Impending Transition to Generics

[TakeAChillPill]

I'm making the transition to all generic because on my insurance the brand is exorbitantly priced.  My Dr. submitted a form requesting they cover brand but to no avail.

I have already switched my Wellbutrin 150mg XL to the generic several days ago and so far I haven't turned into newt.  LOL

Soon I will be switching to generic Prozac and Abilify. 

My biggest concern is that generic Abilify will have some funky side effects I cannot deal with.  I'm only on 7mg.  Does anyone have any experience with the generic form of Abilify?  Any other advice is welcome.  

[Southern Discomfort]

I might be wrong but I wouldn't expect any difference when you go to generics. I've been on Risperdal once for a month of the two years I've been taking generic risperidone and it made not a bit of difference. I think people make too much of a big deal from the "official" stuff to the generic stuff. They all use the same primary ingredient. Surely that isn't such a big deal?

[rowan77]

I take generic quetiapine and fluoxetine and the change made absolutely no difference to my mood and I did not get extra or different side effects. The main active ingredient is the same......

[melissaw72]

I take all generics except for Lamictal ODT, and have never had problems with them.

Abilify for me (i am on generics) ... I have never had any problems or side effects other than headaches, which I get every day (when I go back to 15 mg they should be better though).  Other than that, no problems at all.

[jt07]

I had a problem with an Abilify generic. I forget which one though. It was not working for me. I was sleeping all the time (and Abilify usually juices me up), and I was not feeling it. I didn't realize it until the generic got changed to another and suddenly I had all kinds of energy and felt much better. The generic that works for me is Amneal. 

[Flash]

I had no problems whatsoever when I went from regular to generic abilify. 

[heilmania]

Weird, I've never had issues with my meds being generics. When I switched to generic Abilify I didn't notice a difference. 

[TakeAChillPill]

42 minutes ago, heilmania said:

Weird, I've never had issues with my meds being generics. When I switched to generic Abilify I didn't notice a difference. 

This is good to know.  Thank you.

I have been strung out all night with a force I'm unaccustomed to.  It might be akathisia a it's finest because although I have an inner restlessness, I don't have racing thoughts or any changes in mood.  I only feel frustrated when I try to shut down and go to sleep.  I am thinking the generic Wellbutrin is to blame.  I also found out from my mother who set up my pill cases at the beginning of the week that I've been on generic Abilify, for almost a week.  My generic is Aripiprozole.  I am not sure of Welly can cause akathisia but I'll google that one.  Maybe it is the Aripiprozole.  

Either way I don't know why it's so hard to just relax.  I took NyQuil and a little Benadryl at 10:30pm and I haven't done that in a long time.  Not only am I still awake now at almost 5am, I also am not even the slightest bit tired. 

Stupid Generics.  

[melissaw72]

29 minutes ago, TakeAChillPill said:

only feel frustrated when I try to shut down and go to sleep.  I am thinking the generic Wellbutrin is to blame.

I don't think it is a matter of the generic wellbutrin; I think it is because the wellbutrin (generic or not) it is a stimulant. Maybe too high a dose?

31 minutes ago, TakeAChillPill said:

I am not sure of Welly can cause akathisia but I'll google that one.  Maybe it is the Aripiprozole.  

I know abilify can cause akathisia.  Not sure about wellbutrin ... what I googled gave mixed results.

 

 

[notloki]

38 minutes ago, TakeAChillPill said:

This is good to know.  Thank you.

I have been strung out all night with a force I'm unaccustomed to.  It might be akathisia a it's finest because although I have an inner restlessness, I don't have racing thoughts or any changes in mood.  I only feel frustrated when I try to shut down and go to sleep.  I am thinking the generic Wellbutrin is to blame.  I also found out from my mother who set up my pill cases at the beginning of the week that I've been on generic Abilify, for almost a week.  My generic is Aripiprozole.  I am not sure of Welly can cause akathisia but I'll google that one.  Maybe it is the Aripiprozole.  

Either way I don't know why it's so hard to just relax.  I took NyQuil and a little Benadryl at 10:30pm and I haven't done that in a long time.  Not only am I still awake now at almost 5am, I also am not even the slightest bit tired. 

Stupid Generics.  

There is about a 20% chance you will get akathisia from Abilify and essentially no chance with Wellbutrin. I made the transition to aripiprazole without any problems.

[heilmania]

5 hours ago, TakeAChillPill said:

This is good to know.  Thank you.

I have been strung out all night with a force I'm unaccustomed to.  It might be akathisia a it's finest because although I have an inner restlessness, I don't have racing thoughts or any changes in mood.  I only feel frustrated when I try to shut down and go to sleep.  I am thinking the generic Wellbutrin is to blame.  I also found out from my mother who set up my pill cases at the beginning of the week that I've been on generic Abilify, for almost a week.  My generic is Aripiprozole.  I am not sure of Welly can cause akathisia but I'll google that one.  Maybe it is the Aripiprozole.  

Either way I don't know why it's so hard to just relax.  I took NyQuil and a little Benadryl at 10:30pm and I haven't done that in a long time.  Not only am I still awake now at almost 5am, I also am not even the slightest bit tired. 

Stupid Generics.  

I'm on aripiprazole, too. 

I had some really bad experiences with Wellbutrin the week I was on it and had to stop taking it, so I don't have experience there. 

[jt07]

6 hours ago, TakeAChillPill said:

This is good to know.  Thank you.

I have been strung out all night with a force I'm unaccustomed to.  It might be akathisia a it's finest because although I have an inner restlessness, I don't have racing thoughts or any changes in mood.  I only feel frustrated when I try to shut down and go to sleep.  I am thinking the generic Wellbutrin is to blame.  I also found out from my mother who set up my pill cases at the beginning of the week that I've been on generic Abilify, for almost a week.  My generic is Aripiprozole.  I am not sure of Welly can cause akathisia but I'll google that one.  Maybe it is the Aripiprozole.  

Either way I don't know why it's so hard to just relax.  I took NyQuil and a little Benadryl at 10:30pm and I haven't done that in a long time.  Not only am I still awake now at almost 5am, I also am not even the slightest bit tired. 

Stupid Generics.  

It could be the aripiprozole. Abilify is known to cause insomnia. That is not a problem for me because I sleep too much as it is and my other meds make me sleepy. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about adding a sedating antidepressant like Remeron? I'm ready to sleep within an hour or two after taking the Remeron, and it doesn't leave me hung over the next day (though it did for the first two weeks or so).

[TakeAChillPill]

32 minutes ago, jt07 said:

It could be the aripiprozole. Abilify is known to cause insomnia. That is not a problem for me because I sleep too much as it is and my other meds make me sleepy. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about adding a sedating antidepressant like Remeron? I'm ready to sleep within an hour or two after taking the Remeron, and it doesn't leave me hung over the next day (though it did for the first two weeks or so).

I will talk to my Dr about adding Remeron.  Thank you.

[Suzyqqq]

Watch out for Activus generic Wellbutrin. After 45 pills discovered I was going through severe Wellbutrin withdrawal. Had every withdrawal symptom and a panic attack which I have never had before where I couldn't breathe and felt like I should go to emergency room!!! Awful now on name brand and fine. This company should be sued!

[notloki]

Hmmm....I switched to Activus 30 days ago and have not noticed a difference between Aplenzin and the Activus version. I have had trouble with the early generics and could tell within 3 days if this was going to be equivalent. Are you taking XL or SR ?

[DopamineSick]

In 2012, the FDA pulled Teva's version of Buproprion XL 300 mg. People were getting strange reactions. I'm assuming the problem has been resolved, but maybe there's just something about Wellbutrin (the release mechanism) that makes it harder to replicate into a generic. I think there are still people today who refuse to take the generics, but I'd have to do some research.

Edited March 14, 2017 by DopamineSick

[notloki]

There are 2 other brands, Aplenzin and Forfivo 450  XL that I have been on and they got the time release to match the original. So it is doable.

[TakeAChillPill]

I've been takin generic Abilify (aripiprazole) and generic Wellbutrin XL 150 (bupropion) for a fairly long time now. It's been about a month.  

Is it odd that I like the generics better?  In fact, I have more energy and am in better spirits since the transition.  

Whatever the differences are they affect me positively so I think I'm safe!

 

[notloki]

On 3/14/2017 at 10:57 AM, TakeAChillPill said:

I've been takin generic Abilify (aripiprazole) and generic Wellbutrin XL 150 (bupropion) for a fairly long time now. It's been about a month.  

Is it odd that I like the generics better?  In fact, I have more energy and am in better spirits since the transition.  

Whatever the differences are they affect me positively so I think I'm safe!

 

When you say "generics" one of many manufactures make the generic so when you pick up your meds your generic Abilify could be made by one of at least eleven different manufactures. I counted eleven licensed to make generic Abilify in the Orange Book (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/) but may of missed some. So you cannot generalize with generics, you need to specify the manufacture. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by notloki

[JustNuts]

On 3/14/2017 at 11:57 AM, TakeAChillPill said:

I've been takin generic Abilify (aripiprazole) and generic Wellbutrin XL 150 (bupropion) for a fairly long time now. It's been about a month.  

Is it odd that I like the generics better?  In fact, I have more energy and am in better spirits since the transition.  

Whatever the differences are they affect me positively so I think I'm safe!

 

It's unlikely that generic aripiprazole would produce any sort of noticeable difference in effects.

The generic forms of certain extended-release meds do tend to have slightly different pharmacokinetic properties than their original "parents", Wellbutrin XL is one of the meds where under some cases you might notice minor differences because of the slightly different PK profile (caused by using different design approaches and release mechanisms). Generally outside of the two documented extreme cases (one Wellbutrin XL generic a number of years ago (long since pulled from the market) and several Concerta generics within the past few years (the Kremers/Kudco and Mallinckrodt US generics were derated from AB to BX and eventually pulled from the market as a result)), any differences in effect seen will be minor enough that there is no practical difference. The FDA has responded to the Concerta fiasco in particular by markedly tightening their standards for bioequivalence on extended-release medications, which should have solved the issue (Concerta's finally truly going off patent (or rather their release mechanism is going off patent) pretty damn soon (it expires in Jan 2018 for pediatric uses and in Jul 2017 for general uses) so the near-identical PSOP OROS clones are going to be flooding in soon enough and nobody will care at that point). Concerta's history is a really fascinating tale though that I've followed with great interest for more than two years now.