What Is The Best Generic Of Lamictal? (Page 7)
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I've been taking the generic for Lamictal for about five years. Recently I've been feeling different at about the beginning of the year. I use to take the white ones but now I am taking a generic by Taro. What is the best generic for this drug? I never really payed any attention until I started getting this crazy migraines. If anyone has any insights it would be much appreciated.

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Re: Ashlie (# 95)

Hey there, Ashlie! Thanks for the continued updates. Are you on your full dosage now? How many days have you been at full dosage? It might still be evening out.

You’re such a trooper. It know med management is always a drag when things change. I think I speak for many of us who are leaving Teva when I say this is the part we’re dreading. We appreciate your continued insight.

Raechel

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Just a quick update on my moods at least, kiiiinda like PMS and it’s not that time of the month right now! Haha. I’m pretty unmotivated, mad at random things, I slept in much too long this morning. And I’ve have some days like that on Teva before but things seem less in check than normal, if that makes sense. Hoping the irritability aspect will decrease as the week goes on.

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Re: Hope (# 93)

Yes it’s very similar, even a little softer I think. Melts in your mouth a bit quicker too if you don’t swallow it quickly enough so it’s kinda gross. Doesn’t tase nearly as bad as the Teva brand though, haha. That actually makes me think I may need a half pill more of Unichem to equate to the effectiveness of Teva, so I’d be on 150mg instead of 100 but it’s still early on in the process.

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Re: Ashlie (# 78)

How does the texture of the Unichem tablet compare to Teva? Is is somewhat soft and easy to break like Teva, or is it a hard coating?
I'm wondering if some of the problems with other generics have to do with how easily they dissolve.

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I'm almost out of Teva. Had a horrible reaction to Cipla. Just tried Taro and felt sick, aluminum taste, blurred vision and just didn't seem to have the calming effect that I get from Teva. I guess I'll try the unichem next and see how it goes. Also haven't tried Alembic. This is so frustrating!! If I have to go with brand name Lamictal my copay is 680.00 with culinary insurance for 200mg. I'll keep updating you guys.

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Re: Raechel (# 90)

Here ya go re Northstar...
Here are specific ingredients in LAMICTAL (BRAND), TEVA lamotrigine, and generic lamotrigine manufactured by NORTHSTAR. I did not include coloring.

LAMICTAL (BRAND): Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, sodium starch glycolate
TEVA: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: colloidal silicon dioxide, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate
NORTHSTAR: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose monohydrate, sodium starch glycolate, povidone, magnesium stearate, talc

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Re: Hope (# 88)

Wow... good info Hope! That isn't super encouraging to me. ;-( I wonder if their ingredient list will reflect they've used a mixture of ingredients other than the one they've used for their regular one... I was hoping it would be the same. Hmm..

Definitely - I have tried and not had success with Zydus, Taro, and Northstar - though I don't see the latter on your list, so maybe those are out of production? These were years ago. I've insisted on Teva in the last few years.

In a group I'm a part of, a woman said that Cadista is working very nicely for her daughter, but her daughter is using it for seizures. Doesn't mean it won't work for me, but I don't use it for that reason, so it's not as relevant data for me.

Hence, why I'm very curious how Ashlie and anyone else experiences Unichem, since that's what Walgreens seems to be deeming as the new lamotrigine to carry around the country.

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Re: Lisa (# 81)

Yes they have 300mg. I took it for 3 weeks & felt horrible. I still have some Teva, get that back in my system & then get the unichem, take them together & wean off the teva. Here's Tevas website with all the different strengths...

Teva's generic of Lamictal® XR™ Extended-Release Tablets: Lamotrigine Extended-Release Tablets, USP

tevagenerics.com/product/lamotrigine-extended-release-tablets-usp

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Re: Raechel (# 80)

Would you mind sharing what generic brands of lamotrigine have tried, besides Teva?

Also, regarding the extended release, Teva acquired Actavis in 2016, and their extended release is manufactured by Actavis (even images of the bottle of extended release clearly show Actavis). Looks like Actavis got approval of their extended release in 2013. Don't know if this means its a Teva formulation of the medication, or an Actavis formulation.

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Re: Hope (# 82)

Wow - Thank you for this, Hope! I'm going to take a review of this later!

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Re: Connie (# 52)

Thank you so much for the info. How do you find European Pharmacies? What Canadian Pharmacy can you recommend for getting Lamictal? As I wrote every drug store wants $1,160.00/ month.

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Ashlie (# 75) --

Oh, wow... yeah, I'm sorry - I totally missed this one, Ashlie! I just responded to your other post and didn't see this one! Yes, it makes total sense that you'd still feel off your game if you were off lamotrigine for a few days.

I'd give Unichem at least a week - maybe a bit longer - to really get yourself evened back out. I'd say by Day 8, 9, 10, you'd probably be able to give us a better assessment of how it's sitting with your system.

Thanks, Hope, for catching that post!

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Ashlie (# 72) --

If you completely stopped lamotrigine for a couple of days, I would agree that your body could still be in turmoil from completely missing it for a couple of days. Give yourself some time to settle in on the new med (Unichem?) and re-stabilize and see how you do - good luck!

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Lisa (# 79) --

Oh dear! Don't freak out yet! Teva confirmed to me that they are still making XR lamotrigine, so don't stop taking meds yet!

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This morning I started digging into specific ingredients in generic lamotrigine vs brand name Lamictal. Here is what I found for what seems to be most popular generic manufacturers. I did not include coloring.

Lamictal (brand): Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, sodium starch glycolate

Teva: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: colloidal silicon dioxide, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate

Jubilant Cadista: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate

Taro: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: croscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone

Aurobindo: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: microcrystalline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, povidone, sodium starch glycolate, magnesium stearate

Unichem: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, sodium starch glycolate

Alembic: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose monohydrate, sodium starch glycolate type a potato, povidone, magnesium stearate, talc

Zydus: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, sodium starch glycolate

Cipla: Active: lamotrigine. Inactive: colloidal silicon dioxide, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, povidone, sodium starch glycolate

Teva Extended Release: (appears to be manufactured by Actavis and don’t know that one can really compare ER to regular tablets).

No way to know how much of each inactive ingredient is in each brand, but at least this is a starting point for comparison.

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Did someone say Teva is making extended release Lamotrigine 300 mg?
I am going to stop taking anything and go back to being bipolar if I can’t find 200 mg. tablets that work. The side effects are worse than the disorder. This is crazy. Medicare won’t pay anything toward the brand and due to liver disease I have tried lithium and Wellbutrin and gotten so sick.
Help!

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Ashlie (# 76) --

Hi Ashlie! I actually take lamotrigine/Lamictal for BiPolar. I believe with XR (extended release) you take it once a day, as opposed to multiple times a day (as I currently do - I take it once in the morning and once in the evening) - according to my neurologist and psychiatrist. It titrates the active ingredients throughout the days, I guess. I am not a medical professional or scientist, so I can't say I know all the details of this... I'm only sharing what's been shared with me.

Teva is not discontinuing the XR. If I had to take a stab, it's because that is a more profitable drug for them because the XR is more pricey - though, again, I don't know anything about it, so that's all conjecture.

So, since Teva is the only generic that's come close to getting it right, for me, I'm going to try to stick with them and see if the extended release will work as well or close to as well for me, before I go to other generic brands - though, if I can't get a pharmacy around here to order Teva for me, I may be stuck with the other generic brands of the regular release, which is why I am so grateful for any and all info that people are willing to share here about their experiences.

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Raechel (# 73) --

Is that ER form not being discontinued by Teva? How do you take it, multiple times throughout the day instead of one regular pill once a day? I wonder if it would work for bipolar too. I understand Lamotrigine is mainly for epilepsy.

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Took regular dose of Lamotrigine by Unichem last night. Still experiencing irritability (though again it may be tied to something else like insufficient sleep), which reminds me of being on Wellbutrin and I absolutely hated it. The first week or two were great though: I lost weight, I “felt happier”, it definitely got me out of the rut I was in for a while, but after that it went so downhill. I got mad at everything and everyone and was never “happy”. I have a little bit of that currently and I don’t know why or how if I’m on the “same” Lamotrigine as I have been. Trying not to be worried that all hope is lost having to switch meds again and go through that trial and error. Gotta wait it out a whole week to see the effects pan out! Thanks for the support, y’all.:)

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Shannon (# 74) --

After reading about this medicine I feel I will run into the same problem again. What if the pharmacy quits carrying the new generic my brain has latched on to then I'm in the same boat. Constantly looking for that manufacturer. I am totally coming off the medication. I did learn about the neurotransmitters and use mini meditations to calm the glutamates down and so far I have had success. But what would also be successful is adding a touch more of the new than you are taking away of the old then your brain wouldn't freak. Generics are not equal. The manufacturer by law can go 80-120% of active ingredient.

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