[Schatje]

I just had an appointment with my pdoc yesterrday and he said that the generic of Lamictal, Lamotrigine, is now available and has been for about 3 weeks. I love when good drugs go generic. He says he hasn't had anyone react poorly to it, but then again it has only been 3 weeks. Hopefully it proves itself to be just as good as the name brand.

[MyBestKids2]

Yes, my Lamictal dropped from $420 to $280..still alot, but definitely makes a difference!!


Dee

[sweetsassafrass]

No problems with mine. I've been on it about 3 weeks and can't tell the difference!

Only difference is my new pill is a cute diamond shape, not the expensive, high-dollar pentagon-shaped one.

{{to hugs and cheaper drugs!}}

[Schatje]

Well I'm pretty bummed about the shape, but really glad to hear you haven't noticed a difference.

[iamtwilight]

basically, there shouldn't be a difference since the active ingredient is still the same.

it's just the other ingredients that are now some cheaper ingredients than in the original lamictal. weird enough, sometimes people feel like the generic doesn't work OR works better - i don't know why though. very mysterious.

[a personal experience - i think the risperdal (risperidone) they gave me at the hospital worked better than the one they prescribed me to be taken at home!]

hope lamictal going generic has been helpful for you guys! =)

I had a friend who was on Ambien & then her ins. co. insisted she take the generic version & IT DIDN'T WORK. Besides the active ingredient there is some difference in the compilation & it didn't work for her so she was stuck with a useless drug or paying out of pocket which she couldn't afford so we have another sleepless bipolar--not good.--Suzy

[Schatje]

Yes, the active ingredient is the same, but sometimes with generics they are not absorbed into the body in the same way. When a drug goes generic there is a period of time where the effectiveness of the generic is in question because it is new even though the active ingredient is tested and effective. All very weird and usually if one works for you then the other will too, but there is always that question.

This sort of stuff can be very interesting. For example the name brand Effexor and its generic Venlafaxine. The name brand is typically better tolerated by the body because of the rate in which it releases the drug into your body and therefore easier to use when trying to get to a therapeutic dosage at a faster rate. In my case I was able to increase my dosage of Effexor to a therapeutic dosage in under half the time it would have taken with the Venlafaxine even though the key ingredient is the same. Once we did this and I had successfully acclimated my body to the drug I was then able to go onto the generic with no difficulty.