be meaningful.

Whatever else you might say or think about the brand-name drug and its high price, at least you know you're getting the same company's product and bio-availability with each batch. You have to decide for yourself whether it's worth paying the higher price for that assurance.

Answer 4

Oh here we go again. The big conspiracy theory is alive and dwelling on Yahoo. The problem with the idea that there are two different levels of medication for the exact same drug is totally ridiculous. Because those drug manufacturers can be sued if their medications do not provide the protection they accept payment for is the best reason to put an end to that rumor that generic drugs aren't the same as brand names. The reason they are cheaper is because they don't advertise and therefore aren't paying all the multi millions of dollars for ad space in the media and on TV.

Answer 5

So far, all of the answers are incorrect except the one just before mine - and it is incomplete but is good as far as it goes. I used to work as a psych RN for many years. In one hospital I worked at, I was on the pharmacy/nursing committee for several years and got to know the pharmacist who was the head of the hospital pharmacy.

He told me that the FDA standards for brand name medications and generic medications are not the same. He said that the FDA standards for a brand name medication to pass inspection was 80-80 while a generic medication was only 60-60.

To clarify; when the FDA tests brand name medications, 80% of the units (pills, capsules, or whatever) must have at least 80% of the stated dose in them. If a brand name medication says each pill has 100mg of the active ingredient in it, then it wiil not pass FDA inspection unless at least 80 out of every 100 pills that are tested, have at least 80mg of the active ingredient in them. A generic must have at least 60mg of the active ingredient in at least 60 of each 100 pills.

Whether a generic medication has the same amount of the active ingredient in it, depends on how tight the quality control standards are of the manufacturer of the generic medication.

So, some generics work just as well as brand name meds and some don't. I don't know any way to tell ahead of time except to try it and see.

I have Gastroesophogeal Reflux Disease and was prescribed Prilosec capsuls and had no heartburn. When the generic came out I switched to it as my co-pay was less. On it, I had constant heartburn so went back to the brand name med.

There are some doctors and some pharmacists who will tell you there is no difference. They are either ignorant or think that telling you the truth will cause will cause you to imagine problems that aren't there. I don't believe in that philosophy.

I hope this helps.

Answer 6

"A Brand-Name drug is marketed under a specific trade name by a pharmaceutical manufacturer. In most cases, Brand-Name drugs are still under patent protection, meaning the manufacturer is the sole source for the product. A generic drug is made with the same active ingredients in the same dosage form as a brand name drug. The generic drug is therapeutically equivalent to the brand name drug but is sold under its chemical or "generic" name."

Answer 7

Generics are exactly the same as brand names, it's a law that they have to be. Brand names are more expensive than generics, that's the only difference.

Answer 8

Yes they are. The FDA has to approve all medicines that are sold to the public...if you compare ingredients of similar medicines, they're identical.

Though I must admit, Robitussin does taste a little better than the Savon brand of cough syrup...

Answer 9

anti-depressants and sleep aids generics work just as well as brand name. same as with any drug. now if it was persay a narcotic like Vlaium or oxycotin the generic wouldn't be as strong as brand name

Answer 10

usually generics can be put on the market after 17 years of the original. supposedly the have the same chemical makeup