Lexapro Brand Versus Generic Escitalopram (Page 8)

I have taken 30mg of Lexapro for past 4 years. After the deaths of my son and his wife in a plane crash the depression and anxiety were more than I could bear. This past May I was changed to the generic escitalopram. God Forbid!!!! What a nightmare. Within three weeks I was suicidal, I was going through SSRI withdrawals which are vicious. I am now paying over $225.00 per month for Brand Lexapro as my insurance will NOT cover it even with prior auth or any other reason. My Medicare Advantage plan leaves a lot to be desired even though I pay a $152.00 per month premium. Has anyone else had problems with the generic Lexapro? My pharmacist said I am not the first.

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Hi Kitty and welcome. As you see, you are not alone. Have you reported your experience to the FDA? The more people who come forward the greater chance they might eventually pay attention to us. Hang in there. Remain close with your doc and support system.

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I posted earlier that I was having problems with my current generic, but had been on one originally that had worked for me. I have managed to identify the manufacturers of the three generic forms of Lexapro that I have taken, starting in 2012. The first generic worked fine for nearly two years. It was manufactured by MYLAN Pharmaceuticals. The second generic, which left me in rages over the course of several months, was manufactured by CAMBER. My current generic, which is also failing me, is manufactured by AUROBINDO. I have a pharmacy that is willing to work with me on finding a generic among their suppliers that is effective. They get requests from their customers for generics from TEVA, as well. I'm hoping this will be helpful to some of you that can't afford the name brand. If you can find and independent pharmacy that is willing to work WITH you, you might be able to find a generic that will work FOR you. In my case, the generic failures are not as debilitating as some of you who have posted here, so I can afford to experiment and share my results. And I will report the ineffective generics to the FDA.

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I am wondering , my Effexor pooped out so I went on generic lexapro for about 4 1/2 weeks 6 years ago I had went on the real lexapro and it worked for me once I noticed this I asked for the real thing . 3 weeks ago I went on the real lexapro and i had the side effects with the change and I also still feel anxious in the morning I can't figure out if I need to up it or if I still need to wait to see - are the generic and real thing different enough that I have to wait 4-6 weeks? I hate upping but tired of this. I just want to go back on my Effexor ( not sure how long the wait is after poop out)

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The generic did not work for me either. There is a BIG difference.

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My heart goes out to you, You are not alone I suffer from anxiety from loosing a son and my anxiety feels like death. I take Brand Lexapro because generic makes me feel spacy

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I have been prescribed Cipralex various generics by the NHS- including those made by Cipla and Milpharm have noticed no difference

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My generic lexapro from Costco was not working as I was slipping into extreme anxiety and couldn't figure out why. Fortunately I already had a general check up via phone with my Dr.
She had me read off my generic pill label from the bottle and looked up manufacturer.
She said the pills were made in China!! and most likely not strong enough. She has been getting complaints.
She is having a generic batch sent from a pharmacy in USA that she trusts who uses Israel as their source and won't deal with China.
I cannot afford the name brand.
Has anyone heard of this?
The quality depends on what country it was manufactured in.

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Yes, there have definitely been many of us who have reported far less effective pills from manufacturers abroad. Please write to the FDA and report this. If enough of us file complaints maybe eventually they will listen. I hope your doctor helps with the effort--that is another big problem--the doctors are so busy and don't want to bother helping us investigate this. Also, some of them are not educated themselves about the differences and are still putting out the false narrative that there is no difference between generic and brand. We have to do everything we can to get this topic out to the public for discussion. We need all the help we can get!

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Yes I was on it and it did not do anything for me. I stopped it and went back on sertraline. I still feel depressed but I try to fight it. brettcourt

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Due to the ruling by the Supreme Court Justices which stated that all generic drugs and their manufacturers, some 80% of all drugs consumed in the United States, are exempt from liability for side effects, mislabeling or virtually any other negative reactions caused by their drugs. In short, the Court ruled that the FDA has ultimate authority over pharmaceuticals in the US, and if the FDA says a drug is safe, that takes precedent over actual facts, real victims and any and all adverse reactions.
In other words, if the FDA says something is safe, it does not matter if that decision is wrong or the result of misrepresentation, fraud or deception on the part of the world's pharmaceutical companies. There is no way to sue the FDA for being wrong and costing millions of unsuspecting Americans their lives. That result leaves millions of Americans unprotected from an industry responsible for innumerable preventable deaths in the US from use of these drugs and their side effects.
My husband died from taking the generic Plavix and there is no recourse. However, if he was holding a hot cup of coffee from McDonald’s, we could have litigated this! Pharmaceutical companies and our government in the eyes of the Supreme Court are putting profits before people. This decision has to be reversed.

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Having similar reaction to generic Lexapro from Costco that was manufactured by Aurobindo Pharma...Curious as to the manufacturer of your supply....look on the bottle usually on bottom left, thanks....

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Generic did NOT work for me! was like I was taking nothing at all!

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I'm the same way! The generic does not work!! On the generic and feeling very low! Name brand 100.00 a month..BS

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Hi, where are you living? I'm paying $450/month in the U.S. (NJ & GA).

Susan

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I would usually argue that generic medicines don't make a difference as they contain exactly the same active ingredient. BUT I have been given a different generic brand of Lexapro/Lexam made by Arrow Pharmaceuticals (I'm in Australia) and I've had withdrawal symptoms, a meltdown, and frequent crying. It's as if I've stopped taking the medication cold turkey. I've been on this medication for 10 years, have not had this problem before. Arrow Pharma has just been involved in a drug substitution scandal, and I am concerned that their quality control has a problem. I am returning to my pharmacist today with my concerns.

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Please let us know how everything goes. We've all been there and can definitely empathize. Good luck!

Susan

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Sorry to hear it. I have been back on brand name Lexapro for almost 2 months now and back to feeling good again, but it is costing me much more....Too bad as the generic was fine for a number of years up until about 2 years ago when I had to switch generic brands for the first time...probably won't do it again after feeling so poorly with anxiety and heart palpitations...Hang in and make a change, it will get better....

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I was also on a generic from Aurobindo,which seemed to be failing over a period of time. I asked my pharmacist about getting the med from another manufacturer, and he recommended Teva and Mylan. I opted for the Mylan, and withing two weeks felt almost back to normal. My pharmacist admitted that he had the same problem with his Zoloft prescription. That was a very significant piece of information to me. It is not all in our minds. All generics are not created equal.

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If I ever go back to generic Lexapro maybe I will give Mylan a shot...saw my neuro and he mentioned the sister drug to Lexapro (escitalopram) is Celexa (citalopram) just in case we had to try something else...thought this might be useful info for someone that can't afford brand Lexapro and suffering with generic Lexapro...hope it helps......

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I reported my generic lLxapro experience from Aurobindo with the FDA. Here's the link if anyone wants to inform them as well with an issue... https:/­/­www.fda.gov/­Safety/­MedWatch/­

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