What Is The Best Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Xl - Watson Or Anchen? (Page 69)

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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Cathyf I appreciated your opening hypothesis regarding "trade secrets". I think you're on the wrong board if your medication is perfect for you. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I find your angry tone alarming & accusatory to the thousands here. Fact is-your Teva was recalled by the FDA for its lack of efficacy at one time & the generics are under scrutiny presently. Read up. Not sure where you're getting the idea that anyone here is suggesting generic manufacturer's are "conspiring" against their customers. (Again-another board ???). OBVI patients taking these generics would love for them to work. But they DON'T for quite a number. I guess you think you know better than numerous psychiatrists who will not prescribe the generic of Wellbutrin. Did you miss that as being the opening to this entire conversation?

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If you had read all 1360 posts on this thread, and followed the links to the history of this drug, you would know a couple of things:

1) The time-release was added to Wellbutrin because "dumping" the drug increases the seizure risk while spreading it out over hours decreases the risk. The researchers who created the drug believed that the drug worked by accumulating in the body over weeks, and that it would take up to six weeks for it to be effective. They thought that it would be irrelevant whether, over the six-week period, the drug entered the body over a 5 minute time period or a 5 hour time period in each of those 42 days. (This information is in the patient insert.)

2) The 150XL of each generic was evaluated against the 150XL Wellbutrin in healthy adult volunteers (in other words, people NOT suffering from depression.) In each case the time-release mechanism was shown to release the drug equivalently with the 150XL Wellbutrin. The seizure risk is pretty minimal at 150XL, but it does increase as the dose goes up. Rather than give those healthy, non-depressed volunteers the 300XL and 450XL doses with the seizure risk, they modeled the time-release mechanisms in the lab.

3) When, a decade later, the FDA studied the various 300XL generics against 300XL Wellbutrin, the Teva and Watson 300XL released the drug faster than the 300XL Wellbutrin. The FDA took away the Teva and Watson licenses for the 300XL, but both companies chose to take all sizes of their buproprion off the market, including the 150XL designs which ARE equivalent and had been evaluated as equivalent back at the beginning.

4) Thinking that the problems that patients are having with generics not working the same are caused by differences in the time-release behavior is speculation. It's something that we know is unique for Wellbutrin and each individual generic and each dosage, and we can't think of anything else that's different. But we may be wrong -- there may be some other difference that's causing the problem -- we don't KNOW.

5) There are huge numbers of people who react the same to Wellbutrin and every buproprion generic. There are people (like me) who post here who have the experience that they react the same with one or more generic, and differently with one or more generic. And for different people it's different generics.

6) The patients, doctors, insurance companies, the FDA, the generic drug manufacturers -- everyone EXCEPT Valeant! -- want all of the cheap generics to work exactly like real Wellbutrin at every dose. That it doesn't is because the generic manufacturers have failed to do what they intend to do, and because they don't know why their drugs don't work the same, and they don't know what they could do differently that would make their drugs succeed rather than fail.

Valeant is taking advantage of a particular situation where the generics have missed duplicating something important, and they are looting us and our insurance companies. They are the only bad guys here -- the generic manufacturers, FDA, insurance companies, doctors -- they aren't the problem.

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Cathy is totally wrong. Cathy seems content with popping inferior pills and hoping for a placebo effect. Sorry, Cat, but generic Wellbutrin is NOT comparable to the brand. CASE IN POINT: TEVA'S VERSION. I've taken it. I always felt jittery on it. Turns out, the ingredients were not timed release, rather being dumped out at once or something along those lines. TEVA voluntarily pulled its crappy drug off the market before the FDA got even more involved. Brand name Wellbutrin XL 300 mg is "gentle." Perhaps you should look for better health insurance.

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Hope's info is very good! Thx for posting (even if it IS bad news). I'm discounting Cathyf's contribution here because - 1. It's incorrect. 2. I don't put in print what I wouldn't say to your face & I would hope that isn't what would be said to anyone's face on this SUPPORT kind of forum. As to Alex I would like you to know that I am of very sufficient financial means to afford brand Wellbutrin XL, but there are a few issues for me:

-That'd be crazier than any mental issue discussed here. -see below for price (unless it WERE the $1500 as you say.....perhaps more palatable).

-I'm refuting your $1500 ballpark figure because my ins lists it somewhere around $3547 per month. Still not covered mind you. But I really should call pharmacy again & ask for cash price.

- Any way you cut it, this is the first I've EVER posted on anything & I'm doing so because most peoples' insurance simply won't cover brand & most do not have the luxury of a husband who says "Get what it is you need Baby". I thought I could offer insight about my chase to get the same results via generic, Direct Success, or Valeant Canada. And I did not. Having been on this drug since 2009 I will say again that whatever you're taking is still not the original GSK formulation. If it's working for you that's wonderful!

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Respectfully Geminiguy-If it "is what it is" & you're not crying about it, (guess you were w/your financial hardship going from BUDEPRION to Wellbutrin which is BUPROPION), & you've found your attempts to educate others on what you believe futile......WHY are you here? Just askin'

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Cathyf I digress-I will reply to your post one final time because you've made the perfect point (a reversal of your initial posting) in #6. You're now acknowledging....... "That it doesn't is because the generic manufacturers have failed to do what they intend to do, and because they don't know why their drugs don't work the same, and they don't know what they could do differently that would make their drugs succeed rather than fail".
So I'm guessing here that this is NOT NONSENSE then that people are having problems with generics. Because those generics what?.......they "don't work the same" as you said. The drugs-NOT the nonsensical humans consuming them! Brilliant. TY for posting. Come again.

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JJ,

I didn't say I wasn't crying about the FDA causing financial hardship on me. I said I wasn't crying about Anchen and Actavis not working for me. I don't expect any generic to work the same as Wellbutrin for the simple reason that the generics have fillers and dyes which are not identical to those used in Wellbutrin. Unless every ingredient (filler, dyes, active ingredient, etc.) in a generic is 100% equivalent to that used in Wellbutrin, there may be a different effect on individual brain chemistry. To say that generics and Wellbutrin are equivalent to each other is analogous to saying that a truck and a car are equivalent to each other.

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JJ, what is NONSENSE is the idea that the generic manufacturers have deliberately created an inferior product when it is within their power to create a product that works the same as brand name. They DESPERATELY WANT their product to be as good, because that's how they get paid!

Also, NOBODY KNOWS whether the generics are inferior, or just different. It may very well be that some fraction of the patients who are doing great on the generic would do WORSE on the brand name. But NOBODY is going to do that experiment, because who would pay $1500/mo when $30/month is working great? It is certainly true that real brand name Wellbutrin doesn't work very well with some people's brains and some people's depression, which is why there are lots of other drugs out there and lots of people taking them instead of buproprion. There are people out there who started on Wellbutrin back when it was new before any generics, it didn't work well for them, and so they tried something else and it worked better. Some of those people might do better on generic buproprion than on Wellbutrin. Some might do better on generic buproprion than on whatever antidepressant they ended up taking. But because of how medicine works, there is very little chance that they would even try generic buproprion after name-brand Wellbutrin didn't work for them.

We can observe different things with our individual experiences, but there is no one out there doing the rigorous and controlled studies that would allow us to understand what is really going on. Yes, there are some things that we can say we know -- like "generic buproprion doesn't relieve depression as well as brand name Wellbutrin for some people" -- but more than that we just don't know. We don't know how many people that is, just that it's more than zero. We don't know if there are any people where generic would work better. And we certainly don't know the CAUSE of the difference.

It's also POSSIBLE that the difference is caused by something that would totally surprise everyone. Maybe the shape of the pill matters? Maybe it's the minute quantity of the specific black dye which is used to print the Wellbutrin name on the pill?

And it is absolutely possible that the placebo effect matters. After all, this disease literally is "all in my head"! The very last thing I would want to do is to have to spend a hefty mortgage payment level price every month because I talked myself into name brand being better when it's not better for me.

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cathyf,

I believe cathyf could not have stated it any better. What I believe happened is that the FDA thought initially, and in good conscious, that the generics would work the same as brand based on the evaluations they did. But once actual field data came in (different reactions to generics for different people), it was apparent that their evaluations were insufficient and they knew this. The problem is that the FDA never came clean on this and admitted it to the public. Maybe they thought they had dug themselves a hole too deep to get out of and decided the lesser of the evils was to perpetuate the myth that all generics they approved were equivalent to brand Wellbutrin for all people. I believe one way to get out of this mess would be for the FDA to come clean and admit that there is no generic equivalent of Wellbutrin, classify each of the previously so-called generics as stand-alone anti-depressants, and do not remove any of them from the market unless they believe there is an unacceptable physical (not mental) safety risk based on whatever standards they use to determine the severity of physical safety risk. Each and every anti-depressant I've ever taken (Wellbutrin, TEVA, Anchen, Actavis, PAR) included literature which clearly stated to discontinue using their medication if I was experiencing any adverse reactions, either physical and mental (suicidal thoughts, for example). When Anchen and Actavis didn't work for me, I didn't blame Anchen and Actavis. I followed the instructions provided by Anchen and Actavis and quit using their medication. I never blamed any of the so-called generics for not working the same as brand Wellbutrin. I blame the FDA for saying there is. There never was, isn't now and never will be any generic equivalent of Wellbutrin which will work for everyone. The three most important things that will determine whether a medication will work for you or not are your brain chemistry, your brain chemistry, and your brain chemistry.

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I may be the only one that prefers generic Actavis over brand Wellbutrin. My very first Rx 6 years ago was filled with generic and that's what I've been taking ever since. Last week I reached my deductible for insurance so that meant my copay for medication would cost me a lot less. For the first time I requested brand Wellbutrin it still cost $78. vs $5. (for Actavis) but I wanted to see what the brand was like. To be honest, I'm not sure I like it. I can't sleep at night, even taking medication to help with sleep. I should say that I take the SR 200 mg twice a day (at breakfast and dinner). Maybe there is more stimulant in it, I don't know. Also, initially taking bupropion (Actavis) I lost weight, about 5-6 lbs and on brand Wellbutrin for some reason (even with more stimulant) I feel hungry all the time. So after 3 days on brand I went back to generic Actavis. Has anyone experienced something similar.

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"Thinking that the problems that patients are having with generics not working the same are caused by differences in the time-release behavior is speculation."

This is true. I felt no difference in mood whatsoever at any time of the day after taking TEVA Budeprion in the morning. The only difference I found between TEVA and brand Wellbutrin was the big hit in my pocketbook when TEVA was pulled from the market. Actually, when this first happened Wellbutrin was not priced out of sight as it is now. It eventually morphed into that. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have stocked up on TEVA and Wellbutrin (when the price of Wellbutrin was low) to the maximum extent possible by re-filling the prescription on the first day of the grace period.

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TarHeel, if you read through here, I think you'll find others who've said that if they began on generic they were fine. Well fine enough anyhow w/o having had Brand to compare. That said-you also will find others saying they've had much more success on the twice daily versions of generics than any XL-brand or generic. Could that be the key ? Perhaps. And I might offer that my own guess on the appetite is that the generics are packed w/fillers & binders that indeed have you full & bound. I say that only 1/2 jokingly as my own stomach was just full & bloated & irritable on different ones. If it's working for you.....great news! Be sure to stick w/same generic manufacturer. !

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"Respectfully Geminiguy-If it "is what it is" & you're not crying about it, (guess you were w/ your financial hardship going from BUDEPRION to Wellbutrin which is BUPROPION), & you've found your attempts to educate others on what you believe futile......WHY are you here? Just askin'"

To specifically answer your question, I only came back because I liked cathyf's post and wanted to complement her on it. But look no further than the post of the person below who doesn't have a clue that TEVA Budeprion worked well for thousands of people even though it's been posted many times on this site and other sites. And after cathyf and I say the same thing about TEVA Budeprion now someone else will come along who also doesn't have a clue about the success of TEVA Budeprion and post the same thing. This is the futility I'm talking about.

"CASE IN POINT: TEVA'S VERSION. I've taken it. I always felt jittery on it. Turns out, the ingrediants were not timed release, rather being dumped out at once or something along those lines. TEVA voluntarily pulled its crappy drug off the market before the FDA got even more involved."

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Teva pulled its version of wellbutrin after hundreds of consumers got involved with the people's pharmacy organization, which ultimately led to a successful lobbying of the fda to review teva's inferior offering.

Cathy has no idea what she is talking about. She offers that generic bupropion is better for some people than brand. At most, that is a placebo. It would never be clinically proven. The fact that I have to state the obvious, is pretty sad.

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Cathyf is incorrect about one thing for certain......the drug is "Bupropion"....NOT "Buproprion". And not Budeprion either.
I am more confident than ever in my decision to quit chasing anything to mimic Wellbutrin & to stop the medication. CLEARLY anything else is, well, SOMEthing else. When a Dr writes RX for Wellbutrin, that is the drug he/she intended for you & it either works or doesn't. The only thing any generic has in common with Wellbutrin is the bupropion. And that's precisely why countless Dr's will not write scripts for any generic of this particular drug. Annnnnndddd back again to the opening question that started this all-looking for the best generic. There isn't one. Just look at Alex lolol-he's high on life w/brand. Great news for Alex!! Most who've come here had that & want it back.

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As to Geminiguy.....Budeprion is not Wellbutrin.

From webmd: "Bupropion is the generic or chemical name of the drug and Budeprion and Wellbutrin are brand names. Drugs can have both a generic name and a brand name. The FDA released a statement that the brand named medication; Budeprion XL 300 mg is not therapeutically equivalent to the brand named medication Wellbutrin XL 300 mg. This means that these two versions of bupropion XL 300 mg do not work the same when given to patients."

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JJ - TEVA's version of generic Wellbutrin XL was called "Budeprion XL." In 2012 or 2013, TEVA voluntarily pulled its generic version off the market.

It is safe to stop abruptly. Unless you have a seizure disorder, are under a ton of stress, and malnourished, it's fine to just stop taking it.

As I wrote in my previous reply: Cathy is mistaken about a lot of stuff.

Editor's note: We do not verify the credentials of our users and nothing stated in our forums is intended to be taken as medical advice.

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Wondering if anyone still doing trial & error with all of this has anything to add or if our sidetrack discussion put people off. ??
OR enlightened anyone.??
Please keep posting. I have an open mind if anyone's found gold with all this digging.
Anyone have a report on how Valeant Canada's Wellbutrin is working out?

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cathyf,
I am going to refrain from this part of the discussion but there is one thing that I have to comment on.
As someone suffering from depression,as I assume you are since you are on this drug and haven't stated otherwise, how can you make a statement like this:
"And it is absolutely possible that the placebo effect matters. After all, this disease literally is "all in my head"!"

Don't those of us with mental illness get dismissed enough by the outside world saying that it is "all in our head"? On top the mental illness I have a chronic illness that is mostly invisible to the outside world and have it dismissed with the same phrase. One of the most damaging things you can do to someone suffering from these things is to dismiss what they are going through.

Maybe you meant it to be joking, but we shouldn't be flippant with remarks that are used to discredit and undermine this community. Those of us with mental illness have enough stigma to deal with.

I am sorry but I just can't let remarks like that slide anymore. We are coming to a crossroads in society and we need to advocate to get mental health beyond the stigma and the proper attention and treatment it deserves.

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JJ,

Yes, I am in the midst of a methodical experiment with generics. Long story short with my case; nearly life-long depression and diagnosed with MS 5 years ago, started on SR generics with widely rates of success over the course of a year or so, when the one generic I did well on was no longer manufactured I switched to name-brand but it was name-brand IR because it was all my insurance would cover. That was the best month of my life; I finally understood why my doctors put me on this medication. Unfortunately GSK had decided to stop manufacturing the IR formula. I lost all my appeals with my insurance to get on another form of name-brand. After some research I began to suspect the release system. I have never been good with the extended release of any drug. I always need more before the next scheduled dose, which is hell with allergy meds let me tell you. A pharmacist friend took my spreadsheets and expanded them to help me create a comparison between name-brand and all the available generic brands of IR bupropion. I have been on our top choice for several months now.

My conclusions for ME on the Mylan IR. It seems ok. Not the worst that I have been on, but not the best. I have put on about 10lbs that I can't seem to lose (which is a major issue for someone who is a recovering anorexic/bulimic). The constipation seems to have increased as well. I am not having severe suicidal ideation but my anxiety levels are still far above where I like them. My doctor and I looked over the list again and both agree that I should try the Teva IR next, as it has other ingredients that match the original that the Mylan lacks. Plus the Mylan contains lactose which I seem to be developing a greater intolerance for. The next hurdle is finding a pharmacy around here that can get it and will honor the "only refill with this brand" instruction. Walgreens was fabulous with this but continuing the tradition of my life being a farce of some Trickster God, Walgreens cannot get the Teva from their supplier. So I will continue to take the Mylan while I hunt for a pharmacy that can. I will update everyone on the next phase when I have some results.

Hang in there everyone. Write everything down, keep records. Remember we know our bodies best, we are our best advocates, and it isn't just "all in our heads".

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