beware of generic drugs...

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c palmer - 09 Mar 2006 11:21 GMT

i found this article in the newspaper and wanted to pass it on. it was
written by joe and teresa graedon of the people's pharmacy.

~ curtis

============

president bush is pushing for the food and drug administration to
approve more generic drugs and to do it faster. the idea is to save
money for insurance companies and government programs such s medicaid
and veterans affairs that spend billion of dollars on prescription
drugs. it should also benefit consumers without insurance.

generics are supposed to be identical to their brand name counterparts.
manufacturers must prove only that their "copy cat" product is absorbed
into the body just like the original brand name drug. since research
costs are significantly lower generics are generally cheaper, sometimes
by 50 % or more.
valium prescribed for anxiety costs $30 for 30 pills. the azepam cost
about $9 dollars. prozac costs roughly $100 dollars for a month's supply
while generic fluoxetine is $35. not all savings are so dramatic, but
for someone taking three or four prescriptions, the savings add up.

but are all generic drugs truly equal to their brand-name counterparts?

the FDA requires excellent data before approving "knock off" drugs, but
once a generic is on the market, a different branch of the agency is
supposed to monitor for quality. some drugs might be falling through the
cracks.

we have heard from dozens of readers who have experienced problems with
their generic medicines.

"i tried to take generic lopressor with terrible results. my blood
pressure shot up within two days on the generic, but dropped 20 points
after returning to the brand name"

another reader complained: "i was taking hytrin to treat an enlarged
prostate. when using hytrin, i had no problem urinating, but then the
pharmacy substituted terazosin.

almost immediately, i had trouble. but the flow is almost nonexistent
and does not relieve the pressure on my bladder."

"with hytrin, i get up once at night to urinate. with terazonsin, it is
every hour throughout the night."

some health care professionals are convinced that certain generic
medications are less effective.

"i am a medical assistant for three orthopedic surgeons who do total
joint replacements. one of my main duties is to call in refills for pain
medication after surgery. our surgeons specify brand name medicines like
vicodin and lortab because some generic substitutes don't
relieve patient's pain"

the FDA has expressed interest in such experiences.

anyone who would like to report problems with their medicine an contact
us with details. send e-mail to pharmacy@mindspring.com. we will pass
your experience on to the FDA.

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc

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Pete - 09 Mar 2006 18:21 GMT

Hi Curtis...I think we have all read or heard about this sort of thing
before. It sure doesn't make a lot of sense if you are a technical person.
There are active and inactive (or inert)ingredients in drugs and it is
supposed to be the active ingredient that "does the job". So it would seem
that if some generic drugs don't work for some people (but the brand name
does), that there must be a relation between the active and inactive
ingredients that has something to do with the drugs working (although this
is not supposed to be the case, I do not believe).

Other than that it would have to be the dreaded placebo effect. Placebo
effects are strange things, especially when you get into things like voiding
good versus having difficulty voiding, and one would think it wasn't your
imagination making you void in one case but not the other.

Unless there is something in the inert ingredients of drugs that prevents
the active ingredient from getting absorbed properly, I say generics should
be just as good, and I personally have trouble with the placebo effect being
the reason that a generic drug doesn't work as good...Pete

> i found this article in the newspaper and wanted to pass it on. it was
> written by joe and teresa graedon of the people's pharmacy.
[quoted text clipped - 65 lines]
> old is invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
> http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc

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c palmer - 09 Mar 2006 23:46 GMT

hi pete - i do know that there is a double standard when it comes to
drugs. the generic drug falls under a different guideline for
maintaining a standard than the name brand drug.

i, personally, am not saying one thing or the other about generic drugs
other than relaying information.

i posted this at the alt.support.cancer.prostate newsgroup and someone
ask me about who the source is and what do they know about medicine. so
i went ahead and posted this. this is the author's bio.....

~ curtis

========

leonard wrote:

I would like to know the real source of this information. It could
easily be disinformation from drug manufacturers. I'm particularly
suspicious about anyone calling generic drugs "knock off" drugs. I've
used generics for many years for a variety of ailments and never had a
problem, and I would want something stronger than what was reported here
before changing. Of course, one exapmple doesn't prove anything, but the
same could be said for other anecdotal information.
=========
hi leonard - here's the source of the person who wrote the article......
~ curtis
----------------------------
The People's Pharmacy with Joe and Terry Graedon
ABOUT THE GRAEDONS
About People's Pharmacy and the Graedons
In 1976, when The People's Pharmacy was originally published, it was one
of the first books providing drug and health information to consumers.
It went on to become a number one best-seller. Since then, Joe and Terry
Graedon have written many more books in the People's Pharmacy series.
In addition, Joe and Terry write The People's Pharmacy syndicated
newspaper column, which is widely distributed in the United States and
abroad, and they also co-host an award-winning health talk show that
airs weekly on over 500 stations through public radio, the InTouch Radio
Reading Service, and the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. The
Graedons are frequent guests on television news and information programs
to discuss issues relating to drugs, herbs, home remedies, vitamins and
related health topics. Appearances include public television, Dateline
NBC, "20/20," "Extra," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Good Morning America,"
"CBS Morning News," and "NBC Evening News with Tom Brokaw."
The People's Pharmacy got its start in 1972 in a small village in the
state of Oaxaca, Mexico, where Terry was doing research in medical
anthropology. Joe began writing a book to explain medications in an
easy-to-understand, friendly style. His master's degree in pharmacology
from the University of Michigan and his teaching experience with medical
students prepared him for this undertaking.
Terry completed her doctoral degree from the University of Michigan and
the Graedons moved to Durham, NC. Terry taught at the School of Nursing
and the Department of Anthropology at Duke University and completed a
postdoctoral fellowship in medical anthropology at the University of
California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Joe has taught at Duke University School of Nursing and the UCSF School
of Pharmacy and is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Pharmacy, where he also serves on
the Board of Visitors.
Joe has served as a consultant to the Federal Trade Commission on
nonprescription drug advertising and is a member of the Society for
Neuroscience. He received the Medical Self-Care award for The People's
Pharmacy. Terry belongs to the American Anthropological Association and
the Society of Medical Anthropology.
The Graedons were awarded the Silver Award for public affairs from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They also received the "Health
Headliner of 1998" Award from America Talks Health for "superior
contribution to the advancement of medicine and public health
education."
Joe and Terry were named Ambassadors of the City of Medicine in 1999 and
were the 1999 Harriet Cook Carter Distinguished Lecturers for the Duke
University School of Nursing.
Joe And Terry's Core Values And Beliefs
Joe and Terry are guided by these values in all their work:
Respect for people's ability to make informed decisions about their
health
Honesty and integrity in communication and actions
Care, compassion and fairness as the guiding principles for all
institutions serving people
Books by Joe and Terry Graedon
The People's Pharmacy #2
(Avon, 1980)
Joe Graedon's The New People's Pharmacy #3: Drug Breakthroughs of the
'80s
(Bantam, 1985)
Totally New and Revised The People's Pharmacy (St. Martin's Press, 1985)
50+: The Graedons' People's Pharmacy for Older Adults (Bantam, 1988)
Graedons' Best Medicine: From Herbal Remedies to High-Tech Rx
Breakthroughs
(Bantam, 1991)
Aspirin Handbook: A User's Guide to the Breakthrough Drug of the '90's
(Bantam, 1993) with Tom Ferguson, M.D.
People's Guide To Deadly Drug Interactions (St. Martin's Press, 1995,
1997)
The People's Pharmacy: Completely New and Revised (St. Martin's Press,
1996, 1998)
Dangerous Drug Interactions
(St. Martin's Press, 1999)
The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies (St. Martin's
Press, 1999)
Also by Joe Graedon
The People's Pharmacy
(St. Martin's Press, 1976)
No Deadly Drug
(Pocket Books, 1992)
a novel by Joe Graedon and Tom Ferguson, M.D.

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc

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