What Is The Best Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Xl - Watson Or Anchen? (Page 38)

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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Nino,
I'm gonna ng to go out on a limb and say whatever you're taking isn't working. That was pretty lame; you're snarky response to that person's appropriate question.
Asking here is one last source before putting a bullet in ones head.. So please, shut up.

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For anyone still chasing Mylan, I requested it at my local Walgreen's (MA) and got it easily as a special order today. Their regular supply is Par, which also seems to be the in-stock generic at CVS, Rite Aid, Target etc.

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Has anyone else ever tried Par here? What do you think about it... I picked up a refill 2 weeks ago and all of a sudden it didn't feel like the pills were working as well as they did in prior prescriptions (all from Par)and I felt like I was taking a placebo.. but for the past 2 days I feel good again, and I'm still using the same bottle... it''s almost like they're not just inconsistent between batches... but they're inconsistent within the same batches.. if that makes sense, I don't even know if that's possible but it definitely feels like it. Some days I feel like I took nothing and almost feel like I'm in withdrawal, then days like yesterday and today I feel completely wired and good again.

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Scroll down.. there's a lot of input from folks on Par.

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Sis, I have done nothing but help people on this topic with my posts and hopefully help save countless people tons of money by directing them exactly where to get brand for $50 max.. At this point in time anyone would just have to glimpse not even ten posts or less and find almost every answer to any question. They are lazy and if they're so close to putting a bullet in their head I think they could research not even ten prior posts. Maybe you need to look for yourself too. Your incoherent post to me just shows you haven't read a thing either. Do your dd before you tell me to shut up.. You and the other question just frustrate people. No one wants to hear the same exact question over and over again it gets old quick! Do everyone a favor, shut your mouth and try to read one page, you may surprise yourself with the amount of information at your fingertips in less than a minute or the time it took you to write your snide comment keyboard tough guy.

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Nino, I know you're just trying to do your job, but don't be so mean about it.

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Nino,

There are some people who refuse to be helped. After a while you just have to stop wasting your time on them or you'll drag your own self down. Can't save a world that doesn't want to be saved. Learned that a long time ago.

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Nino, did you ever think that maybe some people can't afford $50 a month? Asking about a generic is perfectly reasonable because it might be the only option for somebody

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V -- it's totally possible that you got a prescription that was a mix of two different batches -- maybe more than two batches, even! The thing that gave me the clue that the different brands were not the same was when I got Teva and Activis mixed together in the same 90-day refill because they were different shapes/sizes. And then when the next 90-day refill was Activis and worked as well as the Teva, then I knew that Activis had a consistency problem. If you get more than one batch from the same manufacturer mixed together, there would be no way to tell because the pills would look exactly the same.

You should sit down and talk to your pharmacist about this stuff. Pharmacists are highly educated medical professionals, and working in a retail pharmacy where they spend a lot of time just counting out pills means that most pharmacists are excited whenever a patient has an interesting intelligent problem that they can tackle and use all of that brainpower. It wouldn't be so hard to keep track of lot numbers -- they are printed on the side of the big bottles of drugs that the pharmacies get. Yeah, $50/month rather than $450/month is really really great -- but $25/month is even better! It's totally crappy that these generic manufacturers can get multiple batches right but then screw up enough times that you can't trust their stuff.

That's what's so frustrating about this whole thing. You are wondering if the differences are real or imagined or caused by differences in your life from day to day. It sure doesn't help that this is a disease where your symptoms really ARE "all in your head"! If you have a fever or high blood pressure or high blood sugar you would have a reading that would give you an objective measurement telling you whether the drug was working or not, but with depression there is no dial on the side of your head telling you a number.

I wish that the 150mg Watson and/or Teva were still on the market...

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Jesse, it did dawn on me and I addressed that exact issue maybe a page and a half ago. You like others drifting these chats don't bother to just read a little before passing judgement. Read the last post under me, that's your generics, all great stuff. It's undependable but if people don't mind being on a roller coaster than save the money and suffer. I give sound advice which if you read any of what's been said on this particular topic goes along with the majority of people's feelings who said they would scrape and dig for the extra ten to $35, rather than suffer because of inconsistent medication. Btw I didn't bring up a gun to the head, force yourself to look back a few posts and you'll see where it came from ! I have a clear head, go back as far as you can manage, I have always only given sound advice, over and over again because some loud mouth people refuse to just read back a few posts let alone a page or two. If I was cruel after being told to just up I take it back but it justs rubs me the wrong way when people are so opinionated without even knowing what we're all talking about as a whole. I'm done with this nonsense and taking baby steps with adults because they may get offended by me pointing out their own faults. Good luck, and thanks to all the level headed followers of this topic who understand my point and are not afraid to voice your opinions.

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Btw you'll she where I was told to shut up is where your gun reference originated, not from me nor did I play into it! I just don't want to be taken out of context by people who don't read a few posts back! He said it not me!, I gave it no merit at all. Okay enough of this.

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I apologize. You're right, I'm new to this page and I didn't read try to read the earlier posts... so I apologize about snapping at you

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During those times when you're not in a position to help, dont say anything.
Just common decency.
How would you feel if your comment were someone's final straw?
Just think about it and allow others to help when you dont have it in you anymore.

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Don't apologize it's not like anyone appreciates it, you have the right to voice your opinion just like everyone else does. people dont like it? Screw em! I prefer Mylan!

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All I can say is thank God for Direct Success Pharmacy and name brand Wellbutrin! I went thru hell and back with those generics! I was so confused that I couldn't figure out if I was just crazy or if there was something wrong with those pills! After getting on name brand Wellbutrin I was both relieved that it wasn't me but also angry that pharmaceutical companies are allowed to be putting this trash out on the market! I don't understand why they would be allowed to jeopardize mentally vulnerable people this way and get away with it! If there is no way to produce a comparable generic then take them all off the market! It's not fair to do this to people! But anyway, even though I am on a fixed low income I just find ways to afford the $50 a month by not eating out, cutting down on driving to save on gasoline and not running a lot of electricity!

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Thank you for sharing. I am still chasing Mylan. I will see if I can get it today.

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I checked out the time release mechanism release and decay charts on all the various manufactures of wellbutrin xl about 5years ago. Anchen matches up best with actual wellbutrin. That is what I went with and I was not disappointed. I do want to mention thou that Par pharmacuticals recently acquired Anchen. Don't know if there will be any changes to their manufacturing process of their generic. Hope not.

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Vin,
I'm have the same issues with the Par. It's not working for me at all after a few hours. I'm gonna have to get back on the Brand. I'll let everyone know if I locate another $4 manufacture coupon for 2015. For those who addressed Nino's rudeness, Thank You.

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Aundreya, the problem with the studies of the time-release mechanisms is that it only tells you the characteristics of the particular pills that they studied. Given the experiences of a lot of us, some of these manufacturers have a LOT of problems with getting the recipe right more than once in a row.

(For those of you who have more suspicious natures, one of the tricks that Ranbaxy used was to use actual samples of the brand-name drugs and submit them as their generic.)

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Oh, hey - I just found this article that goes into detail about how the FDA screwed up the generic Wellbutrin XL 300mg tablets. What is super screwed up about the whole thing is that for years, they were basically telling psych patients that the problems with the generic were "all in their head"!!! Grrr, that makes me so mad!!

forbes.com/sites/davidmaris/2012/10/10/fda-recall-points-to-serious-problems-at-the-fda/2

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