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Keppra generics, change in manufacturers
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 06:40Newbie here, first post. I am a parent of a daughter who is a college freshman away from home. She takes 1000 mg generic Keppra 2x day to control seizures (tonic-clonic, absence, partial complex) that started 7 years ago when she was 11 (cause of seizures is unknown). We have to get our long-term prescriptions from Medco, and the generic Keppra she has taken for the past 18 months has been manufactured by Teva. Medco has just switched manufacturers to Torrent.
Has anyone had any issues with generic Keppra manufactured by Torrent? We can't be the only ones who have to use Medco. My daughter has about 20 days left of the Keppra manufactured by Teva, then she will have to switch over. The switch will happen after her midterms, so she has that going for her.
Thank you in advance for any input.
Comments
Re: Keppra generics, change in manufacturers
Submitted by linniec on Wed, 2012-08-29 - 15:22
Excipients ,aka Inert ingredients , are NOT INERT
Recently, I took a generic of Keppra that worked well for 7 years. The brand-name also costs 5000 Dollars a year. The generic,which costs 320 a year, meant unbearable itching and burning, but good control. My problem was probably one or more of the "Inert" ingredients also known as the fillers or excipients .
From the web, I found:
"The excipients and additives in drug formulations have been described as inert because they do not have an active role in the prevention or treatment of particular ailments. This has led to the misconception among physicians, pharmacists, drug manufacturers and the public that excipients are harmless and unworthy of mention. In fact, pharmacists are allowed to substitute drug formulations, without regard to the excipients, as long as they ensure that the active ingredients in the substitute are the same as those in the formulation prescribed.
The inappropriateness of the term inert is becoming increasingly apparent as evidence of adverse reactions--some fatal--to excipients mounts. The likelihood that some "active" constituents have been blamed for such reactions deserves to be investigated. The public deserves to be better protected. For example, the United States has legislation requiring complete labelling of all food, drugs and cosmetics that incorporate more than one ingredient, no matter how innocuous the constituents are believed to be. "
With the help of a smart local pharmacist, and after trying three generics, I may have found the Culprit "Inert" Excipient. Unlike mail-order or chain pharmacies, which are both luck of that month's draw, he will keep me on the same company's formulation.
Excipients ,aka Inert ingredients , are NOT INERT
Recently, I took a generic of Keppra that worked well for 7 years. The brand-name also costs 5000 Dollars a year. The generic,which costs 320 a year, meant unbearable itching and burning, but good control. My problem was probably one or more of the "Inert" ingredients also known as the fillers or excipients .
From the web, I found:
"The excipients and additives in drug formulations have been described as inert because they do not have an active role in the prevention or treatment of particular ailments. This has led to the misconception among physicians, pharmacists, drug manufacturers and the public that excipients are harmless and unworthy of mention. In fact, pharmacists are allowed to substitute drug formulations, without regard to the excipients, as long as they ensure that the active ingredients in the substitute are the same as those in the formulation prescribed.
The inappropriateness of the term inert is becoming increasingly apparent as evidence of adverse reactions--some fatal--to excipients mounts. The likelihood that some "active" constituents have been blamed for such reactions deserves to be investigated. The public deserves to be better protected. For example, the United States has legislation requiring complete labelling of all food, drugs and cosmetics that incorporate more than one ingredient, no matter how innocuous the constituents are believed to be. "
With the help of a smart local pharmacist, and after trying three generics, I may have found the Culprit "Inert" Excipient. Unlike mail-order or chain pharmacies, which are both luck of that month's draw, he will keep me on the same company's formulation.
Re: Keppra generics, change in manufacturers
Submitted by Davidsmom615 on Thu, 2012-08-30 - 09:06
It's so nice to hear other people say they don 't trust the generics of certain medications. We are having serious insurance issues with Zarontin. My son has been taking the brand name for years for absence seizures and we recently changed insurance companies and we may have to switch to the generic. He is 42 and disabled with very little seizure control so I hesitate to change one med that is working. Any input would be welcome.
Thanks.
It's so nice to hear other people say they don 't trust the generics of certain medications. We are having serious insurance issues with Zarontin. My son has been taking the brand name for years for absence seizures and we recently changed insurance companies and we may have to switch to the generic. He is 42 and disabled with very little seizure control so I hesitate to change one med that is working. Any input would be welcome.
Thanks.
Re: Keppra generics, change in manufacturers
Submitted by tewall on Wed, 2012-08-29 - 13:08
Hey everyone...hope you are well! Just a thought from a Mom who has a daughter who has failed 3 med trials and is presently on Keppra 4500mg a day. In February we started her on a supervised ketogenic diet and she has not had a seizure in 182 days. She was having absense seizures 2 to 3 times a day before that while on Keppra and zonagram. I never go with the generic as I don't trust changing manufacturers. But since becoming a Keto kid we have reduced her meds by 1000mg and after our next clear eeg (we had our first in June) she will be reduced again. Ketogenic diet is a miracle come true and if any of you are interested I would be willing to discuss it with you. Take care, Tara