Can Different Brands Of Carisoprodol Work Differently?

I have been using soma/carisoprodol for many years. Usually the paharmacy gives me generic from Watson or Qaulitest. Last time I got the meds it was manufac. by Carimax. It didn't work as well. Do different brands work differently?

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Yes, there can be some differences in generic drugs, the FDA allows a window, of the active ingredient, of up to plus or minus 20% from the name brand product.

This can cause variations, where you may, in some rare cases, receive less of a dosage than normal and it may not be as effective.

Do you have any other questions?

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Is there any way to tell by the brand names? That way I could avoid the lesser dosage.

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No, there really isn't, other than by your experience. I wish there was, it would make it easier for many people, if they knew what companies to avoid.

The loss of sales would probably also make these companies take notice of the problem and improve their manufacturing process.


An additional detail you might be interested in knowing is that under the old Hatch-Watchman Act, though they tell you that the medication is exactly the same, it actually does not have to be.

A generic manufacturer can use a little bit of a different substance, as long as they can prove to the FDA that it works in the human body in the same manner.

I can't help but think this would also have an effect on some people, if you are already used to the ingredient that was used in one manufacturer's tablets and suddenly get pills from a company that make theirs differently.

All of this was done to help generic drugs get to market faster and cheaper and, for some people, it doesn't make a difference, they seem to be unaffected by it.

But, as you have experienced, some people are and it does cause severe problems.

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Anyone who is reading this, as of 9/11, avoid Watson brand soma at all costs!!!!! I don't care what any pharmacist trys to tell you, they do NOT work as well as other brands and I can honestly say you will receive about as much relief from a placebo. They are quite simply crap and a total rip off. Someone should sue that company or the dea should investigate them in the very near future!

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I have been using Carisoma made by wallace and this Company is the Brand not generic Soma,because when I filled my script It was for 250 mg and the pharmacist said there is no generic for the 250 mg yet.So if you want to get generic make sure your doctor writes for 350mg in which there is a generic.

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Well for a start I haven't ever heard of any such thing as a 250mg carisoprodol tablet; 175mg YES, but that is used I think only in combination with another ingredient - Wallace make it under brand name 'Carisoma Compound'.
But the question is, can you tell from the brand/generic manufacturer if it'll be any good? There are many places on the net where drugs are discussed apart from this site, and I know of at least two with threads which discuss the merits or demerits of different makes. I think that, armed with the information gleaned from people who have used the various makes, you should use this in order to decide which to buy.
Since the ban (there are less than half a dozen countries left where carisoprodol is still legally available - I should know, I live in the UK and there is not even another European country where one can get it, though someone on an Rx Forum assures us that he managed to get a month supply in Greece a year and a half ago while on holiday from England. This really shouldn't have happened as Greece is in the EU, and carisoprodol is banned by EU Law. Before 2007/8 I was prescribed Carisoma 350mg tds, but none of the alternatives, methacarbamol, baclofen, etc work on my back at all, and anybody using oxycodone for another comdition will confirm that, like with me, being of muscular origin, it doesn't help the back pain at all. SMRs are essential.
So it's a pain in the arse, but most people now get their carisoprodol from India, where it is still legal and very widely prescribed with a great number of different makes available but very few of really good quality. The one that stands out is Wallace's CARISOMA which is , as attested above, excellent. Vipro Lifescience make the very good V-CARISO. These are, IMO, the best Indian brands. If you want the very best, look no further than Finadiet LISTAFLEX from Argentina. Absolutely superb, and as a bonus makes you feel really great, a nice kind of euphoric feeling you certainly won't get f de om any other skeletomuscular relaxants! Avoid most US-made carisoprodol which is akin to the bog standard Indian and dreadful South African generics. WestWard is particularly bad. A friend used to occasionally send me his script from the US which he rarely used; these were almost as good as Listaflex, certainly better than SOMAâ„¢ brandname, the originally patented brand by Meda. These American pills which were very good quality were marked DAN 5513, made by Watson Pharma.
Of course the biggest effect of the ban is that prices of this very cheap drug have skyrocketed. Wallace Carisoma, for which, before 2007, could be bought for $60 or so for 300, will now cost you at least $200, from some places more. Listaflex, the best carisoprodol I ever had, is selling for that same $200, but for only ONE HUNDRED tablets. Profiteering like that makes me so mad because those like me who are most likely to need it badly, are also those most likely to be on a tiny income of sickness/disability benefits.
Oh, another US generic better than most (so I am told) is the one with the stylised 'V' logo, by Qualitest.
So these have been recommended, by people who need carisoprodol and will tell you the good ones. To recap, I would tend to go with the following:
LISTAFLEX (Finadiet, Arg., when you can afford it for worst times);
CARISOMA by Wallace, same by Forest if still available;
V-CARISO by Vipro Lifescience;
DAN 5513 by Watson;
Generic by QUALITEST;
And like the plague, avoid CARITOP, SPIER, WESTWARD, Branded SOMAâ„¢,

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Sorry, bit of a problem, continuing:
WESTWARD (W176);
MUTUAL generic, marked MP58;
MOST Indian generics and ALL South African.
I forgot, I once had VANADOM which is also Indian but almost as good as Wallace & Vipro. RMS may also be very good, according to a post on the IOP List forum.
CARISOL;
CARITOP;
SPIER. Garbage. So you see, for the really excellent carisoprodol, the choice is really very limited. I take it very seriously as it is the ONLY drug that ever helped my lumbar muscular pain which I have had for nigh on 20 years now, so you may be assured that, for somebody with such a bad condition, my post is as accurate as I can make it for you.
Best of luck, hope your pain and discomfort get well treated. If you can afford the crazy price of Listaflex exported from Argentina then use it. I can only ever afford one single box of 100 every blue moon, which I keep for the especially bad times when it's cold and the damp eats away, penetrating and SOOO sore. Same climatic comditions when I need two or three times as much oxycodone for my arthritis.
The Carisoma Compound comes in two versions, one a combination with aspirin & the other with codeine 30mg which I know isn't very strong in the scheme of analgesia but could help, haven't tried the combos though.

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Hi, sounds like a similar experience I had. Watson Soma are completely useless, and Indian Brand Sun is even worse. Generic US by Quilitest are acceptable.

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Hi , I information you provided is very accurate & helpful to most . The question I have for u is how can u order Listaflex besides flying to Argentina ?

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Yes you CAN find out the different brands by looking online. Just type in the name of the medication(s) and it will show you all the different brands with pictures of the pills so you can know which ones to avoid. I am going through this same problem because I got a different brand of Soma from a company called Rising Pharmaceuticals and they might as well be sugar pills as far as I'm concerned. It's upsetting because I am a chronic pain patient and I don't have the time or patience to deal with differences in the supposedly same medication.

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Ive received, not too long ago, Qualitest USA Generic Soma, V on one side and 350 on the other side of the pill and after 1 350mg pill I fell asleep within 30min and my back spasms subsided along with everything else. Works 100%. Sleeping straight thru the night.
IM SO ANGRY I CAN SPIT NAILS TODAY!

Then I just received Soma Generic 350mg, 60 pills for only 16.00 cash, no insurance or copay yet. Blank on one side and 2410V on the other while white powder gets on your hands. These are made in a village in India. Rogue River pharmacy in Rogue River, OR is getting most if not all generics from India. I took 1 and felt nothing, 2 hrs later took 1 more 350mg & hours later, barely tired, eyes wide open, cant sleep from the pain.
What agency do I call to report this? The FDA? Thank you.

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I have been on Soma for many yrs. There are two brands of soma that I have seen ,one is by Activas they have Dan written on them they work the best for me the other is a fat pill with numbers on it when I get those I have to take two . Most Dr's will tell you there is no differ. But there is.What is in one and not in another?

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I have also been on Qualitest Soma for years which helps me function with neck and back pain. I have noticed a marked difference in quality between the different brands Qualitest has has been the only brand that has helped me. Now none of the pharmacies can get qualitest and when I try to call Qualitest, I can't get anyone on the phone at the company to find out if they have discontinued it or what might be going on. I am on hold until I finally hang up. Instead the Pharmacy gave me Rising with CL022 on it and it does nothing except cause constipation. Great! I am trying to do research before I can fill my next prescription and noticed that 2410-V has the least inactive ingredients and these others Watson, Westward, Rising, etc have alot more ingredients including potato or corn or even talc in them. i know Westward and Watson don't work for me either. Does anyone know what's comparable out there? I see SG 109 is one I haven't heard of or tried. Its by Vensun or ScieGen and has fewer inactive ingredients. Has anyone found anything that works as well that you would recommend?

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Has anyone ever tried Pain-o-soma, it's in a blister pack, from india, no imprint on pill. It has the correct taste but I'm a little nervous???help

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It's interesting that the V 2410 Carisoprodol didn't work for you. I don't know where you're located, but in the US the V 2410 manufactured by Qualitest works greats for me and a lot of other people. Most people consider this the best of the generics you can get here. Several months ago my local Walmart changed from Qualitest to Rising Pharmaceuticals and they didn't do s*** for me, except make me constipated! Even taking 3 of them at once didn't help very much besides making me tired and nothing really for the pain. I visited my pain management doctor at the end of February and he told me that Soma/Carisoprodol is going to be discontinued sometime this year, which is upsetting because like so many here, I have severe musculoskeletal pain that only Carisoprodol can touch! I've tried all the other muscle relaxants out there and they don't do much for the pain and some of them make me sleepy and severely dizzy. Ordering Soma through the internet is not only risky, but you can get a brand that also doesn't work well. I don't know what I'm going to do when they eventually discontinue the Soma, but hopefully they are going to come out with something similar. If that's not the case, maybe the feds are telling doctors to tell patients that Soma is being discontinued in an effort to have doctors prescribe less of it. I've been hearing for the last few years from others all over the internet on different forums that they've been told it's going to be discontinued, but I haven't seen that happen yet in the 5 years that I've been hearing about it. So, who knows what the hell is going on. Maybe they are just discontinuing the brand name Soma, but keeping generic Carisoprodol. Again, who knows? I'm just thinking of different scenarios.

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The v's do work for me. It's finding them is the problem.I'm in the u.s.

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My husband just ordered pain o Soma online and I took two before bed & dident feel anything, usually I will start to feel relaxed and tired right before I fall asleep. I was looking for somebody else who ordered these and their experience?

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PATTI: My Watson ones say Dan on them. Why would it also say Dan on the Activas ones?

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COBRA: OR, you could just look on the pill bottle. Mine says WATSON, generic for Soma right on the bottle.

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DOCKORDOC1: I take the Watson brand generic Somas, and they seem to work just fine for me. ??

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Re: curiousMind (# 14)

Yes I have been taking them. They are not as strong as a Qualitest which I liked much better. However, you can’t get them anymore. But the pain-o-soma will get you through a spasm or back pain. Start with one or two & see if it helps. You may have to take them more frequently. It depends how tolerant you are to Soma. Good Luck

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Re: Leah (# 91)

Made by Geneva GG 411 is White, Round and has been identified as Carisoprodol 350 mg. I don't think it is currently made

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Re: Shelly (# 84)

And let us not forget TEVA from Israel bought Activas

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Do they still have the white round Somas (Carisoprodol) that have GG? I can't think of the number it has on it, but they were pretty good.

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Re: kkh (# 18)

Watson was purchased by Actavis which later changed their name to Allergen in 2015.

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Yes indeed they do! I searched 5 pharmacies before I found one that can get Qualitest.

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Re: A FRIEND (# 11)

If you're that stupid to buy something illegally from a foreign country then don't be astounded when you get screwed. In addition to being foolish it's also very dangerous rather than to do it the right way and get it from your doctor. You have no idea what you're getting. Use some common sense!

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Re: Stephanie (# 17)

Hi Stephanie. I have used the Pain O Soma before. It is from HAB Pharma in India. IT IS GARBAGE! I believe they use mostly fillers and very little of the active ingredient, and that is why they don't work well. Also, they crumble when you remove them from the blister pack, or when you cut them in half. The tablet is a scored, plain white tablet that doesn't have any markings on it. A lot of pharmacies have this product, and most of the time, it is very cheap ($.04 - .60 cents per tablet). The brand that works, but is VERY difficult to find is Carisoma from Wallace. Good luck to you.

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Re: Betty (# 76)

Eat something about ten minutes after taking your dose.

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Re: curiousMind (# 14)

We're they good? I have the Rx Watson (DAN) ones at the moment and not a big fan...was thinking of ordering online but was hesitant on getting ripped off

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