Generic Wellbutrin XL - issues with certain brands

[elemanda]

Hello.

I have been taking Wellbutrin XL 300mg since I think about 2004 or 2005, and was just fine on either name brand or some generics that I got at Walgreens. They would change manufacturers now and then and I never had trouble until about a year ago. Whatever they switched it to, I started to just head straight down, and it was ugly. That month was terrible, just right back into depression. Sorry I can't remember which brand that was. In desperation I switched to Costco since they used Teva (I guess I'm weird since I was okay on Teva, I have since read terrible things about it). A month after I switched to Costco they switched to Watson. I started doing poorly and went through the process to get my doctor to ask for an exception for my insurance to pay for name brand. They refused, and I cannot afford $300/month for just one pill (I am on several medications). So I stuck with Watson and the second month I evened out on it and was totally fine. That did well for about a year.

Anyway you can probably guess where this is going... Costco just switched on me, to Abrika. Again I feel uneven, though this time my unevenness is different - instead of just feeling like the wind has gone out of my sails, glum, and like there was nothing I felt like doing, I would have a lull in the mid-afternoon some days followed by an hour or two of hypomania (this happened after I had a lot of sugar, not sure if that's related or not). Needless to say this isn't great. I seem to have evened out a bit in the past week, but I'm at the point where I need to decide whether to stick with this stuff for another month, or have my prescription switched to the grocery store (HEB) where they use the brand Par, which I haven't heard of before.

Sorry for that textwall, here's the meat of my question:

1. Anyone else have issues on Abrika? Is it known to be okay, or terrible, or what?

2. Anyone know about Par? Is it any good or at least not bad?

I'd like to get Watson but I just don't know what pharmacy might have it - I called around to several pharmacies and nobody did. Is there a pharmacy who could special order it for me, or is that kind of thing even possible?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide me. I appreciate it.

p.s. Anyone just wanna commiserate with me on this whole craziness of changing generic manufacturers for this drug, be my guest. I swear all these companies must be undercutting each other all the time, and the pharmacies just keep switching.

[jt07]

I go to a small mom-and-pop pharmacy, and they will special order a generic for me if I request. I did it for my lamotrigine. The big chains are less flexible.

[olga]

You have my sympathies. I think it's really crappy when they switch back and forth, and it has such a noticeable effect on you.

I am taking the Watson version of WB, and I get it at CVS. If you're in the US, there is probably a CVS near you. Good luck, and I'm sorry I can't help you with your other questions. I haven't taken those other generics that you listed.

olga

[melissaw72]

I have a friend who can only take Teva. She had to look everywhere for a pharmacy that was willing to get that brand.