I pick up my RX tomorrow AM, hence the urgency on this; I need to let the drugstore know my preference! 500 mg. is the pill dosage. The pharmacist was very vague when I asked; he said "Oh, the brand (non-generic) is about twice as strong". That just doesn't sound right to me. Your help is urgently needed and my thanks in advance!
2007-09-17 09:28:18 · 9 answers · asked by Margaret B 2 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Pain & Pain Management
They are same ingredients and same strength. One is a higher-profit item for the druggist - guess which one.
I just had Vicodin for some dental work and read its label. It is acetaminophen with codeine in it. No recently-discovered miracle ingredients that took years for a pharmaceutical company to develop are in there.
2007-09-17 09:37:16 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Generic and Brand name Vicodin are the exact same drug, with the exact same chemical formula. Generic Vicodin is named Hydrocodone/APAP. The first number in the strength of the pill is the amount of Vicodin, and the second number is the amount of Acetominophen, or Tylenol. If you have Hydrocodone/APAP 5/500, you have 5mg of Hydrocodone, and 500mg of Tylenol. Thiis is the most common dosage strength. If you have the 10/500 strenght, those are some of the strongest ones. There is absolutley no difference from brand to generic, except for the co-pay on your insurance.
2016-05-17 06:40:07 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are probaby getting 5/500's...which is 5mg of hydrocodone and 500mgs of acetaminophen (not 500 mg of hydrocodone, which would kill you). I wouldnt think that there would be much of a difference in strength from generic and the brand name. The only difference you should see is in the price....generic will be much cheaper.
I have had both brand name and generic and didnt feel a difference. So personally, I would go with generic. Unless cost is not an issue to you....then go with brand name.
2007-09-17 09:36:08 · answer #3 · answered by Taylor 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They're the same.
The only way the brand-name would be twice as strong is if your doctor had chosen to reduce your dose from 2 500 mg tabs to 1.
Sounds like the pharmacist might be sampling his wares, if he could not answer this question for you!
2007-09-17 12:18:06 · answer #4 · answered by noxcuses4me 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Um...they should be just the same. Like exactly. Strength is determined by your doctor's dosage. 500 mg generic is the same as 500 mg brand name. Unless you have extra money burning a hole in your pocket, go with the generic.
2007-09-17 09:36:51 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not true that the 'brand'named drugs are twice as much as strong as the generic.However,some times the brand named drugs may be more efficacious than generic named ones.
2007-09-18 02:40:34 · answer #6 · answered by BIN UTHMAN 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only thing twice as strong between the two is the price of the
non-generic!
2007-09-17 10:06:54 · answer #7 · answered by carrie b 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't make sense to me that they would make the brand name drug twice as strong. The drugs are supposed to be interchangable. Personally, I don't think it matters. Go with generic if it's a money issue. There won't be a noticeable difference.
2007-09-17 09:36:24 · answer #8 · answered by dan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO DIFFERENCE WHAT SO EVER!!!!!! EXACTLY THE SAME INGREDIENTS IN GENERIC AS BRAND NAME
2007-09-17 09:36:58 · answer #9 · answered by babymalai 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋