Inactive Ingredients Of Qualitest Or Leading Pharma Lorazepam (Page 4)
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What are the inactive ingredients of Qualitest lorazepam or Leading Pharma lorazepam? Does anybody know?

It seems that its formula might have been changed because I feel 1mg is less effect than before or does not work. I used to take Ativan 1mg before abroad and one month from Kaiser in the U.S. but they gave me refill as generic lorazepam (Qualitest). I felt 50-60% effectiveness compared to Ativan(brand lorazepam). I can't take Watson lorazepam as it does not work for me causing side effects (rapid heart beats, sweating, anxiety, dehydration). Qualitest has less side effect (less dehydrated than Ativan) I did not have physical dependence on Ativan for long time and quit too. But this generic lorazepam is getting less effective over a few months.

Also my pharmacy had changed Qualitest to Leading Pharma without notice so I had to get new transcript for new pharmacy for qualitest (I transferred once).

I did not take it for mental problem (anxiety or panic attach) but for side effect of levothyroxine (I should take it as I got my thyroid gland removed). Ativan has calming effect and reduces heart beats, sweating, and stiffness and helps sleeping a little as I suffer from some pains. It does not fix my problem but reduces temporarily. Zanax does not work. Cymbalta does not work. All depression medicine does not work. With Cymbalta, I became unconscious and was hospitalized. I almost died taking Prozac due to side effects and worsened my symptoms. Ativan only helps a little.

I called most pharmacies in LA but many of them sell Leading Pharma lorazepam and some sell Watson. Most pharmacies do not receive return once it is opened (only one pill is taken) while Rite Aid does and during the period of medication, patients can't buy another lorazepam even with new prescription so if the medicine cause side effects or does not work, customer have to wait until refill period comes.

I found only one pharmacy selling Qualitest lorazepam but most others sell Leading Pharma, I don't know why but maybe because of their marketing. So I may change to Leading Pharma but am worried that it does not work like Watson.

I wonder if anybody tried Leading lorazepam and if it works, though effects are different according to each individual. Ativan in the U.S. is very expensive ($2600 for 1mg 30 tablet) and most doctors do not prescribe it and insurance is mostly not covered or do not want to pay for it. That's why Kaiser gave me brand Ativan only once and changed it to generic.

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Deedee (# 52) --

Re: taking the same dose all that time......me too.....I cannot figure out why I keep reading that lorazepam shouldn’t be taken for a long period because one will need more and more of it......i was first given the dose of 2mg 3x day back in 1983 and never needed more.....I note that you like the Qualitest brand of lorazepam generic yet others on this forum found it totally ineffective......I’m guessing that the fillers affect each of us in different ways that our bodies utilize the drug.......I just hate the idea that docs got us addicted and now have no idea how to solve the problem....they never did.....they just masked the symptoms......you’d think with so many people with anxiety/panic disorder they would be researching like hell for a permanent cure but I guess that way of thinking ended with Salk and polio.......the medical/pharmaceutical industry thrives financially on our suffering...cures would damage their precious bottom lines....

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Richard (# 51) --

I have been on this medication for 15 years for a severe panic disorder and was in the medical field for 35 years before retiring. I was on Watson before switching to Qualitest, then when CVS wouldn’t pay the higher price and switched to an Activis brand that I tried for 2 mos, finally switched to a family run pharmacy and they ordered Qualitest for me for a year before they dc’d making it. They got the Leading brand which worked as well as an aspirin, so we tried the Watson which I gave a couple of months on and after having weird side effects, started reading posts and found others were saying the same thing and several people commented that the Watson pill was still showing the logo but was ingredients supplied by a company that bought out the patent. Mylan has been the only one that has worked without problems and they’ve also DC’d making this and my pharmacy ordered all they could and that’s what I’ve been filling until this runs out and I don’t know what I’ll do at that point. I’ve never had issues with my dose not working, ever had to increase or change my meds in all these years until all of the main distributors stopped making the lorazepam.

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Re: Deedee (# 50)

Just curious...what is your source for this info?.....it’s the opposite of what a well educated pharmacist told me....(he is just retired but keeps abreast of all the news in the pharmaceutical world.) He maintains Watson has always done the manufacturing and gave up the distribution to Actavis but not the manufacturing..(which is the same thing Costco Pharmacy told me) when I told him I felt that Watson had changed he said it was my imagination.....as the change DID occur when I read here that Actavis ‘lorazepam’ wasn’t as good as the ‘old’ Watson. He said even brand name Ativan has different runs that may be slightly less to slightly more effective...it’s an accepted fact in the industry.....more importantly if you don’t believe a generic will work...it most certainly won’t...and vice versa.

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Re: LadyGreenEyes8 (# 48)

I ended up in the ER thinking I was having a heart issue after starting Leading's product. My pharmacy switched to Leading.

I complained to pharmacy and ended up talking to a quality control gal at Leading. They wanted me to mail them some samples. They called about 2 weeks later and said their lab found nothing wrong with their drug. My feeling is a person just starting to take their drug may not have a problem. For me being on it for so many years experienced withdrawal because they put more fillers in it and it's not as strong as what I had been taking. I can take Watson and Sandoz with no problems.

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Re: Richard (# 47)

I know it says Watson, but they’re using other ingredients and it’s definately not what I took before!

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Re: Savannah (# 13)

I did file an FDA complaint today on LEADING Pharma. If I didn't have some of my other pills left I would have been in the emergency room. Now I still don't have a replacement and down to 5 days of my Sandoz.. Dr back and forth with CVS caremark trying to get either Ativan (without having to pay the difference) until they can get the SAndoz

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Re: Judy (# 6)

Hi- I was given Leading Pharma and took it for a week. Thought I was getting sick (Well, yeah...but not from a virus but from the pills) and couldn't sleep at night and felt more anxiety and had panic attacks. Went back on the pills I still had of Sandoz and all symptoms disappeared. I like Sandoz. Was on 1 mg for a long time and just last few refills had to increase dose. But can't seem to get Sandoz from caremark CVS mailorder backordered they said. I filled a complaint with the FDA today about Leading Pharma Lorozepam.

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Re: Deedee (# 46)

Actavis is a distributer...not the manufacturer...when Watson was merged they stopped the distribution part but not the manufacturing.

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Re: Dianne (# 38)

I haven’t been on here in a week or so as I had no new info to pass along. I did read today about someone trying the Watson and it wasn’t nearly as effective as in the past and I found the exact same thing a few months back. Then when I did the research I found out that the formula was changed to the new owner, but they were keeping the Watson markings. If we don’t complain to the companies, they will assume nobody is noticing a difference and they may keep lowering the main ingredient. When this started happening way back when Qualitest Stopped making it I was told Actavis is allowed to decrease the main ingredient with fillers at least 20% and that’s exactly why everyone feels like they’re having withdrawals, it’s exactly what’s happening. My advice is we need to all complain to the companies making this crap!! Leading is actually made by Rugby/Major and their phone # is 866-209-0991. Is there anything other than the Leading or Actavis on the market right now?

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Hmmm...interesting response from a Costco pharmacist: Per the information on the current Actavis bottle, it states that the product is manufactured by Watson and distributed by Actavis. The manufacturer has remained constant, only the distributing company name has changed. Watson chose to adopt the name Actavis after the merger in 2012. The tablet with the imprint Watson 242 / 2, is, and always has been, in your words, "the original Watson." From what I could find, Watson has used these markings since at least 2013. Watson drugs are no longer distributed under a Watson label, only under the Actavis label. Actavis' lorazepam, prior to the merger, was a round white to off-white tablet with a logo and 063 on one side, and a score line on the other side.

If the Watson product had different markings on it prior to 2013, Watson may have made a processing change which necessitated them reissuing the drug under a different NDC (National Drug Code) and resultant change in tablet imprint. My drug identification resources in general show current and recently available products. Actavis US at 888-838-2842 may be able to help you with information on how long the lorazepam has been manufactured using the current markings.

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Re: Savannah (# 43)

After 15 years on Valium (10 mg 4 x day), 19 years on name brand Ativan, and 6 years on generics (Watson) (2md 3x day)...and now mostly Leading Pharma......my experience has been at LEAST 50% of a drugs effectiveness is what we believe it will do. Many times I thought I forgot to take my meds....got really anxious..near panic only to discover I had done so without thinking.....amazing how quickly I calm down......not that anxiety from skipping a dose doesn’t exist-it does.....a couple of times I ended up in the ER with outrageous bp and severe anxiety only to discover I THOUGHT I had taken a dose but there it sat in my pillbox...I’m sure companies try to make as much profit as possible.....but to jeopardize their entire line of lorazepam by cutting back or purposely cutting out ingredients....not a good business plan......again...I stress it’s important to believe a drug, particularly a psychotropic one...works......I swore by Watson when I first went on generics when I retired...when I saw it changed to Leading I got very concerned...I wanted my Watson that worked! Then I find out the Watson (that worked) probably hasn’t been made for years.....and I was taking the Actavis version which many find to be as useless for them as Leading....but I didn’t know I was taking non-Watson “Watson”. I was just lying here in bed....feeling hot and anxious..awaiting my 8 am ‘fix’......when I thought of how even yesterday morning I noticed how calm I got after 20 minutes or so when I took it...then it dawn on me...wait..I’m taking Leading in the am now...not Watson......why am I feeling calmer? I immediately got more anxious about it....then laughed silently how much my belief is controlling how I feel. I’m guessing there are many out there that find Leading (or Actavis) work just fine..so they wouldn’t be writing on this forum.....I’ve also spoken to some who didn’t find brand Ativan didn’t work at all for their anxiety....they moved on to Xanax ..or something else....I guess we are all different-and along with that have different beliefs on what works and what won’t.....I tried an experiment with my wife.......I had some unused Watson and some Leading tablets. I gave her the two bottles....she kept records of which one she chose, then crushed it between spoons and added a bit of strawberry jam (like moms used to do for kids to take aspirin)..but it disguised any taste/form (Leading is thicker than Watson)...we did this for 4 days....sometimes I “knew” it was Leading as I felt less calm...it wasn’t it was Watson.....and vice versa.....all in all I was right about half the time.....this convinced me it’s what I believed would work...would...what I believed wouldn’t - didn’t. Personally I;d love to see brand name Ativan become affordable again but then....I heard Wyeth doesn’t make it any more..and those taking it by the new manufacturer feel its not as potent.....(sigh)....

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Re: Richard (# 27)

I hear you! I always give any new brand a chance. I think I put too much faith in the manufacture companies. The way I look at it is the companies compete for contracts with the pharmacies. In order to have a lower price for a pharmacy to accept your brand they have to be cutting somewhere to have it low. That’s my belief anyways after my experience with leading brand. I also think that a company can have a batch that’s up to par get it ok with the fda rules and maybe change the values of med. I’m just stating this because we see this with many products not just meds. They want to save a buck. Once put in the brand Ativan it was very strong. I’m taking 1 less pill a day now...

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Re: Richard (# 27)

Hi Richard. I keep track of all my doses as it seems to be easy for me. I have them in a round pill case. That way if I skipped a dose I know it. Hope this helps.

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Re: Richard (# 36)

I your fortunate it’s helping you . I had bad side effects and felt like I was in withdraw ...

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Re: Richard (# 28)

Sorry, I just saw this. Leading brand did not work at all...

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Re: Richard (# 20)

I took leading pharma and it caused bad side effect with no desirable effect. So I could not take it any more.

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I will no longer take Leading...it doesn't work and is causing me a lot of nerve pain. I was on Sansoz for 2 yrs and it worked great. Then got my refill and it was Actavis. Started taking it and it was as good as Sansoz. God help us all we fine the right meds that fit us best. I lost my Mother, Father and husband in a 14 month period and have a lot of aniexty and depression.

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Re: Richard (# 36)

It’s been several months since I took the Leading and only gave it one month before I swore never again as I felt it was a waste of money. I had the Mylan, the last of what my pharmacist could find, filling my last few prescriptions. I did contact Leading and they said major/Rugby make them.

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I’m not sure if taking benzodiazepines for 50 years has screwed up my mind/body judgement but Leading Pharma not only seems as good as the Watson I was taking (it might’ve been Actavis Watson in disguise but it still said “Watson" on the pill and bottle)....in fact it seems Leading is a bit stronger and lasts longer.....am I the only one to find this? I’m taking 2mg 3x a day.....same as when I started on Ativan/lorazepam in 1983.

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Re: Deedee (# 33)

I just wrote the FDA..has anyone gotten a response or has no one written?

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