Has Anyone Tried The Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Sr Made By Sun Pharma Bupropion Hcl (Page 3)

Hi - I just got a perscription for the Sun Pharma generic version of Wellbutrin SR (Bupropion HCL SR). Has anyone had success with this one? If not which generic version have you had success with?

REPLY

REPORT

I will check out that article you referred to, Warren. The Sandoz I am taking is reliable - been satisfied with it for 1-1/2 years now.

I take other generic meds as well and often wonder if they are really doing what they're supposed to be doing. If I had enough $$$'s, I would pay for the brand of each med and then I would be better prepared to go to battle to have the drug companies produce generics that work and to get the bogus generics recalled!

Regi, I didn't do well with the Mylan generic - but, 2 things-1) some people report that it works for them and I've heard that different generics really do work differently from one person to the next and 2) it usually can take a few weeks to feel the real benefit from anti-depressants, so maybe you need to give it more of a chance to kick in...

Wishing you and all here good luck in finding the best generic to treat your depression.

Janie

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I have not seen a 'Mylar' version of bupropion. Could it be 'Mylan' - that's a large manufacturer of pharmaceuticals? I have not seen a bupropion carrying that label. However, many manufacturers also act as distributors of other manufacturer's medications, so you may have a 'Mylar [sic]' bupropion that was made by another manufacturer and labeled as 'Mylar (or Mylan)'

Please look at my other posts - there is a large body of data on Dr. Reddy and other Indian manufacturers relating to their bupropion formulations. Whether it's just bad medication or unstable over time, all I can say is that any Indian-sourced formulations of bupropion don't work for me.

As I mentioned in my other posts, the only bupropion formulation that works for me is the one labeled 'Sandoz' - not sure if Sandoz actually makes it, but the tablets are bright blue in color and readily dissolve in water - any dampness results in the blue dye coming off onto fingers, clothes, etc.

I have been using bupropion for 15+ years - 300 mg/day in the 100 MG SR version. I can tell if I have been slipped a Mickey within three-four days of starting on an alternative version - my mood crashes into the 5th circle of Dante's Inferno - I am with the sullen, not the wrathful - and a return to the Sandoz Blue lifts me up to my usual Limbo state.

I sympathize with your condition - depression is a personal catastrophe that few who have not experienced it understand.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

is there certain stores, chains that carry the Sandoz version?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

It could be Mylan and the pharmacy spelled it wrong (duh!!)
Is 75 MG. a high enough dose to help. I am still not motivated to do anything and mostly spend my days in bed watching television!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I actually have to request Sandoz specifically each month! Some pharmacies will not order it for me, but most are cooperative...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Good plan - same for me. They try to slip me the brown Dr. Reddy or whatever stuff unless I tell them ahead of time that I won't accept anything but Sandoz blue pills... can cause a great hysterical reaction at some pharmacies - especially the big chain outfits. 'Oh, my profits are being reduced by your irrational demands!' Tough s***, I say.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

My understanding of bupropion is that the therapeutic range is rather narrow - 200 - 450 mg/day with most patients settling into the 300 mg/day range (as I am). I say this only as a patient, not as a qualified medical provider, but this information was communicated to me by my psychiatrist, an MD of more than 40 years of experience in treating patients with depression and other related conditions.

Given this, 75 mg/day seems a bit low - unless your provider is planning on working you up to a higher dose after making sure you don't have any unpleasant things happening at a lower dose (see side effects in the FDA mandated bupropion packing insert).

I don't want to second-guess your provider - they should know your condition and be able to develop an appropriate plan to deal with it.

The only concrete data I have to offer is my experience with non-Sandoz formulations of bupropion - my experience with all of them has been negative in that they were not effective in treating my depression. Why this has been the case is open to all kinds of guesswork and I will not speculate.

It is the responsibility of our US Government agencies charged with ensuring the efficacy and purity of medications to do the work necessary to ensure that the medication labeled 'buproprion' is, indeed, buproprion and does not degrade into something else before the designated shelf life - or before they reach the shelf of the dispensing pharmacy.

This is their charge, and until the agencies we support with our tax dollars do their work rather than shuffle (possibly fraudulent) papers while listening to whoever comes in the door with a suitcase full of something more valuable than a pile of printer paper NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. And, in addition, NOTHING WILL HAPPEN if they listen to a call from someone whose political affiliations coincide with the predominant breed of animal in what is called, for any more polite word, our US Congress.

There is a lot of money to be made - and is being made - in peddling medications that are ineffective or do not correspond to the specifications of their chemical formulations. And some of this money goes to the people who write the rules -or influence the rules.

France, in 1789, had a similar situation. So, too, did Imperial Russia in 1917. I hope and pray that our Republic, founded on the principle that each person's voice is equal to any other person's voice (except the slaves, who counted as 4/5ths of a person and, as a result, had no voice) can survive this flood of paper - but as time goes by, and I have to examine each pill I consume, I wonder....

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Amazingly, CVS is now ordering my Sandoz! However, if I don't remind them, they give me "brand ugh!" :)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

wow how did you manage that? when i called they thought i was crazy. lol .

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

LOL! I'm sure they think I'm crazy, but the get it for me anyway!!! :)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

and to let everyone know, i work in the industry, have worked at san.... and i know there is a difference of what is made here in the US vs. in third world countries.
thanks for the info. never thought of it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Regi:

As I said before, I don't want to second guess your provider, but 75 mg/day of bupropion seems rather low (and, BTW, I have never seen a 75 mg version of bupropion tablets). You say you are feeling better yet still don't have much motivation to do anything besides watching TV.

I suggest you tell your provider your symptoms and feelings and see if they might consider an increase in dosage. It's up to them - not me - but I have never heard of anyone responding to a 75 mg/day dose of bupropion.

As I said in another post, I have been taking 300 mg/day of bupropion for 15+ years - works fine for me (provided it's the Sandoz formulation). My underlying condition is not amenable to a cure so bupropion is just a band-aid. But it works and that's good enough for me.

Bupropion, or, the original brand name, Wellbuitrin, is often called an 'atypical' antidepressant. My understanding is that it affects the dopamine metabolism rather than serotonin as most of the commonly used antidepressants - called 'SSRIs' as in Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors. Some patients respond to bupropion while others respond to SSRIs. In my case, SSRIs exacerbate my depression while bupropion reduces my depression symptoms. I don't know why this happens, I'm just thankful that my psychiatrist was willing to try different medications rather than stick to the tried-and-not-necessarily-true SSRI mode of anti-depressant therapy.

I wish you all the best -depression is a vicious condition, called the 'Noonday Demon' by Andrew Solomon in a series of articles originally published in the New Yorker in 1998 and later (2001) collected into a book by the same title. As this site does not permit posting of external links you will have to do your own search, but I suggest you look for this publication. There is an extensive literature on depression and its treatment - or non-treatment - and it's worth a look.

Regards,

ss

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

My 14-year-old son takes Bupropion HCL 75 mg for ADHD. He used to take a round, blue pill that we got from Express Scripts via mail order. Unfortunately, I did not notice the manufacturer at that time, bit I *think* it might have been Sandoz, based on photos of Sandoz pills that I'm seeing online now. Recenty, our drug coverage switched to CVS/Caremark, and they sent us the round, peach colored pills made by Mylan. My son is getting side effects (headache, upset stomach) that he never had before. Does anyone know what type of generic Bupropion HCL 75 mg Express Scripts dispenses? And if it is Sandoz, does anyone know whether CVS/Caremark also has a Sandoz option? I'm trying to figure out how he can switch back to the same blue pills he had before!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hello Brooklyn Mama:

In my experience the blue version of bupropion is manufactured (or distributed) by Sandoz and it works - at least for me, and, I believe, a number of others who have posted here.. I have seen (and, unfortunately, used) a brown tablet labeled as coming from a manufacturer/distributor on the Indian subcontinent: Dr. Reddy and others. These have a questionable reputation - search this site/thread for my posts ('sixscrews').

Your son might do better on the blue/Sandoz version of bupropion - I'm not qualified to suggest any therapies but my personal experience has lead me to believe this manufacturer is trustworthy.

You might have to do some shopping around among pharmacies - I managed to get a local Walgreens to stock the Sandoz version and, eventually, got my HMO to re-stock it as well (I had some help there from many other HMO clients).

All the best,

ss/wb

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Hey there. Yes! I have had the same experiences with Buproprion manufactured by Sun Pharmaceutical--and great effects with Sandoz. I am currently taking 100 mg. of the SR from Sun Pharma twice per day. I have experienced serious stomach issues that I didn't connect to this med until now. I do have IBS, but I know what my typical symptoms and triggers are for that condition. I think my second dose in the afternoon, which I usually don't take with food, is triggering the stomach pains. It's a really uncomfortable bloated feeling, sometimes so severe that I need to lay down. Also, I think this brand may be making me gain weight, whereas with the Sandoz I lost a ton of weight.
Also, I don't think Sun's meds work as effectively. I previously took 150 mg. of the XL form once per day, manufactured by Anchen. I also had a bad experience with this pharma. The main side effect with this pharma was serious lethargy, but that could have also been due to the fact I was taking the XL.
Before all of this, I was taking 150 mg. of the ER by Sandoz (the bright blue pill). This kind worked fantastic! My depression manifests as extreme apathy, lethargy, compulsive eating, and lack of motivation. The Sandoz form tremendously helped with all of these issues.
I never paid attention to the manufacturer of the med until my two recent experiences with inefficacy of the drug (with both Sun and Anchen's products). I'm going to go to a different pharmacy and specifically request the Sandoz. Thank god I am a packrat and keep my old bottles, otherwise I wouldn't have known the name of the one that works.
Good luck!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I just want to say that you should take my previous post, complaining about the Mylan pill, with a grain of salt. It turns out that my son mysteriously stopped wearing his eyeglasses around the same time as he started the Mylan, and that may have been giving him the headaches. Now I just have to keep reminding him (nagging him!) to remember his glasses.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

My personal experience with non-Sandoz bupropion has been negative - see my many posts in this thread.

If you are starting out on this medication for depression you should be careful with respect to clinical effectiveness - it's possible the medication you have is ineffective as the manufacturer (NOT Sandoz) has been known to supply medication that has a short shelf life and/or poor clinical effectiveness. The US FDA has been asleep at the wheel on this subject - many complaints have been ignored or blown off. Beware. In my experience Dr Reddy, Cadista, other Indian sub-continent manufacturers of bupropion have all been ineffective in dealing with my clinical depression. Your results may be different but it's best to be aware that many of the non-Sandoz vendors provide bupropion that does not seem to work for many patients.

On the other hand, it's possible that bupropion is not appropriate for your condition - I can't throw the baby out with the bath water.

However, if you don't get positive results in a reasonable period of time (4 weeks? 8 weeks?) you might want to try the Sandoz version of bupropion - or ask your provider what they think.

I'm not a medical provider and have no experience or training in treating clinical depression. My only experience has been in the results of treatment with different manufacturers versions of bupropion. All I can say is that Sandoz branded bupropion has worked for me; all others have NOT worked.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Has anyone taken the solco generic Wellbutrin? Curious as to what reactions people have had.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

Don't know what 'solco' is - a distributor or manufacturer?

Look for my posts in this thread for bupropion - my experience has been that only the Sandoz branded (not necessarily manufactured) version of bupropion has been effective for my depression. The tablets are bright blue and readily dissolve with even a small amount of water. I had tried other vendor's 'bupropion' - DrReddy and others from the Indian sub-continent and found them ineffective.

Disclaimers: my experience does not represent a clinical trial of a specific vendor/manufacturer's bupropion and I am not a clinician experienced in treating depression with any medication. I only speak from my personal experience with bupropion labeled from multiple vendors. I have been using this medication for 14 years and have found it effective in treating my depression, provided it is branded 'Sandoz' and the tablets are bright blue.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have had the exact opposite reaction that I am reading here. Sun pharma bupropion works miracles for me, whereas with Sandoz, I might as well be taking nothing. I have had to switch pharmacies over and over as they switch to useless-to-me Sandoz. Good for you, bad for me. I guess now I have to write to the FDA to keep everyone here from banning the one that I can tolerate. Sigh. Why can't we have choice!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I'm am told by my husband's dad to make my husband take wellbutrin Sr 150 mg ta for his anxiety. But he got gene...

8 REPLIES

Anyone take generic Wellbutrin made by Par pharmaceuticals? How is it working for you? ## I haven't taken this parti...

11 REPLIES

My doctor will not prescribe generic Wellbutrin XL but my insurance will no longer pay for brand name drugs. I will have...

1459 REPLIES

I had a huge problem with a generic before (TEVA) and have been paying a larger co-pay for brand.....I was wondering if ...

12 REPLIES

Hello, I noticed that Sandoz is manufacturing Lorazepam again.. (the has stopeed for 2-3 years now). I am wondering if a...

24 REPLIES

I am curious what experiences patients have had when switching from brand name Wellbutrin to generic by PAR Pharmcuetica...

2 REPLIES

I was scouting around for generic adderall from CorePharma , when i called Meijer pharmacy they said they carry Aurobind...

36 REPLIES

FYI: The drug manufacturer Watson bought out Activist. Watson "made a business decision" to no longer produce th...

36 REPLIES

CIPLA got approval from the FDA to produce their generic version of Wellbutrin XL on August 30, 2016. I have made an inq...

1 REPLY

I WAS TAKING WELLBUTRIN SR. 150MG X 3 A DAY. THE PILLS WERE PURPLE, AND IN GENERIC, AND LOST A LOT OF WEIGHT ON IT. HOW ...

14 REPLIES