Is This A Fluoxetine Pill? (Page 4)
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A109 20 mg dark blue oval capsule

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51

Desperately Seeking Sandoz,

If you are absolutely unable to get Sandoz (also my manufacturer of choice), I've found Teva to be very comparable to Sandoz for one month when I had no other alternatives. However, I have some good news for you. My doctor wrote for 'No substitution, Sandoz pharm medically necessarily' and my local Rite Aid special orders that mfg for me. There is no shortage anymore of Sandoz (as I've said earlier in this thread, I work in pharmacy), and Sandoz doesn't really cost the pharmacies any more or less than other generics, with the exception of Northstar and Qualitest (I don't even know if Qualitest makes a generic fluoxetine, but that is why so many pharmacies are switching to these two manufacturers).

Also, as an update, the FDA has FINALLY started to raise their standards for generic medications. A lot of manufacturers are being pulled off the market for their quality not being up to par (I'm not talking exclusively about fluoxetine here, but I could look into that). But for a lot of drugs, many manufacturers are having their versions pulled off the market because they don't work as well as they should when compared to brand-name versions. It's about time, I say

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50

I only have minimal insurance through the state - kind of medical assistance, I don't get brand names either...TEVA is another manufacturer, not brand...sounds like your pharmacist is doing what my doc said he would do, by writing "do not fill with Northstar." For "mental health" scripts I have to pay $2.50, for other meds it's zero. The $10 I paid for those stupid Northstar pills was the Walmart discount price, since my "insurance" would not cover that brand." So I paid out-of-pocket for something that made me worse! At least they filled it at their discount price.

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49

Celeste, I don't have insurance so I'm out of pocket for generics - hence why I don't get brand name!

I have a great pharmacist though who has recorded on my file along with my medication allergies that I should never be given the Northstar. I always check when I pick up too to make sure it's not those evil dark blue capsules!

If anyone knows of a chain pharmacy that still has Sandoz I'd love to know.

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48

Also, tell your doctor and ask him/her to write "do not fill with Northstar" on the script. Then your pharmacy will let you know if they can or not and you can try to find it elsewhere just by calling around...or your insurance company may be able to locate it for you...they won't want to pay for something that is not working.

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47

I hope you can get the TEVA. It is unbelievable to me that the FDA is apparently aware of this but has done nothing about it. I do not have evidence, but it has been mentioned in this thread that they are aware. I turned into a "basket case" when I had to take the Northstar brand, and I had to pay for it, since it was not covered by my medical assistance program. No wonder it wasn't covered! How this can be allowed to continue I have no idea...if I had been working, I surely would have lost my job due to my emotional instability or need to take too much leave.

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46

I was taking Sandoz brand 20 mg capsules and they worked PERFECTLY for all of my symptoms. Unfortunately since a recall over a year ago, Sandoz has become impossible to find. I used to fill at Target, when they ran out they switched me to Northstar. After one month of Northstar I noticed a sharp decline in my overall psychological health, most particularly a relapse of depression. I found Walgreens had a few capsules of Sandoz left in stock and switched to them and took what they had of Sandoz. Once those ran out they put me on Aurabindo. There is a significant difference in this manufacturer for me as well. Relapse of depression and in addition extreme aggravation of OCD symptoms. Since I can no longer find Sandoz I suppose the next step is to try TEVA which is carried by Walgreens.

I have tried contacting Sandoz directly to find out when or if I can expect their Fluoxetine to be released again but so far I have received no response.

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45

I called the WalMart later that day after I posted on here - they had gotten the TEVA in and filled the script with them within an hour for me. I am in Maryland; hope my Walmart can continue to get this brand because I really like the people at that pharmacy!

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44

Oh yes, the Ranbaxy Ph capsule is from Target.

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43

I have been taking Fluoxetine 40 mg. by Par Pharm, which I got at CVS. Recently I switched to one manufactured by Ranbaxy Ph and seem to be feeling better. I found this post because I was curious if the capsules were actually the same. The Ranbaxy capsule (green & orange) is also smaller than the Par Pharm (white & blue) and is easier to swallow and I have less medication reflux.

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42

I have been taking fluoxetine for MANY years and my Walmart pharmacy recently switched to Northstar. I noticed a difference after a couple of weeks with my depression symptoms returning. Walmart said they can't get Teva anymore but Rite Aid apparently can so I am switching to them.

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41

Both my doctor and pharmacist are taking this seriously and have confirmed that it can be the INactive ingredients that are different and can cause problems. I know from now on my doc will write "do not fill with Northstar" on the script.

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40

Yes, they are chemically the same. But the actually amount of the active ingredient varies. Don't believe me? Go to uspharmacist.com/content/s/78/c/13785/ scroll down to 'The Approval Process' and read the third paragraph. And this is regarding EVERY generic medication out there. Would you call someone out who is taking a generic version of Zestril (blood pressure) and says that whatever mfg they're taking doesn't work as well and tell them that it's purely psychological? I'm sick of people not taking mental health illnesses as seriously as illnesses that affect physical health. So, to assure all the people out there who have tried different generic manufacturers of Prozac and say that some don't work as well, no it's not all 'in your head' as some others may claim.

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39

I strongly object to your indicating that my descent into insanity after taking the northstar brand was psychological. Pun in somewhat intended. Objection and the reason for it is not a joke at all.

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38

Guys, all generic brands of Prozac are chemically the same. Bad batches do occur but they are very rare. Most of what's described here is psychological. Heartburn can occur with any pill - drink more water when you take them.

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37

Celeste- the FDA does know about this- they're the ones who allow these manufacturers to produce and sell their generic versions that aren't equivalent to the brand-name dosage. It's true for all generic medications, regardless of what they're for. I wish they'd realize how much this can affect a person's treatment and do something about it. Let me know if you need any help in finding a particular manufacturer. I work for a health insurance company so I know what all of the major chains currently have in stock. I hope you have a smooth transition back to your original mfg

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36

OMG! I am so glad I found this site! I am an emotional mess, and just realized that it's been about two weeks since my script was refilled with NOR. The pharmacy said they have been having trouble getting the one I was used to in stock. And I had to pay the WalMart price for it since my med. assistance won't cover that brand...now I know why - so many problems! This happened once before and I was not sure if it was due to the different manufacturer or not, but now I'm convinced. This is horrible - the FDA should know about this and do something. I went from just getting by to barely functioning and a puddle of tears. At least I already called the doc's office and let them know, but whenever I get back to the old brand, I know it will take a couple of weeks to recover. What a waste! And I guess I will have to that one script filled somewhere else, even though I love the WalMart pharmacy I go to for everything else. Thank you all for sharing - it's reassuring to know it's not me, but the medication.

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35

I've never tried the Northstar Fluoxentine 40mg so I really don't know how it compares. Just keep on taking whatever is working for you. And yes, you're correct that the active ingredients of each generic manufacturer must be identical to the brand name equivalent. However, the scary bit is that the dosing doesn't have to be exactly the same in order to be approved by the FDA. I work in healthcare/pharmaceuticals (I was a pharmacy tech for a couple years), and in order for a generic manufacturer to be able to go on the market, it has to be somewhere in the range of 80 to 120% of the strength of the brand-name product. So for a '40mg' capsule, it could really be anywhere from 32 to 48mgs. And there's no list anywhere that tells you how many mgs are actually in each manufacturer. My psychiatrist doesn't even have access to that information which I think is ridiculous. That's why I was asking people if they knew how the Sandoz mfg compared to others, from their experiences. I ended up going with Teva from what I had read and so far, so good. I hope everything works out for you once you switch back.

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34

My experience has actually been the opposite....I'd been on the Northstar Fluoxetine 40mg for several years and it worked well. I did get heartburn if taken in the morning, but found that taking it later in the day and with food was OK. I recently switched pharmacies and got Aurobindo and within 3-4 weeks felt a sharp relapse of the depression. I'm wondering if maybe the problem is not the manufacturer but the composition of the capsules.....the active ingredient of a generic legally must be identical to the brand name, however fillers and inactive ingredients may vary, and I'm wondering if its just the change that upset my system. I'm switching back to the Northstar and will wait and see what happens.

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33

I've was taking the Sandoz manufacturer of fluoxetine 40 for years (white with two orange stripes) and then my pharmacy changed to Aurobindo (orange and green) and my symptoms got way worse. I'm trying to find a pharmacy that carries the Sandoz brand, but I'm having trouble doing so. A lot have changed to the Northstar mfg which from what I read is awful. One carries Teva and another carries Par. From what I've read, Teva sounds like the brand I should probably try, but I wanted to see if any of you have ever been on the Sandoz brand and if there were other mfgs that you felt were similar to it.

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32

I was switched to northstar by walmart in June and I feel horrible. After reading these posts I called Walmart and they are going to order my old version. They had no explanation as to why they switched, other than their warehouse didn't ship the old brand. Another way for Walmart to save money? Now I have to wait for the shipment. If you get blue pills instead of your original - don't waste your time taking them. Insist on the old version. I wished I would have.

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