What Is The Best Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Xl - Watson Or Anchen? (Page 13) (Top voted first)

My doctor will not prescribe generic Wellbutrin XL but my insurance will no longer pay for brand name drugs. I will have to pay about $7000 per yer for what I am taking now (3 of the 150mg Wellbutrin XL brand name per day). I am reading that the problem with the generics is the time release mechanism and not the drug itself and that some are better than others. Anybody have experience with the generics made by Watson and /or Anchen?

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We are getting a refund from Direct Success in New Jersey. The product they are selling as the name brand is NOT the name brand. They said so in the phone call. They asked us if the label said it was Wellbutrin and we said yes. Then we told them that the label, while it says it is Wellbutrin, does not look like the label on the namebrand we normally get. I asked, "Is this the same product?" They said their product was EQUIVALENT to the namebrand and then told us (and I quote) "If our product is not working for you, then it's probably best to get the name brand from your local pharmacy." And they are sending us a refund.

They are printing labels that seem to indicate it is the name brand but it is NOT the name brand. If this product works for you, great - but it not only did not work for me (as the other cheaper knock-offs I tried earlier have not) but it made me feel much worse than taking no medication at all.

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I haven't started the Direct Success Pharmacy Wellbutrin yet so I don't know if it will work for me or not. I checked the labels on the pharmacy brand and on the Direct Success Pharmacy brand. The pharmacy label said "Wellbutrin XL TABS". The Direct Success Pharmacy label said "Wellbutrin XL Oral Tablet ER". Don't know if the difference in labeling means anything. Both labels say "Valeant" and the actual pills themselves appear to be 100% identical in physical appearance. When I first called Direct Success Pharmacy I asked them if the Direct Success Pharmacy $150 Wellbutrin was the same as the $900 pharmacy Wellbutrin. I was assured it was. In any case, once the FDA officially took the position that generics were the same as brand, "Equivalent" and "Same" became totally meaningless in actual effect on different people. From my personal experience and hearing the experiences of others, I now trust nothing what the FDA, any government agency or any manufacturer says. If the $150 Wellbutrin doesn't work for me, I'll go back to the $900 Wellbutrin. It is what it is.

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That's true about the time release. But even if the time release doesn't work as specified, it doesn't mean that the medication won't work for some people. TEVA Budeprion worked for me and many others as well as brand Wellbutrin. But because the medication didn't pass the FDA's time release trial, TEVA Budeprion was pulled from the market. That forced me and many others into $300 a month brand Wellbutrin instead of $50 a month TEVA Budeprion which worked for us as well as brand Wellbutrin. And Anchen and Actavis which the FDA kept on the market was a disaster for me and many others. So back to the $300 a month brand Wellbutrin. The FDA needs to kept it's hands off all generic brands of Wellbutrin and let each individual decide which brand works for them. When any government agency tries to tell you what's good and what's not good for you, run. Only you can decide what's good and what's not good for you. Everyone's brain chemistry is different and different release rates affect everyone differently. What's good for the goose may not be good for the gander.

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I would not think that Valeant would risk their reputation and set themselves up for possible litigation by publishing their Wellbutrin logo on the Direct Success Pharmacy website if the Wellbutrin was not 100% the same. But I suppose anything's possible.

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I have been taking Welbutrin, in one form or another, for over 10 years now. About 7-8 years ago, when I was taking Welbutrin SR 300 mg, my pharmacy suddenly decided to switch me to the generic. I didn't notice at first because the pills were the same shape and colour. I started feeling sick, headache and nausea, and thought I had a virus. It gradually got worse over a two week period until one day at work the manager had sent me to the break room because I looked so sick. I was in agony with the worst headache of my life and stomach cramps. It was then that I looked more closely at my pills and noticed they didn't say "Wlebutrin" on them. Through the haze of pain it dimly registered that something was not right there, so I looked at the bottle and saw that it also did not say Welbutrin. And that's when I realized that my symptoms had started when I got my prescription refilled.

Two years ago I started taking Welbutrin XL, 300 mg. I had been off of antidepressants for awhile but went into a new period of severe depression. Remembering my last experience just, I asked the girl on cash if they had given me the brand name. The pharmacist who was on duty at the time told me there was no generic for Welbutrin XL. So I relaxed and didn't worry about it.

I got my prescriptions filled on Tuesday and the pharmacist informed me that the generic was now "back in stock". Which came as a shock to me since I didn't know there was one. I groaned and made faces and told her I had problems with the generic in the past. But then I realized how long ago that was and said "well, maybe it will be okay". She acknowledged that there have been problems but said that it's a new formulation and a new manufacturer. (Mylan)

So, I've been taking it for 4 days now. The first day I had a headache, which I attributed to my other medication being increased and didn't worry about. Later in the day, I had some nausea, which I attributed to drinking too much coffee. The second day, I had nausea in the morning but it went away and felt really good. Yesterday, I had nausea all day and felt really blah. And this morning I woke up early feeling agitated and just generally unwell. And the nausea started and continued to increase over the next hour until I finally vomited.

I can't be certain yet that the generic bupropion is the culprit, but I suspect it is. Which really sucks, since Welbutrin is the only antidepressant I can tolerate.

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I never post to these, but just lurk and read. But I have to say Thank You to the people who mentioned the Wellbutrin Xl guarantee program. What a God send you are. I have had severe stomach pain and finally connected to my generic welbutrin. I had this before and found one that worked for me. I have been taking this for around 10 yrs. It did take a couple years for me and my daughter, who is a pharmacy tech, to connect the dots. recently I began having the same problem. The real kicker came when I totally crashed and spent the weekend either screaming at my husband, crying or sleeping. We discovered that I had been taking a different generic. The Watson name brand I had taken for so long was no longer being made. So I have guinea pigged the others again, only to have the same problem. My psych doc closed his practice a year ago. So I have just been seeing a nurse practitioner. But the doc did give me his cell phone number just in case I ever needed him. After my horrific weekend I sent him a text. Bless the mans heart, he called me within 15 minutes, even though he was up in Maryland instead of here in KY. He told me that the generic was my problem and tha I needed the name brand meds. Now I ran into the problem of the insurance not covering the name brand. Well who can afford $500 a month for one medication? I certainly can't. So I was trying to do some research today and found this column. Like I said before Thank God. Hopefully by Monday I will be hearing from the company to set up the shipping information. Thank You everyone for all the information.

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I just called Valeant (manufacturer of brand name Wellbutrin XL) & they directed me to the Direct Success Pharmacy when I explained my insurance will no longer pay for brand name. (I've tried generic & had numerous side effects). The manufacturer said they will provide brand name & they offer this program for patients like us. Direct Success has to call my pharmacy to confirm my prescription & I'm waiting for a call back. I'm so glad I came upon this message board! :)

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I received my order from Direct Success Pharmacy today. I am relieved to say that these are identical to the ones I paid $300+ for. The labels are identical, the pills look identical, and even the bottle is identical, with the same raised relief diagram on top (push down, then turn, lol). These came from Valeant. I do believe that Valeant is the official name brand manufacturer now, whether or not their formula is EXACTLY the same as when GSK made them, they are now the company that has the official logo so I'm guessing bought the formula. I am so very relieved. For $150 I got a three-month supply. Or you can go $50 per month. When I insisted on name brand from the pharmacy, I got this same thing. I don't know how much more sure I could be without seeing the actual formula but she assured me these are manufactured by Valeant in the US.

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I've been using WellbutrinXL from Direct Success for weeks now, as stated in previous posts, several pages back. I have no issues with the pills. Life is good.

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I am signed up for the Wellbutrin Guarantee Program and am waiting for my first shipment. I pray that this is the answer, since none of the generics work for me. I have been off my meds for over a month now and I am finding it very hard to function and live my life. I will keep everyone updated and let you know what happens once I have my new meds.

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Well I went over and had another conversation with my pharmacist this morning (small mom & pop operation...) He looked in a couple of places and found that the only suppliers of 150mg generic wellbutrin XL are Par and Activis. I had a thought that somebody here might know the answer to -- are the pills being sold under the Activis brand the same as the old Activis or the old Watson?

Both pills are small, round and white, with approximately the same diameter. But the old Activis was distinctly thicker. In fact, the current Par looks very much the same as the old Activis, while the Watson (and Teva) were thinner.

I'm not sure that it's relevant what is stamped on the pills -- but the delivery mechanism is key to the functioning of this drug, and you probably can't change the time release mechanism without changing the size and shape of the pill.

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I had been taking Activas 300 mg for a long while and never really knew anything else. On occasion I would get a different generic and always really felt bad but was not aware what caused it or didn't alleviate it. The overall experience I had was not good, it never felt like anything was very different with my mood, energy, depression, etc. about 6 months ago I was abruptly switched to A 102 Anchen and from day one felt a huge difference. Things were good and I felt like for the first time I was on the right brand and for the most part it worked really well although sometime for no reason it on occasion left me feeling somewhat lethargic or just feeling like blah till my next dose. After reading this post I decided to try brand name Wellbutrin XL 300 mg, well I have to agree with what many people said and can say the effect from day one was dramatically different in so many ways it's hard to believe that there is such a difference. My energy level peaks sooner and the effects last until into the night. I feel great and happy for the first time since being on Activas brand, about 6 years. Everything described in the forum is accurate. One thing I noticed is that my mind races a little so I feel anxiety which I am prone to. Overall its great to read up on your medications because as I said for years I just went along with the program not knowing what this drug is supposed to make you feel and I recommend anyone who thinks they tolerate their current meds even though you don't feel great to at least try the brand. The bad part is it cost me $231.00 for some reason though United health care via AARP. What a ripoff Medicare perscription plans can be if you don't use just generics through mail order or a place like walgreens. It's substantially more for brand if you go to a private drugstore but the relationship I have with my pharmacist is priceless and I'll never give up the service I get from him to stand on line like a heard of cows waiting at a target or something like it but that just a personal preference and with generics it's not substantially more maybes $2 per perscription. Anyway IMO the brand is best with the A102 Anchen brand being close second. I say the number because I don't know if Anchen has been bought by another company or not but when I look it up it comes up as Anchen. Good luck to everyone, I hope you all find the right meds that make you feel well. Me, I don't know if I'll stay on brand because of the cost and how Anchen to me is almost just about as good for the most part. I'll see how I feel after a month on brand then decide, I have to see if it wears off after a while because I felt pretty close to this good when I started the other one too so time will tell.

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After I retired, my drug plan changed to Optum Rx. Originally, they refused to pay for namebrand Wellbutrin xl. They stated I needed to take a generic brand first (Step drug) After 2 weeks I had a bad reaction, and my doctor submitted a form to Optum Rx stating that I could only take the name brand. I now receive a 90 day supply of Wellbrutin xl. The information is on the Optum Rx web site or in their handbook. Good luck and let me know if this information helped.

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No need to pay more than $50 a month, you can get it through Direct Success online.

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Yes... I Have been on it for years with great success. Unfortunately, it is not to be found anywhere. I have no idea what happened to Mylan generic but I was abruptly switched to another generic (activas) and it has been horrible. It feels like I haven't taken any Wellbutrin at all.

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I don't know if this helps anyone, but I'm have state insurence and it only wanted covered generics. I talked to my doc and told him I was having too many side effects and wanted to try the brand name because it seems to cause people to have a lot less side effects. I had to get a form from my pharmacy sent to my doc,( I think it's called an approval form but I'm sure if you explain it to the pharmacy they'll know what form it is) the doc had to write that the name brand was " medically necessary ", and had to fax it to the insurance company. A few days later the pharmacy got the " OK " for the name brand to be covered. I've now been on the name brand for about 12 days and have had few side effects. I hope this helps anyone who is having trouble getting the insurance to cover the name brand. I think it's worth a try to be approved because the price is a big difference when the insurance covers it. Which I'm sure most of you know.

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To be honest, if I am one of those people for whom the real Wellbutrin doesn't work while one of the generics does, I don't give a flying fig about the credibility of the FDA, or what they are lying about or telling the truth about. I want access to the drug that works FOR ME!

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My husband experienced the same problem, I called the manufacturer and they will have it back on the market within 2 weeks. They switched plants or manufacturing process to meet increased demand. Yay!

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Why don't we start a petition on change.org? There's obviously enough people just from this site that would probably sign it!

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An Update:

I posted awhile ago about being switched to Mylan-Bupropion XL 300 mg and having a bad reaction- severe headaches, nausea, vomiting.

I have since started taking it again and the side effects are not as bad now, with only mild to moderate nausea which usually only lasts for an hour or so after taking it in the morning, with some indigestion throughout the day and an occasional headache.

As for efficacy, I think it's alright, except that it feels like it's too much sometimes, like I'm over stimulated. But I can't tell for sure because I also take Vyvanse for ADHD and it was increased at the same time I was switched to the generic, so I don't know which is responsible for over stimulating me.

Anyway, when I told my doctor about it he was not happy. He doesn't believe the generic is good and he wants me on the brand name for consistency, especially while I am still titrating my Vyvanse. So he gave me a new prescription and a card that will allow me to get the brand name for the generic price. I forgot to get him to put "No Substitutions" on it though so they will probably try it again, since what I want doesn't seem to matter to them.

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