Generic Concerta is here!
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Anonymous
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I have read all the posts and they are truly conflicting. However, this I have to say: I am an Adult who has been on Concerta for 10 years with fantastic success: Holding down a medical job, focusing, enjoying a great relationship, no side effects at all from Concerta.
Recently, my insurance company changed the tier of the medicine so I had to get the Generic- no problem - it was cheaper!Finally I could get the exact drug cheaper as Watson apparently had the same drug! However, I became moody, started to take tylenol for headaches, my teeth hurt and I started to clench my jaw. Switching back. There is a difference to me! |
Anonymous
| What a scam. I went to pick up my prescription for the generic Concerta. They still charged me the same $60 co-pay. They said that it was a "preferred pill", whatever that means. When I called Blue Cross Blue Shield they told me that since their was only one company that was allowed to make the generic, Watson Lab, it is still being considered a non preferred medication. They said once other companies are allowed to make the generic form then the price should go down. Wow! is it just me or does anyone else see what a scam these pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are running. Maybe it's also the fact that I live in the most corrupt state in the country, Illinois. Does anyone else out there have different insurance that pays less then I do for generic Concerta. I want to know if it is just BCBS insurance pulling this crap! Merry Christmas!!! |
Anonymous
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My daughter has been on 36mg of Concerta for 5 years which has worked great! About 4 months ago we switched to the generic Concerta and since then she has nothing but issues with her stomach. I left her on the generic because time and time again I was told that there was no difference between the name brand and the generic.
She does not take the Concerta while on school breaks and over Christmas break had no stomach issues. Today was her first day back, took her pill and came home complaining that her stomach hurts. We have even had blood work done and a MRI to make sure there wasn't anything more serious wrong. We are switching back to the brand name and will see what happens. I didn't see any posts that reported severe stomach pains while on the generic which makes me a little skeptical but switching back will be worth a try! If anyone else has experienced stomach issues while on the generic I would like to know about it. |
Anonymous
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My son has been taking the generic Concerta since it was released. I have seen no change in his behavior or side effects. I do have a complaint about how much we pay for it.
I have United Healthcare/Medco insurance and until today, I have paid $10 for the co-pay for the generic version. I had to go to a different pharmacy this morning and they charged me $50 for the generic. I questioned them and they said that's what my insurance co-pay came up. I called United and found out that I should have been paying $50 all along for the generic as there is no difference in co-pay for any tier-3 drug, even if it is a generic. There is no incentive for me to try buy the cheaper version. So, I will just keep getting name-brand and United can eat the cost difference. |
Anonymous
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I've been taking concerta 54mg for 10 years no problems at all, until the generic came out. (My ins requires substituting generic when available).
I don't care what they claim, the generic is NOT the same. It's not only weaker, but lasts a fraction as long. I should last about 16 hrs but after 4 hrs I start feeling like I havent' taken anythng at all. Something fishy is going on here. I hope somebody investigates. |
Anonymous
| To the person who continues to insist that the generic is EXACTLY the same it is not. Generic drugs do have the same ingredients in the same dosage in the same delivery system (i.e. pill). They do studies to determine that these generic drugs are safe and effective however when they determine that a drug is bioequivalent they are approving it within an "acceptable range". For example the drug is approved to be "the same" if it has 80-120% the absorption of the origional molecule. For someone who is switching from a drug like concerta to a generic, this range can have no impact or a significant impact. Also, the formulation of brand name Concerta is specially designed to deliver the medication over a period of time. Generic Concerta (at least the Canadian version) does not have this specialized release system (even though it contains the exact same ingredients) thus changing the way the medication is delivered to the body. I am not saying that generics are not safe or effective. They do contain the same ingredients, at the same dosage however because of the "acceptable range" requirements that the FDA considers safe they may not be EXACTLY the same as the origional molecule. It is absolutely not in your head. Many people have changed from Brand name to generic Concerta and have not had the same results. |
Anonymous
I have learned that IBS (Irritble Bowel Syndrome) is very common in girls with ADD. As it turns out her stomach issues are related to that and not the gernic Concerta. Her ADD doctor was very suprised that non of the other doctors caught that when going through test to detemrine what the issue was. Something to keep in mind. |
Anonymous
| My son recently was diagnosed with ADHD and he was prescribed 18 mg of Concerta. When I filled the prescription he was given the generic brand with a $35 co pay. His side effects are stomach aches, decreased appetite and nervousness. He side effects usually appear after 7 PM each evening. His first dose is given after breakfast @ 7:30 AM. He appeared very nervous when describing his symptoms, but I heard it takes 2 weeks from initial dose for the drug to react appropriately to the body. Let's see!!! My son is only 7 years old and I would hate for him to experience these symptoms every day. Did anyone on Concerta experience a different side affect? |
Anonymous
Modest degrees of variability are commonplace. Think about it - a single pill in one patient might take will be absorbed differently in different patients based on their diet and metabolism, and one pill might have different effects on, for example, a 90 pound Asian woman than on a 250 pound Italian man. We dont worry too much about this sort of variability, but you really want to pay tons of extra cash despite the insignificant differences between generic and brand-name Concerta? The FDA has a designated class of drugs, call Narrow Therapeutic Index drugs, where very small degrees of variability do make a difference. Concerta is NOT in that category. So please, if your doctor writes a prescription, get the generic. It will work just as well as the brand-name on 99.99999 percent of patients and save them a ton of money. |
Anonymous
| Concerta doesn't seem to be working for my son on 54MG it's been a while now but i think the generic was working better at school. Anyone else have this problem. |
Anonymous
I have been paying $60 a month for my daughters even though it is a generic also. I have BCBS. |
Anonymous
My daughter is 18. She has been on Concerta since 4th grade. She has been taking 2/54 mg pills a day since she was 16. We go to a specialist. She does great. |
Anonymous
| Was on the generic this fall. The effectiveness was the same, but about a month and a half in after spending weeks trying to figure out why i was irritable and unhappy all of the sudden and biting people's heads off, i realized the timing was the same as having been on the generic concerta. Spoke with my Dr. and now the prescription notes that I had adverse side effects, I am paying the same as I was before (not the same as the generic price, but not the bumped up price that brand names go to after the generic comes out. Am now back to my happy self |
Anonymous
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The generic is much different. The concerta er has lazer presidium technology and drill a small precise hole which the medicine is slowly release from. The pill is made up of a special coating of polymers which expand when the water from you body is absorbed to the pill which then expands. the pill is 3 chambers which have medicine and is released through that hole and is what they call the innovative time released formula.
The generic is not as precise and only has to be 80% of the brand name dose. This means companies can save money but not giving you as much medicine and let you pay less. Would it make sense for any company to waste money on you if they didn't have too? Of course not - so don't listen to the bs. The old saying - you get what you paid for Some medicines are more sensitive to this Also. The generic concerta looks almost exact but has a tiny diffrence . The alza might look thinner or completely on center, but the sides are a good indicater. You can look up what the generic vs brand looks like. It even shows you a picture of it crushed. They don't look the same inside and its not time released like the brand in fact, accprding to one site the generic version is easier for drug abuse because its not contained in chambers and once you get past the shell it's all really to snort. As for the brand name - you would have a harder time from separating it and getting past the shell and chambers. I didnt verify this info by testing it out but I'm sure it is accurate. I have been on generic and I got suspended 6 times before first period in high school. I did not know I was getting the generic till after I peiced the puzzle together. Once they put me back on the concerta I was fine. To give any technician that is is diffrent. Try pittin up with my on the generic you will be the most miserable person in the world . Ps without the brand name concerta or if I don't take my ADHD med for the day I can't stop eating . So I concerta I eat around 600 calories Generic : 3,000 No med: 4,500 I get extreamly sick if I don't take brand name. I'm healthy weight and it's thanks to concerta. |
Anonymous
600 calories is not healthy. And I'm really sorry that you are taking ADHD meds to control your weight. |