Is This A Fluoxetine Pill? (Top voted first)

A109 20 mg dark blue oval capsule

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I have been taking Prozac/Fluoxetine for 20 years now. In "theory" all generic are are the same and they do not even differ with the Prozac brand name. That is "not true in real life". I went through this so many times! It is amazing to me how our lives depend on these meds to be relatively functional and professionals still do not understand that it is not in our head. "NOT ALL GENERICS ARE MADE EQUAL". They don't understand because they do not have to take the medicines we are prescribed by them. If there is a generic that works for you, ask your doctor to indicate the generic Brand you need to take on your prescription, call your insurance and work it out with them to find a pharmacy that has what you need or request Name Brand if they don't have what you need. Do not mess up your quality of life just because your pharmacy made a better deal for them with a different generic brand. A few bucks for them can mean a lot of wasted life for us.

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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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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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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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Not true...I have taken northstar 20mg for years and had no issues. Switched me to another brand and was totally disabled. Went back to northstar and now back to normal.

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I was always on brand name prozac through jr high and high school...then about 2001 my dr referred me to a counseling center and my dr there put me back on brand name prozac and it worked wonders. After couple years I decided to go off my meds and was doing great for a few years. When I fell back into a slump in 07 I asked my dr to go back on prozac..it was made by Teva but it gave me awful migraines so I decided not to take it. I tried it again last Nov and the same thing happened, it was awful..my head feel like it was going to explode and it was like not being able to function and thought I was in a bubble, I even called the er to speak with a nurse and was told if my tongue or throat goes numb to then come in but it just wore off.. I again stop taking it and told my dr. I went to my dr last week and said I really need something for my depression, anxiety/panic but can't take generic so he gave me a prescription for brand name but they want $250 for 30 caps that I can't afford with no insurance. I still had refills for generic so I decided to try again. This time I got some from Northstar and have never tried this kind...I just took them and not knowing what to expect scares me. I signed back up for my counseling dr again but its gonna be another month before I can get in...I hope when I go back there he can help me get brand name prozac cause I never had any problems on it and it made me feel great. I have been researching as much as I can about the different manufacturers and don't like the fact where these drugs are made. Also my dr thinks I'm allergic to gluten and gluten is used in a lot of things including vitamins and medications. I found a list of gluten free manufacturers online that include Barr(bought by Teva), Parr and Sandoz. I asked the Pharmacist at Walmart about gluten free prozac and she said she didn't have time to look into it and gave me the product label to read....that did not make me very happy, their suppose to be able to help us. So I went to Rite Aid and a Pharmacist there was very helpful and found what ingredients where in the different manufacturers fluoxetine and she gave me contact numbers for them. I wish this wasn't so complicated...I hope this Northstar fluoxetine doesn't give me any problems until I can see my counselor.

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I am SO happy for you. I'm so glad I was able to help. It took a few days when I started taking Sandoz again to get the full effect but I am so glad to be back on that manufacturer. Just stick it out for a few days and you should be good. Keep me posted on how everything works out :)

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I am a physician living on SSD due to Major Depressive Disorder. I've dealt with MDD for decades. I didn't think anything of it when my generic fluoxetine was changed from RanBaxy to NorthStar manufacturer about one week ago. Then past 4 days, I've felt like a have a mild case of the flu, my brain is "mash potatoes", and I have severe psychomotor retardation. (It takes me forever to do the stupidest little things, e.g., wash dishes, take a shower, etc.), and crampy constipation. Just yesterday did I put it together that it was my fluoxetine. Then I find this site on the internet!! Thanks for all of your input!

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Linda,

Let me know if you need any help in finding a certain manufacturer. Between personal experiences and working in pharmacy at an insurance company, I can tell you pretty much what every pharmacy stocks and which stores might be more accommodating in ordering a specific mfg.

Once you switch off of Northstar, you should start to feel more 'normal' in four days or so, and much better in a week or two.

As an update, I'm taking the Par mfg of fluoxetine now. I don't feel it's quite as effective as Sandoz or Teva were for me. I'm going to discuss with my psychiatrist what changes I should make.

I hope all of you are doing well

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I have been taking Northstar for years for anxiety attacks. They switched it to aurobindo and my attacks came back and knocked me down and out of work for quite awhile.

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Jane, when you switched back to north star, how long was it before you started feeling the change? I was on Pliva and when I changed pharmacies it got switched to Sandoz which caused a relapse in depression. I am now back on the Pliva (at a higher dose) but it still does not seem to be working. Thnx.

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I also got the blue generic fluoxetine made by northstar and they made me crazy!!! I just called the manufacturer and they are taking this seriously: they are sending me a kit to send back the pills and they will consult with the FDA. Please call them to tell them the pills are bad. Northstar RX LLC Toll Free: 1-800-206-7821

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CALL THEM!!! And call your doctor!! Get new "clean" pills and tell your doctor what happened. Northstar has been extremely diligent in reporting this to the appropriate authorities. You have to help yourself. Do 2 things today: call your doctor and get a new prescription (or return them to the pharmacy where you got them AND call Northstar

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I have been taking the TEVA USA generic for fluoxetine HCL 40 MG for about a year. Recently my pharmacy switched me to the NORTSTAR generic. With virtually the first pill, I experienced heartburn and reflux within minutes. The taste in my throat is horrible. I suffer from Barrett's Esophagus and certainly don't need any extra acid. Has anyone else experienced this?

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I have been taking Prozac for several years, and more recently, the generic, Fluoxetine. I was getting the TEVA manufacturer for a while and everything was fine. Then one time about a year ago they refilled my prescription with Northstar. In about 2 or 3 weeks of taking the Northstar pills I all of a sudden became depressed and felt horrible. I called the pharmacy and I asked them for the TEVA and they replaced the pills I was taking. Within a day or two my depression was gone. So I have stuck with TEVA ever since then. However, today I went to pick up my prescription and they filled it with Northstar. I told them I can't take Northstar and that I needed TEVA and they told me that they had no TEVA available, and that it was the same medication. I came home today and found this website. I don't know what to do. I don't want to start taking this Northstar brand again because I know what is going to happen. I may be able to buy the brand name Prozac instead of the generic, but it will cost me significantly more money (I pay $3 for generic, and it would cost me $25 to buy the brand name if their is a generic available). If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thank you.

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Hi Ralph, just started taking the Northstar brand of Fluoxetine this morning . Had been using a different brand. Within 1 minute of taking the Northstar brand I experienced terrible reflux and heartburn. A problem that I never had. After 8 hours of discomfort I decided to do some research on Northstar and found this forum.Needless to say,I will be exchanging the Northstar in the morning. Thanks for posting : )

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I also was switched to the Northstar fluoxetine 20mg capsule from Costco. One capsule made me hyper for about 6 hours, then I became deathly ill - vomiting, diarrhea, etc. PLEASE report this info to the FDA. Northstar is manufactured in India and only distributed from Tennessee. I am on no other meds that would cause this reaction. The FDA has a website to report a drug adverse reaction. Send the med back to the FDA. I have no idea what is really in this capsule. Supposedly there is some shortage of the fluoxetine GG 20mg white capsules. All this junk is coming from India and China. Registered Pharmacist

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I sent a message yesterday but it didn't get posted - perhaps because I copied a link in there. I contacted the FDA and they gave me the correct place to report this. Please go to the the Internet voluntary reporting form by going to the MedWatch homepage at fda.gov/safety/medwatch/default.htm. Click on "Reporting Serious Problems to FDA", then "Reporting by Health Professionals" or "Reporting by Consumers".
The form is sort of intimidating but it simple enough when you get started. I submitted yesterday and this morning I had a response from them that said they got it and would wait for other reports to match together to see what action to take. I was told by Northstar in April of 2011 that they had resolved this but more people keep coming here with horrible experiences. Please take action with me.

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I have a really different reaction than you guys. For me, I was on Northstar forever and I felt fine, and then I switched to Sandoz and started getting nausea, headaches, suicidal thoughts, and sluggishness. That's why I'm researching this right now. It's been pretty scary, but I thought I might finally have the answer - maybe just switching from what your body's used to, no matter if it's from Northstar or to Northstar, is just not good for a lot of people? I'm not sure, I'd like to think once I switch back to the pill I was on, I'll feel better. Anyone have an opinion on this?

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I had been on 20mg/day for two years -- in ~may 2011 my pharmacy (Target) switched f/Sandoz to Northstar -- i began to have increasingly loose & acidic stools-- and in Nov 20 11 (routine physical) my RBC,WBC,hemoglobin, ferraton dropped to anemic levels -- my physician is looking for ulcers, etc -- I made the association & stopped taking the Northstar in mid-December-- bowel has improved...blood counts not yet...

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