Can Different Brands Of Carisoprodol Work Differently? (Top voted first)

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

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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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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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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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That makes no sense. I have seen more people get addicted to pain medication, Oxys, Roxy's, loresets and morphine and Xanax. Soma, isn't that strong and J's extremely effective when you suffer with neck and back issues. They help you to relax and get comfortable. While pain pills just cover the pain but actually does nothing but creates and addict.

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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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Weird that they can vary so much. Yeah, I USED to have some that started with an S...Speer? And these Dan5513/Watson ones seem to be a bit stronger than the Speer ones. Shame that they can't just make them all the SAME...

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I live in the U.S. and used to have a script for Soma. Now I can't find a doc that will prescribe any and it is the only muscle relaxer that works effectively.

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I request Watson brand because to me it is the closest to the name brand, actually better!

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I was prescribed 250mg (had been taking 350s and often only needed half) a while back and it was totally useless. That was the very first experience I had where different generics were markedly less effective. Don't remember the brand since I was naive to this problem then, but I was sure they had given me the wrong medication altogether. From that point on I knew something was seriously wrong with generics and have been fighting docs and pharmacies on the issue ever since.

I have had several India brands over the years and find that they are all crap. Though I have still used pain-o-soma as a last choice. Heard Wallace is very good but I've never found it. Personally I find Watson to be good, but that's just compared to the few others I've had that were terrible. The options are extremely limited and I can't devote that much energy to tracking down certain ones. Walmart switched from Watson to some other junk so I was just relieved to get Watson again.

I did have the compound years ago with codeine and it was fantastic. Most people find soma has a very synergistic effect with any opiate type drug which makes it very helpful for chronic pain patients. If taking percocrt or vicodin with even a half a soma, I can usually take less of each without getting too sleepy.
I just wish doctors and pharmacists would recognize this is a real phenomenon, but it's unlikely because no one will spend money to prove certain generics are ineffective (for obvious reasons). If you're interested, look at the annual complaint reports to see how common quality problems with generics truly are. Of course that's just the people who actually filed a complaint (sadly I never have despite many problems with them), and probably distorted by dismissing complaints under certain circumstances. Unfortunately I doubt it will be getting better :( We have to do the best we can and I *strongly* encourage everyone to take whatever action you can (stand up for yourself, complain to FDA, or write your representatives about regulatory issues). That goes for any problem or system you feel is not acting in your best interests!

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Betty,

It makes a HUGE difference. If your stomach is empty, you may "feel" the effects, just like when drinking alcohol.

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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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ABSORBALOFF: I used to have the Speer brand Somas, and then they switched me to the Watson/Dan5513 ones. They seem to be better than the Speer, but I also see many people on here saying the Watson ones are bad...??? So friggin weird.

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Yes, there is a difference for sure. That's what brought me to this site. Was always given the 2410 with the V mark, but noticed a difference with my last two scripts. So, I checked out the bottle and the maker is RIS. Dug a little further and did a comparison of the ingredients. The RIS brand contains potato corn starch! Next round, I will pay extra for the real deal, not the generic. It's the gov and pharmacies way to wean us I guess. Pulled up my pharmacy receipt, where it used to show the manufacturer, etc, but that information is no longer available. Only advice I have is to pay more and not get the generic.

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Walgreen carries Watson brand with dan on it and my neighborhood Wal-Mart orders it for me even though it is not their standard. Wherever you go tell them you want Watson. It is the only one that works for me too

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