Watson Vs. Mylan Generic Lorazepam Side Effects. (Page 5)

Been on Sandoz mfr. lorazepam for 10 years; no problems; no need to increase dose. Sandoz stopped mfr. Now, can only get these generic's & Actavis. Having lots of troubles getting results; either nothing or zonked. Anyone else w/any experience which mfr. is closer to Sandoz (since FDA approves up to 2% differences in generics). Thank you.

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I have been having a very difficult time. I have been on Ativan for over 10 years, which I know is not good, but it's what is. Out of the blue, I started feeling like I was in withdrawal. I'm not having panic, but my brain feels awful. I'm nervous and shaking. I don't feel like myself at all. I've also had horrible weakness in my body. Sometimes I'm so tired and feel like I've lost my energy, flu-like. And other times, like when I am in class, I am raw nerves. I told my dad, who is the one who puts the pills in bags for me each day (I get nervous around the pill bottles). I've been taking Watson brand for years, and when I told him about feeling so bad, he mentioned that the bottle now says manufactured by Actavis even though the pills still say Watson. I called my pharmacist, and he didn't even know anything had changed. I called Actavis (the old Watson), and they said the pill is still made in the same factory it always has been, and that she didn't know of any changes to the product. I suppose this could be psychological--but I have never felt anxiety manifest like this before. I am sleeping badly. I feel raw nerves. I am going back to my old coping mechanisms--I've been craving hot milk to calm down, which I haven't in years and years. I'm just shaky and a mess. It really feels like withdrawal to me. I am doing horribly in my classes now because I sit there shaking and with my brain feeling so bad I can't listen or pay attention. But on the other hand, the pills do look the same. And from what they've said this is just a name change. The other problem is that my dad makes 30 bags ahead of time with my daily meds, so I don't know which are which, but I've probably been taking the new bottle's pills for about the time I've been feeling bad.

I wish I could have this tested.

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Marcus
its sad to hear what your going through but the drug companies have put profit in front of people as usual, i took the old activus for 15 years without any issue but now that sandoz bought the brand, its pure garbage, went through some of the same things your going through, there are two things you can do, one is to ask your doctor to try each of the brands, mylan, ranbaxy, etc, give each one about a week to see how you react to each one, how you sleep is a better indicater as to how effective the med is to your system, in my case, i finally took watson, don't really like watson but the others are just a joke.
the last thing you can do is file a complaint to the FDA, they have a form you can fill out on the internet, even though this site is a good sounding board, the FDA does not respond to complaint found here, the bottom line is that drug companies find cheaper dyes and inactive ingrediants and they just go with them, i myself have asked my congresswomen to get involved into this matter, the drug companies are making more money than they can spend and yet when they can squeeze a couple more pennies out of the consumer, they do it, hope this helps you

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Marcus,
They are the same pills. I talked with my pharmacist and Watson if it has Actavis on the label and you check the number of the pills they are the same. Sandoz bought the formulary for the Actavis brand which is terrible so you definitely don't want to see anything with Sandoz's name on it. Not to worry they are the same pills as Watson has always made.

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I had to change from Watson to the brand name and it makes me feel sick too. I have been taking Ativan for fifteen years and now I am a mess. I have more anxiety now than I ever did before> I don't know what to do.

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I just found out why my lorazapma wasnt working in the past 3 months..its becaouse it is manufactured in India by Ranbaxy. I have been taking this for over 16 years and never had a problem prior to these past 3 months. Prior to the 3 months, the pills I was reciving from Walmart was manufacured by Sanloz and they worked. How can I ensure my next refill can be done by Sanloz???

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Thank you for those who replied. I'm still on the same Watson pills (though the bottle says Actavis). I am feeling better now, so who knows what was going on. There can be psychological issues that make me feel different. Even a virus can do it to me. I'm not sure what it was, but thankfully it passed. It was different from usual. I guess that's what's strange about anxiety—it often can feel very different. I sort of feel like I get used to how anxiety feels and then I experience it in a completely different way.

Strangely enough my Paxil just changed as well, but is also the same pill! I had been taking Aurobindo, and my pharmacy switched me to Greenstone, but it's the same, identical pill with the same color and markings on it. Turns out both Greenstone and Aurobindo use the same manufacturer for their pills. This is a very strange market. I told my pharmacist how it's odd that we buy organic everything, including things we don't even put in our bodies, but when it comes to medications, they're coming from all over the world in questionable qualities.

Anyhow, I just wanted to update this to let people know that the Watson/Actavis Ativan was not my problem. I'm not sure what was. Like, I said it could have been psychological factors, but sometimes the way I feel is so physically bad that it's hard to believe it's just stress, etc.

Thank you again.

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ask the pharmacist to order those for you? I take the watson brand an I have to ask the pharmacist each time to be sure I get the same pills. If you have any of the information flyers that came with your Sandoz, there is an NCI number on it which the pharmacist can use to get you the same pills but he does not have to have it. I will let you know in advance that Sandoz just recently bought the formulary for Activis and that is what are using now the Activis formulary under Sandoz's name.

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for those taking the the "new" sandoz, this is suppose to be the old activus but its not, activus is still making the drug under the sandoz name, the product is in no way the exact same thing, my body is living proof of that, you can't take a medication for 15 years with no problem then once its got a sandoz label, you cannot sleep all night and say its the same product, forget asking sandoz and activus because they will tell you that it the exact same thing, if you have any of the old activus tablets, hold on to them, and if you have any of the new sandoz tablets, hold on to them (in the fridge is the best place to put them), ther may be a day when some sampling will resolve all these issues, one thing thats very apparent from the forum, there is way too much suffering happening as a result of the drug manufacturing companies toying with this medication, also take time to file a complaint with the FDA, this can be done online

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I have a pharmacy friend that said these generics are never tested again once they get FDA approval. So a pharmaceutical company may get approval and years later change something to increase profits and then it is never tested again, so you don't know if what you are getting is exactly what they say it is. I think the FDA should test these companies medications at least 1 per year to make sure they are still selling what they originally were selling. But with the government always wanting to save money, it is lacking in continually monitoring these companies.

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I have been taking 1mg Mylan brand Lorazepam for over 7 years now with no problems. Calms me down and balances me out. I lost my health insurance recently and got a 90 day refill at Walmart since it was cheaper. BIG MISTAKE. I took 1 pill and started feelin worse after 20 minutes. About an hour later i had the runs. I was so confused and thought i was having a panic attack so i took 2 more pills. I got so sick about 30 minutes later. I suffered through that night with the help of Zoloft. I looked up the pill on pill id and found it is made in India by Ranbaxy. Talked to Walmart pharmacists who didn't seem to care, but got the refill transferred to CVS so i got my old reliable Mylan.

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Crazy how much subtle differences matter. I've been on Ativan for years and ranbaxy works best for me, by far. Hope everyone is doing well!

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I am taking 1mg lorazepram from Ranbaxy and have to have a u.a every month. The ativan has not shown up and should. Does anyone know why?

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The Ranbaxy brand gave me acid mouth and sores all inside it. Walgreens did not inform me of the generic change. Back then I THOUGHT all generics were alike. They are not! It is the filler. I am highly allergic to drugs, and this one was no exception. The Mylan brand works for me! By the way, a smaller pharmacy will often agree to order your specific generic if it is not their main brand. The big stores will NOT.

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MYLAN

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I get Watson brand generic with all of my drugs when possible They have the best generic valium, Norco 10 mg Hydrocodon 325 acetaminophn Mylan brands are the worst I can take 10 10mg of Mylan valium and not feel a thing where I can take 1 10mg or Watson valium and will get results Generics are allouded to be 20%+or- of acctive ingredent and of course fillers have a lot to with how the drug is assorbed in your system I do not understand how the FDA allows this to happen when such a descrepcey can be very harmfull of just plane not do the job your doctor intened it for Generic makers should have to go through blind studies just like the brand name drugs One thing you have to watch out for when you find a generic that works for you do not switch to some other brand of generic unless no longer made which happens alot It is unfourten for us ginie pigs that it is up to us to keep trying all these different generics before we find a suiteble one that works I used to be on Fentnal patches that were watson brand and when was in the hospital they gave me what they had on hand and i went into withdraws using the same dosage like I said watson I have found is the way to go for your money and peace of mind.

good luck to all of us and God Bless

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Help..I have started back on ativan..I took it years ago, I believe it was the brand name. They just gave me lorazepam my mylan and it made me more anxious. It was horrible. Can you suggest a brand to take. I can locate ranbaxy, and actavis which i believe was watson..please help.. thank you

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the activus was sold to sandoz and they changed the product to where it is worthless, they will tell you that its the same but they are lying, just read some of the items here, the name activus is really a combination of watson and activus, buying activus brand of lorazepam gets you the old watson, of all the garbage thats out there, i can only take the old watson, its not great by any means but most of whats out there is just bad, i read where someone said that sandoz is coming out with a different lorazepam, lookslike every one figured them out, if some one trys the new sandoz lorazepam, let us know how it turned out, don't be surprised if its the original activus, these people in the pharmacy business have no conscience when it comes to making money, the quality of peoples lives is secondary

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Nothing is as good as the real Ativan but it just costs too much. I use the Watson brand. I have tried Ranbaxy and Activis both made me worse. I had horrible reactions to these. Since I have been sticking with the Watson no problems. I only take it once a day at night.

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Debbie,

You need to see what works best for you. In my experience, I have to stay away from Mylan. You mentioned you can locate activis and Ranbaxy. Those two, for me, are similar. I feel like the timing of Ranbaxy is a little better for me, and it's as/more effective, but not intoxicating to me. So, I always say Ranbaxy is actually pretty solid for a cheaply produced brand, and that's what I use. Find out what is best for you though.

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I said it once and I'll say it again. Mylan from CVS has been excellent to me for 8 years now. Ranbaxy from Walmart was no good for me. The old Watson was great. Haven't been able to find the new formula.

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