Adderall Generics Thread
(Newest replies first)

Hey guys.

Most of us are probably in the same boat--our Adderall doesn't work and it's horrible and we can't function well and it's bull**** and we all know that, but there are other threads/forums to vent frustration. We need a thread with the basics to help us all get going again or to know what to avoid (even though that seems like all of them these days, ha.)

PLEASE POST THE FOLLOWING:

1. MANUFACTURER OF YOUR RECENT ADDERALL PRESCRIPTION
2. XR OR IR? HOW MANY MG? COLOR/SHAPE/IMPRINT? (if possible)
3. ***PHARMACY NAME*** AND MONTH/YEAR OF SCRIPT
4. YOUR LOCATION (if you are comfortable with that)
5. SIDE EFFECTS/SYMPTOMS. GOOD? BAD?

Generally speaking, chain pharmacies use the same manufacturer at all of their locations throughout the country and that will make it easier for us to either get a hold of that specific manufacturer's Adderall, OR to avoid it if it's a bad batch.

Replies to other posts are allowed, but please try to stay on topic so that the thousands of people viewing this thread can easily keep track when they are going in for their monthly prescription.

Thanks so much!

REPLY

REPORT

Re: Jay (# 105)

Same story except that Rhodes is even worse. Hard to believe.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: CC (# 109)

Finally! I hope Rhodes is next. Seems someone cares a little.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Re: Geo (# 76)

Dead on! ADHD patient for my whole life. Tried them all (manufacturers). Doesn't matter XR or IR. They've all dropped in treating symptoms but RHODES should be stripped from all shelves. How it is even allowed is beyond me. And trust me the pharmacies are MORE than well aware of we are. Rhodes is a CHINESE manufacturer. All Rhodes medications are the lowest quality permitted. Their oxycodone is going through many legal suits. Global isn't what it used to be but I can read and play chess so.... Taking 20 mg. XR twice daily. Mallinckrodt is 2nd for garbage meds.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Patti B (# 87)

ADHD patient my whole life basically. Gonna keep this short. All generic brands have definitely CHANGED but by far and I mean should be illegal is Rhodes. And not just their Adderall, EVERYTHING! They're a Chinese manufacturer if that tells you anything. Taking Global now and it's better than nothing. I can read, play chess, etc. not with Rhodes!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I've been taking/prescribed generic IR Adderall for over 10 years. Ingested alot of different manufacturers at all different doses. (Costco Pharmacy) Whether it's Barr/Teva, Sandoz, Elite, Core, etc etc, they are all alittle different. Same drug in each tablet, but what's different are the binding agents used by manufacturers to help you absorb it. Only one I've ever had an issue with was Core.
It was like hippie speed. Jittery,
Anxious, not at all focused.
My doc told me to never fill with "the pinks" . Core tablets have a distinct darker color.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Re: ssw (# 6)

Psych shared that MALLINCRODT NORCO Generic Adderall was discontinued and pulled off the shelf due to quality.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

1. Elite Pharm
2. IR 10 MG Light Blue Oval Shaped
3. CVS End of July 23 start of August 23
4. South Jersey
5. Bad - Tired, Foggy, Ocular Migraines, Not effective in managing symptoms even at a higher dosage.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Re: Jay (# 105)

In Los Angeles and can’t find Teva 30mg IR anywhere. I’m stuck with Sandoz 30mg XR at Walgreens. It’s doing absolutely nothing for me. Have taken this medication for over 20 years and have never experienced anything as bad as this Sandoz. No pharmacy around here even carries IR. Teva is by far the best.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Cody (# 103)

Lol. Sun pharmaceuticals.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: HCStymie (# 99)

Aurobindo is the absolute worst. I’m almost sure it has almost no active ingredient and is all chalk. I will make 20+ calls to pharmacies until I can find Teva, which seems like it’s not as good as it used to be but still better than any other generics I’ve tried (which is most off them). ‘Bindos should be banned imo

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Re: Jaime (# 102)

Remember that different colors and different shapes indicate different ingredients. Don’t be fooled that they are all the same. An oval will never be a circle.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Stepheb (# 96)

When you say Sun are you referring to Sunrise?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Re: Rcma (# 101)

Thank you. I figured with different manufacturers that the pill could change color and shape. This helps. Thank you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Jaime (# 100)

It's the same script. Oddly there are multiple names for generic Adderall... which is ridiculous and confusing. "The generic name for Adderall is dextroamphetamine-amphetamine. It’s also sometimes referred to as amphetamine salts" (per verywell health)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

My Rx for 10 years has always said d-amphetamine salt combo 20 mg tab, but my new Rx states amphet/dextr 20 mg tab and they look different and the new ones don’t work the same at all. Are they the same? I don’t understand why this changed suddenly when I’ve always spoken to my dr calling it adderall.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Drew (# 95)

@Drew, you need to figure out what works for you and not accept the meds at the pharmacy if filled with one you don't want. I always give them the script and if they have them in stock I ask which brand. If it is one I don't want I ask for my script back and go somewhere else.
NorthStar has 2 formularies made by 2 different manufacturers and they both are horrible. 1 is from Sun pharma (Frontida bought their plant and probably formulary so may see either name associated with it) which is what you got The other is from Aurolife aka Aurobindo. If you look up the pill on a pill identification website, they will usually say the manufacturer and won't mention NorthStar. But, at the pharmacy they will say they are NorthStar. There are many brands that have a different manufacturer make it for them.

Should also mention, some brands have changed their formularies which may account for 1 brand no longer working. I don't recall the dates but sandoz I believe has, maybe Lannett, Teva I think did too a while back when they took over the name brand formulary. I think they switched their generic to the same formulary as the brand.

I was taking corepharma 40 mg before I got out of bed. Then 0, 10, or 20 in the early afternoon depending on how I felt. Then all of a sudden they stopped working. I recall a couple times thinking I may have taken 2 simvastatin by accident instead since there was zero therapeutic value. Kept trying to figure out if a different med I started taking was the reason etc. Eventually I realized the pills were the same shape and size as my other ones, but a different color. Looked the same color with lights off. Finally realizing it was a different brand I looked it up. Aurolife/Aurobindo. I started taking 80mg. Wouldn't get me out of bed. When I did get myself up I took 20 more. In the early afternoon I took 20 or 40 more. Total 120 to 140 mg per day and never got the equivalent therapeutics of 40 to 50 of corepharma. I think corepharma may have discontinued since then :(

Brands as far as my experience, includes no longer made ones.

Good:
- Teva
- Shire
- Barr
- Sandoz

Good Enough:
- Mallinckrodt

Crap:
- Aurolife/Aurobindo
- Sun
- NorhtStar
- Some white pill with the same size and shape that I never identified. Years ago.

My own rule of thumb is, if it is manufactured by an Indian company or has an Indian parent company, it probably sucks. Indian pharma culture is make it quick and cheap. Heard it is not true for all, but the bad ones I tried and the ones with the worst reviews were almost always Indian. Nothing against actual India or Indian people. Just their pharma industry sucks.

Side note, all amphetamine, methylphenidate, methamphetamine medications in the U.S. are manufactured in the U.S. by law.

Some companies create an American subsidiary or just manufacture here. Others get distributed by American companies under their names.

- Aurolife - Aurobindo India. Distributed under NorthStar name.

- Sun India - sold plant and formulary to Frontida. Distributed under NorthStar name.

- Accord - Intas India bad reviews

- Camber - Hetero India, manufactured by Ascent (Ascent hard to follow history)

- Dr. Reddy India bad reviews

- Epic started American, bought by Chinese company. Bad reviews

- Zydus mixed reviews but more good ones than bad. Indian company that bought formulary from Nesher. Think they stopped manufacturing.

Some companies like NorthStar and Prasco make some drugs but also distribute a lot from various other companies from around the world. So you don't necessarily know what you are getting till you look deeper.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

Re: Ashley (# 94)

I started taking the same drug from the same manufacturer as of 2 months ago. I take 40mg a day (which is quite a bit considering I am a slim woman nearing 40, in my opinion but it works well for me and I feel very healthy). I was very curious bc I’d been taking Teva 10 mg three times a day for years. I was shocked I wound up taking this higher dose bc I switched doctors and at first she had me on ER which did absolute nothing to help. I also have Medicaid with United Healthcare and they have this delusional opinion that adults should not take extended release so I was paying out of pocket with charity help for a couple of months. Anyway, my new doctor eventually increased my dose by 10mg after me taking 30mg a day for years. I am so perplexed by this and do wonder if it’s related to the type of generic I am now prescribed… it could also just be that I was a hot mess for a couple of months at work and driving too. No idea.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Re: RLR (# 11)

If you take adderall and feel tense , glittery or anxiety , and your not against another Benzos, I recommend asking your doctor for .5mg of klonopin 2 times a day , you can take that at same time , especially if you take 20mg or higher , if you have no tolerances for benzos or are only taking 10mg there is .25mg as well you could take, this does take care of the those side effects without affecting the Adderalls main purpsose.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

For me they were pretty good, no problems with them. I’ve been through many brands recently and so far they are up there but of course nothing like Teva. There are about 4-6 decent brands and 5 you never want to get. I spent some hours and came up with this list, from best to worst:

1. Teva
2. Sun
3. Sandoz
4. Lannett
5. Camber
6. Zydus
7. Core pharma
8. Mylan
9. Alvogen
10. Mallinckrodt

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

I’m not a scientist, so I will start out saying this is speculation on my part. I know that not peoples bodies can react differently to medication from one another, so I am not saying that because one companies generic doesn’t work for me, that it means it won’t work for anyone else that ever takes it. I am just speaking on my personal experience. I’ve been on stimulants off and on for many years and I can promise you that adderall generics at least all the different ones I have taken have changed in the last few years and especially in 2022 and the last 4 months.

I never had any problems or negative side effects with generic adderall from 2008 to 2017 maybe 2018. Stopped taking it for 2 years. Got back on in 2020. I noticed from my very first dose that something was off. I’m prescribed 30mg 2 times a day IR. Now I only actually take 30 to 90 mg in 1 whole week. So I do not have a tolerance built up. I have never taken the medication daily because I haven’t needed to. So in the past this medication has always worked every single time. The first dose I took in over 2 years did almost nothing. I chalked it up to over hyping it in my mind. So waiting for the next weekend and took 45 mg on a Saturday 1 and a half pills. Basically the same thing. I noticed there was no sense of well being or extra motivation that usually comes with the drug. The only thing I noticed was that it felt like a large dose of caffeine, like I had drank a redline energy drink or something. The experience was therapeutically useless.

So I waited another week and had the same results. So I thought we’ll maybe my body is reacting differently since I'm a little bit older. Then one of my close friends I grew up with got back on his and I asked him what he thought. He said it didn’t work for him either. So I’ve been taking it 1 to 2 times a week for the last year and only about 5% out of all of those doses have I actually felt the medication working. But since it wasn’t something I had to take daily and wasn’t actually negatively affecting my life I didn’t look into it until about 3 months ago or so I noticed that the medication took an even bigger nosedive in quality/effectiveness.

So I finally took the time to look into this out of curiosity because at this point I still thought maybe it was just my body changing or all in my head. Keep in mind I take it even less than I did before so I don’t take any more that 60 mg a week so usually I’ll take 2 doses on Saturday. I thought it was for sure me and I’m probably the only one that is dealing with or noticing this but after a few hours going over personal accounts, discontinuing of products, lawsuits, complaints to the fda, lawyers, etc. I was kinda surprised to see soo many people upset, physically getting sick not with withdrawals but from whatever is going on with the manufacturing or quality control with these meds.

Now again I am not saying these are facts or that this is what is happening but to me it seems like the medication has changed in all of the generics I have taken. They do not work the way they are supposed to and it’s not even like ohh it’s a little bit off or different no it literally feels like instead of 30mg of the active ingredients that are suppose to be in them aren’t and was replaced with some kind of gas station truck stop pill concoction. I do know that the meds should be working I have not built up a tolerance. Take 1 to 2 pills in a week and even goin 2 weeks to a month in a few cases to find out for sure if that’s what it was.

I know I’m rambling and I’m not sure if this has helped anyone but i felt some relief after seeing that I’m not the only one dealing with this. I have taken Lannet 30 IR useless-Mallinckrodt that one was probably the worst or cheapest. The pills would start falling apart just from taking out of the bottle and turn into chalky dust like if I had bought it from an alley. Teva had the same reaction as lannet. And those definitely used to work in the past for me. Not anymore. Sandoz used to work great not but not recently. And 2 or 3 other generics that no longer work for me. Just picked up refill today. They are Yellow circle MP 477 I think North Star or something like that. Haven’t tried those yet. Alright I’m done rambling. I wish I could have found definitive answers but like I said this is speculation on my part and unfortunately correlation doesn’t equal causation.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

My name is Phil and I am 18 years old. I weigh 170 lbs and I am 6'3. At the beginning of my Freshman year of college...

3 REPLIES

I do agree with a person that posted that about how the pain med population (my words) definitely has a pain chart forum...

2 REPLIES

I take generic Adderall 20 mg for narcolepsy and there is not one local pharmacy that has it in stock. I have never had ...

1964 REPLIES

I have had two refills of Adderall 20 mg that was manufactured by Teva/barr (Teva) and it seems to have much less medica...

1387 REPLIES

Pharmacy recently switched me to new generic brand (blue capsule) of adderall XR. I have never seen this brand and I don...

107 REPLIES

I recently switched from adderall xr 30mg to adderall ir 20mg because of the price of the medication. Now im in space an...

58 REPLIES

Are these suppose to have the beads inside them or is it powder form? Theyre orange 30mg capsuls with R-3061 on them. To...

34 REPLIES

I tried to run my script through my Cigna Medicare health insurance plan like I always do and it comes out to be around ...

24 REPLIES

I have a prescription for 20 mg Adderall IR and my generic options are Aurobindo, Teva or Sandoz. Which one of these wou...

23 REPLIES

I was taking 15mg Adderall XR white and clear capsules with blue inside and they worked great for about 6-8 hours then I...

17 REPLIES