sunburnt22 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Hi all, Like many I am a very experienced meds taker. I've been on Lexapro 10 mg and Wellbutrin XL 150 mg for a few years. But the Wellbutrin XL now makes me shaky and anxious, yet when I stop it I get all the withdrawls- more depression, lethargy, etc. It's a real Catch-22. Not long ago I switched from brand name to generic, and I know some have some brought up the point that generic Wellbutrin XL may not be as effective as the brand name. Could this be happening to me? I hope so because I've taken all other classes of meds and none work like Wellbutrin XL (not even Wellbutrin IR or SR, for me). But my insurance, Blue Cross PPO, does not pay for brand names when there is a generic. Is there a way around this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysergia Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 i don't know if there's a way around it financially, i am really dumb about insurance-type things. but you're not unreasonable to think it's the switch to generic. my experience with the switch was horrible. where i live i can no longer get the original version. and it is NO way as effective. and the side effects, some like you describe, are not tolerable without medicating them away which i am loathe to do. and yet i know too that not taking it is even worse. i'm still trying to figure out a solution to this, with my pdoc who thankfully seems to get it. i'm trying splitting up the dose with SR over the day, instead of just XL in the morning. so far it's not working so well, but we're still tweaking, so maybe there's some hope. the SR is unfortunately also generic though. please tell your pdoc or whomever you have prescribing your meds. you are not alone. if it is the new formulation, this won't go away by itself. keep us posted how it's going! i had a very hard time finding information about this. it's good to bring it up here. i wish you luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celestia Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Won't a lot of RX plans pay if the doctor requests brand only? Or talks to the plans clinical director or whomever makes exceptions to the formulary? I've done that in the past with meds that I needed more of than the plan would pay for in a months time. It's a PITA but worth it. Call the number on the back of your RX card and ask what, if any, recourse you have. I think you can push it, they just make it really hard. I'm starting to wonder this about my own situation. I've been on Lex 20 mg for 2 years. Started tanking late summer, added WB (generic), felt better, as in not heading into the abyss better, not hugely better. Anyway, my tx resistant depression is getting to be the fucking Holy Grail of my life it would seem, pdoc says, there is nothing more I can do. wtf? But that's my thread. I think I'm going to call and see what I have to do to try the brand WB. Thanks and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 My doctor told the insurance company that I had to have the brand name WB XL 300, so I get it. I pay a lot more than I would for the generic, but it works better for me. If you would like to read the thread we had about this, use the search function for this forum and search "Teva" or "bupropion" and I bet you'll find that thread. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.