Generic Concerta?

[egoldber]

After much medication trial and error, we switched younger DD to Concerta in early July and it worked very well for her. We refilled it in August and it looked different. The pharmacist said it was generic, but equivalent. After 2 weeks, I don't think it is equivalent. I also cannot find a picture of this particular pill anywhere on the net, even on the sites that show images for generics for Concerta.

Anyone here using Concerta and have any issues with it?

[sste]

I have no concerta experience. But I do think generics can on occasion go wrong. I took generic Wellbutrin last year having taken branded in the past with no ill effects. It was a descent into hell. I am the least suicidal person I know and these terrible dark thoughts were flashing through my mind. I was manic which has never been an issue. All med personnel told me it was my depression (which had been extremely mild not even clinical) and to give the meds more time to help. My husband told me to throw them in the trash and not even taper. I did and all those symptoms vanished. Two months later I believe there was a recall based on the ill effects it was having. Anyway after this experience I am less trusting if drug formulations period in terms of consistency. I would def pay attention to your dd reactions.

[egoldber]

Oh how awful for you!

Our issue is not that severe. The regular Concerta has a very even time release delivery mechanism vs the two bolus mechanism of most long acting ADHD meds. Concerta has a very particular "bullet" shape that makes it very distinctive. One of the generics is like this, but this generic does not have that distinctive shape. The med seems to have 2 boluses and seems to wear off earlier.

[egoldber]

Oops double post.

[BunnyBee]

The generic DH has looks like a large generic Advil. He has never been on the name brand, but no issues with generics so far. It's not impossible for the pharmacy to have given the wrong medicine. If you google the manufacturer and name, you should be able to find a picture. If the name works better for DD, will your insurance fill it with a doctor's no generic rx?

Edited: after showing DH that article, he told me he noticed a difference and thought the dosage was off, so he's going to try to exchange the rest of the pills for name. No idea if placebo effect is happening...

[pinkmomagain]

Long ago I had a psychologist tell me to always go with the brand when it comes to psychiatric medications. Not sure how truthful it is, and she was not a psychiatrist after all, but that was the advice she gave me based on her experience with her patients.

[Katigre]

Long ago I had a psychologist tell me to always go with the brand when it comes to psychiatric medications. Not sure how truthful it is, and she was not a psychiatrist after all, but that was the advice she gave me based on her experience with her patients.

This has been our experience after painful trial and error. I will never take a generic psych medication and expect it to perform like the name brand.

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[Indianamom2]

NO experience with Concerta, but I know that DH found that one of his anxiety meds in generic form didn't work as well, so it's entirely possible. But in your situation, it almost sounds like you possibly got a completely wrong med. I'd take it back to the pharmacy and double-check.

[egoldber]

There is no manufacturer on the bottle, it just says "generic for Concerta". I saw that blog and what we have does not look like any of those pictures. I would think it was the wrong thing except it does say "27" on the pill and the odd dosages of Concerta (18, 27, 36, 54) are part of what make it easy to identify. Previously what we had was the Alza 27 in the gray capsule, very distinctive.

Older DD has taken generic Prozac for any years with no issues, so I don't have a generic bias so much, it's just that this works differently.

[o_mom]

I'm surprised there is no manufacturer listed! Every prescription we get has one listed on the label. I assumed that was to be able to track in case of recalls.

Anyway, it looks like there is a third generic on the market now. Watson generic is actually just brand-name Concerta relabeled, which is the 'Alza 27' you had before. Mallinckrodt was the next one to come out and those are the pictures that were in the link. Kudco now has approval (as of July), so likely that is the one you are getting. The ANDA hasn't been posted on the FDA website so they don't even have a description available.

As far as I can tell only Watson is using the osmotic release system because they are actually the exact same as brand-name. The other two are just extended release of some variety. I'm actually surprised they were able to show bioequivalence with a different system.