Zolpidem Generic (Page 2) (Top voted first)

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ALL CVS pharmacies just changed the zolpidem from MYLAN manufacturer (out of PA) to TORRENT in India. Because generics can certain behave differently, I am nervous about taking the (10 mg) oblong peach Torrent brand one after reading some things online. I also don't like the idea of CVS using from out of the country manufacturer which HAS to be due to a better price because MYLAN brand is still very readily available. Any comments?

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151

Hey guys. Just an update for all of you like me who had our Qualitest taken away because it stopped being manufactured. Mylan isnt too horrible! Im on my 3rd night and I am reasonably confident this might work for me. BTW Mylan 10 is a round pill, kinda purplish I want to say. It feels larger than the Qualitest pill. I figured out both Rite Aid and Walgreens can order it for you even though it isnt their typical zolpidem brand they stock on the shelf, just ask for it. I would recommend a fill of like 5 pills to try it out. We all react differently and because Mylan works for me doesn't mean it's great for you. Torrent was an absolute NIGHTMARE for me! I'm still a bit depressed over Qualitest being gone, but hopefully they restart production some time in the future.

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175

I also suffer from chronic pain. After getting off virtually all of the extreme amounts of pain drugs like Oxycodone , etc., it’s left me unable to sleep because of pain. Branded Ambien puts me right out - and I and to get uninterrupted good rest - and don’t feel drugged in the morning. Unfortunately the MYLAN version almost feels as if I took a stimulant (no sleep effect at all), and while the Torrent version is slightly better, it certainly doesn’t come close to the Ambien.

It has really made me think about all generic drugs. I was always under the impression that they were “identical” .. the formulation was shared with other manufacturers when the patent was up. I now realize that can’t even be close to being true, based on the way it works.

What scares me most is if many of the drugs I am taking are actually as effective as they could/should be if I was taking “branded". Obviously if you can’t sleep you know the generic Ambien drug is not effective. But is the blood pressure, or cholesterol medication working to its potential? WHO KNOWS? This concerns me.

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260

When I moved I had to change pharmacies. I was taking zolpidem 10mg little round purple pills every night, never had a sleepless night. New pharmacy uses the teva white pills and I'm wide awake 2-3 nights a week. Going on for 3 months now and driving me nuts. How do I find a pharmacy that uses the purple pills?

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293

Teva zolpidem didn't work at all. Never had this problem w/ Mylan brand. Teva looks like a bootleg pill. Stopped taking because it was useless.

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19

The Torrant brand from CVS is the only one that works for me. I've taken 3 Mylan in the last 90 min and am still wide awake. Same thing happens with Teva. Instead of asking CVS to switch back, you need to switch to another pharmacy that carried the generic brand you prefer, that way we all have options.

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28

I am in the medical field in psychiatry and also use generic ambien. I have had a number of complaints from patients on generic equivelants especially Ambien and Lithium. According to my very knowledgable small pharmacy the FDA insists that generics can only deviate 20% or less in trials of generics as opposed to the brand name product. I recently had a serious surgery and wanted Zolpidem CR. I got something that did not work AT ALL and was costly. I then asked to go back on Qualitest Ambien. I learned from my patients that there are various generics that work differently and my pharmacist notes unless you write letters nothing gets done. I do educate my patients that not all generics are alike and like this forum most ppl like different things. If you read enough you can find a generic brand that most ppl like. Teva also seems to make decent generic products. I think with the Zolpidem CR it is a round peach colored pill and made by some company called Auredis or something like that and they are not worth it

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41

Read this story:

This company was the one that the Forbes article was about. This generic manufacturer was making generic Ambien and Lipitor along with about 80 other generics. The FDA is now going to stop them from importing, but only after 10 years of knowing they were selling pills with no active ingredients.

Ranbaxy will need new markets as FDA closes window on U.S., analysts predict. Flies in lab, diagnostic measures lead to ban on key API plant

January 27, 2014 | By Eric Palmer

What is a generic drugmaker going to do when the FDA finds flies filling its analytics laboratory and shuts down a yet another plant key to serving the U.S. market? Start looking for other markets. That is what analysts say India's generics leader Ranbaxy Laboratories is faced with now that it has only one FDA-approved facility to work with and its critical API plant is banned from supplying it.
"The Ranbaxy management has a lot of groundwork to do to regain its market share in the U.S. But now, with the U.S. in the backdrop, till it puts back things into place, the company may opt for a more aggressive strategy for other markets," Praful Bohra, a senior analyst for Nirmal Bang, told Business Standard.

It has been focusing on markets like Japan, where its parent Daiichi Sankyo is based, along with places like Australia and Malaysia. The drugmaker also is looking to build its domestic marketshare. But it takes times to build those markets, and even its domestic sales are less than half of what it does in the U.S. Ranbaxy derived about 40% of its $2.3 billion in sales in 2012 from the U.S., while India and Sri Lanka combined made up 17.6%, the newspaper said. One source told Business Standard that Ranbaxy is not even keeping pace with market growth in India.

The FDA earlier cut three Ranbaxy drug manufacturing plants off from shipping to the U.S. because of quality lapses, leaving it with just its Ohm Laboratories plant in New Jersey still able to serve its largest market. Then, last week, the agency put the export kibosh on its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility in Toansa, a plant that produced more than two-thirds of the APIs the drugmaker used for U.S. products.

The troubles have prevented the generic drugmaker from launching an exclusive generic of Novartis' ($NVS) blockbuster blood pressure medicine Diovan, although it reportedly has asked the FDA to allow it to make it at its U.S. plant and is looking to buy the API from another company. Toansa would also have produced the API for a launch of a generic of AstraZeneca's ($AZN) stomach drug Nexium when it goes off patent this spring, according to a report on moneycontrol.com.

But Toansa now joins three other Ranbaxy Indian plants in the doghouse. The FDA made 8 observations during an inspection earlier this month that led to last week's import alert for the Toansa plant, according to a Form 483 inspection report the FDA posted publicly on Monday. Inspectors said workers at the plant had been re-analyzing products that failed analytics until it could get the results it needed, overwriting old results in its database. The FDA said it had warned the drugmaker more than a year ago that it needed controls on computerized diagnostic equipment to keep unauthorized workers from deleting data, but the company had failed to take steps to fix that as well.

As for the "disrepair" inspectors noted: A refrigerator where samples were stored was dripping water, leaving a pool beneath it, and storage cabinets where important documents were stored were broken and didn't close. As for sanitation, windows in the quality control analytics lab were broken and could not be closed, allowing in flies "Too Numerous To Count."

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47

Recently I was prescribed the 5mg Zolpidem & had it filled at my local military pharmacy. No problem; they were the Mylan brand and I knew those worked. When it was time for my refill, the line at the pharmacy on post was WAY to long so I went to CVS. Yup, you guessed it, those oblong, orange/red pills that don't do DIDDLY with the added effect of me being allergic to the coating. I did have to jump through hell & high water to get the Military Treatment Facility to fill my script since it was just filled 3 days prior, but they got it done. Lesson learned. Where generics are concerned, I can ONLY take the generic Zolpidem from Mylan. Be proactive, call different pharmacies,etc. My pharmacist today said that places like CVS, WalMart, WalGreens CAN order what you want & get it there in ONE day, they are just choosing not to. Be proactive!!!

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49

Wow, I am so glad I came across this website. I realize that this is an old post and all, but I've been made out to be crazy!! As soon as CVS switched I noticed the difference. I just thought that it was me, and that maybe I just built a tolerance to them. I sadly ended up using more than what was prescribed to me, and shorting myself on pills for the month. The worst part? No one believed me that these pills were not working!!!!!! Then a few weeks ago, while on vaca with the family I borrowed my fathers white pills, and they PUT ME ON MY ARSE!!!! I then had to replace the pills I borrowed from and gave him the peach ones. He suffered the same thing using them. Needless to say CVS has lost my business and Rite-Aid gained a new customer.

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55

I started taking generic Ambien over 12 years ago. It has always worked fine and has either been Mylan or Torrent Pharmaceuticals. I just received my first batch from Teva and it does absolutely nothing. I took one, waited 30 minutes then took another, waited 30 minutes, the took another and waited 30 minutes and finally took the fourth one. I finally fell asleep after this, but only slept about 3 hours. I have asked my carrier to make sure that I am sent only Mylan or Torrent. No Teva, =.

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63

I've have ben using ambien (zolpodium for over ten years now. I'm a shift worker so since age 40 my sleep is screwed. I can tell you there is a BIG difference in the Brand ambien , brand ambien CR versus the generic zolopdiums. The brand ones are excellant quality, work perfect. BUT you pay about $#50 for 30 tabs, in Hawaii anyways, btw thats with CVS Caremark insurance.

So I have been trying different generic zolpodiums for quite a while. There is a BIG difference here. This meds comes in several strenghts. 5 mg, 10 mg and the CR is 12.5 mg.. Mylan generic works the best for me. 2nd choice is Teva, third is Sandoz. STAY AWAY from Forrest, Dr. Reddys and and Northstar. To me these pills are junk. I take and they have absolutly NO effect.

The pharmacy, including CVS can and will special order any brand you want. If they give you and argument take up the issue with their regional pharmacy manager or right to their corporate office. Also try another pharmacy if it's easier.

You have to experiment which brand works best for you. The CR version works by giving you immediately 8 mg to go to sleep then releases the rest over the remaining 7 hours. The immeidate release are 5 mg and 10 mg. What I have done for a few years is have your doctor write a 10mg to get to sleep then a 5 mg for when you wake up 4 hours later. Or try two 10 mg at sleeptime. The upper limit the doctor will give you is 20 mg per night. More than that is not a good idea for you health wise.

You really just have to experiment which brand works best for you, and in what combination, thats the bottom line.

One thing I do is about every 6 months I stop the ambien and go to either Halcion or Restoril for a month or so. These are benzos so they have a little hangover effect in the morning. But that i NOTHING compaired to not sleeping.

I have tried a lot of different sleep meds, please feel free to ask me any questions.

RickHawaii

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76

Hi I've just recieved Mylan oblong white with zm 10 on one side and G on the other. I took one as soon as they came to test them and they seemed to work very well. The reason I am posting is that ,I haven't heard of any body else with these particular type of Zolpidem tablets. So has anyone had these ones?

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79

I agree on all that . As for the Zolpidem ER , Winthrop is awesome made by Sanofi (Blue just like brand with same fillers )followed by the very quick release of Activis which is great but too much gets released sooner . Another decent one Sandoz , but it does not work for me . a lot of people like this one . I was able to get 10mg Ambien fill with my doctor writing must have brand . Have not tired for CR yet that way . One note not that is off topic. For Xanax ..Greenstone the must have from this news board is verrrry over rated . Activis (watson) is just fine !!!

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80

Zolpidem Tartrate

Torrent is manufactured in India.

Mylan is manufactured in PA

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100

Teva mylan torrent is unregulated junk ambien. Tell your phamasist! Demand real options that work!!

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110

Does anyone know if Qualitest is still manufacturing zolpidem? I was told by a Walgreens pharmacist that it has been discontinued. I like this generic the best but am unable to find in my area. I break a 10mg in half and have no side effects. Other generics give me that "hangover" feeling.

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113

I actually spoke with a CSR from Qualitest yesterday. They informed me that they are no longer manufacturing this drug and have gotten a lot of inquiries. Too bad, as this one really works for me.

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138

I posted last November regarding Zolpidem 10mg prescriptions filled at a "Mom and Pop" pharmacy that was the only pharmacy available at the time. They tasted like gasoline, and did not work. My physician I am sure was suspicious of me, not the odd medication, after 8 years of successful, unchanged [necessary - Cancer Metastatic] Zolpidem use. [I had been visiting friends in the middle of nowhere for 6 months thru November 2015].

Upon returning to Nevada, my primary goal was to find a generic [zolpidem] that was oblong that enabled breaking the pill in two, allowing a second half to be taken if I woke up. No such pill was available at Walgreens, CVS, etc., etc. HAPPILY, I located what has been a very professional, high quality pharmacy, Sav-On, [in Nevada] that provides oblong ZOLPIDEM TARTRATE NORTHSTAR RX LL 16714-0622-01. This product is as close to Ambien as any I have ever received. The Name and number are from the prescription bottle. It makes all the difference in the world. I don't recall the problem medication from November 2015, its in this blog somewhere.

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141

You are so Very lucky. I've been on Ambien then zolpidem 10mg (chronic insomnia PTSD) for close to 20 years.
I've had ALL generic forms. Only 3 worked like brand Ambien, and they've all been taken off the market. The last being Qualitest.
I'm on Teva...3 sometimes 4 hours tops of sleep. Not heavy sleep like with Qualitest.

If you can't tell the difference with any of the generics, is there anything you do to make sure they work? Take them early... Empty stomach... No caffeine... Or is it always just the same for you and you don't need to change anything?
I'm trying to do everything I can think of to make this more effective. Your feedback is welcome. :)

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144

Yes, please list whatever "new" generic works. I haven't tried Northstar which a couple people have posted that it is similar to Ambien in its efficacy. I know it's been around awhile.
Also...doctor wants me to try Lunesta.
After being on Zolpidem for 19 years I'm thinking it would not be a good switch.
I've heard it takes awhile to lull you to sleep then it may not keep you asleep.
Thanks for feedback. Unfortunately for ME, all generics do not work the same... it's about the fillers used in each one and how much active ingredient it has. I'm happy for those who don't have this issue.
I'm not fooled by "brand"...I just want something that works.

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