What Is The Best Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Xl - Watson Or Anchen? (Page 71) (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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REPORT

I have tried MANY of the generic xl. I had high hopes for Par, but about 2 2/2 months into it, I started the downhill slide. After much research, I decided to try the SR and went with Sandoz. That was the closest I have come to brand. However, I was still battling some brain fog and late afternoon fatigue. My doctor suggested adding a very small dose of Adderall (generic) - 5 mg 2X/day. That is the magic combo for me. Also, I always thought Wellbutrin XL, and I was on the brand name for YEARS, made me emotionally "flat". I didn't care as long as the depression was gone. With the generic sr I think I am more myself than I have been in a very long time. My heart goes out to anyone struggling to find an affordable solution.

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@Crybaby. Call your insurance and explain that that 90 day prescription isn't working. They will probably work with you to approve an earlier refill. I had to do it once. I'm on Actavis for the second time. So far I'm doing ok. It's been around a month. It's the generic available one with the least side effects. I tried it a few years ago and after about 2 months I thought it wasn't working as well as my old Watson. But Watson is off the market, the brand is too expensive, and Par and Mylan had negative side effects, I'm trying to make this one work. It's interesting how this drug and the many versions have so many different effects on different people. Good luck.

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What I got from turkey is zyban not Wellbutrin. I'm scared to take it.

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Bobinflorida. I am one of the ones who has insurance and using the coupon. I pay for insurance, but my copay after billing my insurance is still around $900 a month. I can't afford that. Why is it my fault that the price is so high?

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"Bobinflorida. I am one of the ones who has insurance and using the coupon. I pay for insurance, but my copay after billing my insurance is still around $900 a month. I can't afford that. Why is it my fault that the price is so high?"

It's not your fault. It's your insurance company setting this copayment. It's most likely your insurance company is paying much more than $900 a month to Valeant. Let's just say for example $1,200 a month. In order for your insurance company to make a profit, it can only absorb part of the cost of what it pays Valeant. In this case, your insurance company is running a loss of $300 a month but more than making it up in insurance premiums. That's why your paying a copayment of $900 a month. Valeant only makes a profit on it's coupons through what the insurance companies pay Valeant on what Valeant charges the insurance companies. The only way Valeant will bring the price of Wellbutrin down is when the insurance companies refuse to cover Wellbutrin at all or only pay Valeant enough for Valeant to lose profit.

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Just keep in mind that Wellbutrin by Valeant in Canada, is NOT the same as the Wellbutrin manufactured by Valeant in the US. This was confirmed when I called Valeant when the Wellbutrin I got from Canada did NOT work for me. The person told me that the regulations in Canada are different. I didnt ask what that meant, I just needed to know it wasn't my imagination that the Canadian version wasn't the same.

It could be just fine for some people.

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You need to have your physician prescirbe the medicine and SPECIFY no generic substitution. That is the only way you can get the non-generic brand

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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 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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"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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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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One more thing Crosbysmom-is the Valeant you're taking now made "for North America" on the bottom of the lengthy label? If so-that's what I was rcvg from Direct Success. I want to reiterate that when I ordered Wellbutrin XL through Canada, made in Canada I knew the pill markings would be diff. Pills are imprinted w/"WXL 150". I did NOT know beforehand that the ingred would differ. And they do.
I'm going to find out what US pharmacies stock when it comes to using the Valeant discount card.
Others can say I'm a woman w/too much time on my hands. No-I'm a woman who knows her body & am MAKING the time to try to help myself & others who know none of this is anything we'd desire spending time on IF any generic was effective.

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I take the generic for Wellbutrin XL which is Bupropion XL in 300mg. It is made by Watson. I have never been on the name brand so I don't know of any differences. It helps with my depression and i don't have any side effects. I was getting it filled at WalMart but figured it would be even cheaper if i had it filled through insurance mail order for 90 days instead of 30 days. Just got it today and it looked different and realized it was made by Anchen. Which is why i am on here to see if there are any differences.

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A little Googling CAN hurt, if the Googler doesn't understand what he or she is reading. If you have a basic understanding of statistics and you read the FDA methodology for testing bioequivalence, you will see that the FDA does NOT allow drugs with 80% bioequivalence to be sold as generics. That is as gross misunderstanding of the methodology, And giving people incorrect information only helps to spread misinformation.

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Hmm... The recent posts seem to show that my theory of Anchen BP XL 150 being "speedier" than Mylan - is wrong. Perhaps there are differences between the generics that are more complex than release pattern. Or maybe it's just individual differences in our brain chemistry amplifying and distorting otherwise tiny differences in the various versions of the drug.

I exhausted my refills going to several Walgreens trying to get anything other than Anchen. The pharmacists were friendly but clueless as to the nature of my predicament. Each pharmacist (sometimes even at the same Walgreens) told me a different story as to why I couldn't get Mylan thru Walgreens.

One pharmacist told me Bupropion was just another generic SSRI. Another pharmacist told me to try PAR. So I bought a month's supply only to find out that PAR/Anchen are the same. Walgreens would not refund me and added: By-the-way, your insurance won't pay for any more refills for awhile now, since you've "refilled" several times in the last month.

Re mom-and-pop pharmacies: I want to support local business, but... I went to my local independent pharmacy with the intention of making them my go-to for meds. And I was treated even WORSE than I was at Walgreens. They said no they can't get Mylan, they only carry a generic version. I asked which manufacturer they source from and was told dismissively, "I dunno, some generic."

When my insurance kicks in again, I'll be trying Watson from CVS.

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I am taking the generic since April 2012 AND LOVE IT!!! I take 300 mg of Burpropion XL, 1x day. It works WONDERFULLY for me; I have lost over 40# or so, and it is GREAT for my depression!

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Unfortunately 50 off of 385 still leaves me 300 a month more for brand ... Insane ... Luckily there is ONE generic that works fairly closely for me - I just have to call around each time to see which pharmacy has that one that month ... Sigh ... It's, well, pardon the pun, depressing ..

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It takes roughly for to six weeks got meds like this to start working.

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wellbutrin is indeed generic.. it's the original generic forZyban which I was prescribed when it was very new in 1996 I believe. So I guess now there is a generic for the generic???

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