New - Generics chemically different from name brand?
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UPDATED: Sun, 09/14/2008 - 5:13pm
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sas46
lamictal vs. generic
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My daughter is 23 yrs old and has been on lamictal for 7 years and all has been perfectly fine. Recently the insurance company would not let her prescription be filled unless she had tried the generic brand name. She started taking the generic brand name Lamitrogine last monday and by Wednesday was having breath through seizures... She is now back to Lamictal and having a terrible time adjusting and seizure activity had restarted. It has been terribly traumatic never mind the fact she can't drive for three months now. I am wondering if anyone has gone through this and what kind of action be taken to prevent this from continuing as nobody else should have to suffer through this sort of thing.
By sas46 at Sun, 09/14/2008 - 5:13pm | 238 views | 27 comments
Topic: Medication Issues
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Recent Comments on this Discussion
YOu can call your insurance company and tell them the generic is not effective. The other thing is that many companies will take a exception from a doctor who prescribes them for you. It is a note of medical necessity or a phoneline he must call to make the exception. Speak to your insurance and ask and then to your doctor to get what you need. Insurance doesn't like to pay for ineffective treatment and further problems and testing.
My doctor recently switched my 10 yr. old to Lamictal and refused to right the RX for a generic brand. I guess I now know why.
I have had two "breakthrough" seizures on the generic for lamictal. This was a surprise as I have had 4 successful years in a row with lamictal, and the doctor was thinking about reducing the dosage and getting me off meds completely. He has told me that this has been happening to other patients, so let's get the word out.
Aetna will give it to me by mail for a 3 month supply for $100.00. But I will see what happens when they see the doctor's order.
I am somewhat at a loss here? LAMICTAL is simply the major(original) drug manufacturer's name for the drug LAMOTRIGENE! Because of this, there ought to be (must not be,) ANY difference between the two items. Lamotrigene IS Lamotrigene and that is that! As far as one's own preference is concerned, I do not see why there should be any confusion? I have been taking lamotrigene for 11 years. When I first went onto it, I always received the package "Lamictal" from the high-street pharmacists. Later when I began to use the same local pharmacist regularly [here in England I am exempt from prescription charges and simply collect my tablets there every month] and I did notice that the prescription package was alway "lamotrigene" - made by various "pill" manufacturers. Now this started years ago! As a scientist, with friends and many members of my family in the medical profession, I have never had the slightest concern. What I take, is the dosage of LAMOTRIGENE which I need, and absorption into the body, processing of the drug within the system etc, is the SAME whatever shape the tablet is, or what the packaging looks like! [I have always assumed that my pharmacist obtains his drugs from wholesale outlets where the price is (probably) cheaper than ordering the pills direct from the original maufacture; thus the lack of the title "LAMICTAL". Why shouldn't he? That's business!
I HAVE HAD SEIZURES FOR 20 YEARS NOW AND WENT SIEZURE FREE FOR 8 STRAIGHT YEARS AFTER BEING SWITCHED TO LAMICTAL. MY SEIZURES SOMETIMES CAUSE ALL MY MUSCLES IN MY BODY TO LOCK UP INCLUDING MY HEART. I WENT INTO CARDIAC ARREST TWICE AND THANK GOD SURVIVED BOTH OF THEM. MY INSURANCE COVERS NAME BRAND DRUGS, BUT WITH THE RIDICULOUS INCREASE IN COST OF LAMICTAL OVER THE LAST 8 YEARS; I HAVE REACHED MY $2500.00 MAXIMUM PRESCR COVERAGE PER YEAR FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS. THIS YEAR I COULDN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR MY LAMICTAL; SO I SWITCHED TO GENERIC. I HAD 2 SEIZURES 3 MONTHS AGO AND SWITCHED BACK TO LAMICTAL. I STILL DON'T FEEL MYSELF AND COULD POSSIBLY LOSE MY HOME DUE TO MEDICAL BILLS AND PRESCRIPTIONS. LET EVERYONE KNOW NOT TO SWITCH TO GENERICS. MY INSURANCE COMPANY WOULD ALSO RATHER PAY FOR EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS, THAN NAME BRAND MEDICATIONS. DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A CHEAP ONLINE PHARMACY. I DON'T REALLY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDICATIONS. HAS ANYONE BEEN ON INTERNATIONAL LAMICTAL WITHOUT PROBLEMS FOR AT LEAST A FEW YEARS?
yeah that happened to me they switch me to the generic i had really bad side effects blurred vision ,i broke in hives,weight gain ect. they put me back on lamictal im ajusting well good luck
I'm taking Lamictal and have a disability court date. Until I get the decision on my disability case, I'm paying full price for it and it's not cheap. I'm not well controlled on it and want to try something different anyway. I've taken Dilantin and Depakote and of course, can't remember how I wound up on Lamictal. I do remember that I feel like my Epilepsy was better controlled than it is now on Lamictal. Lamictal costs a small fortune without insurance and from what I remember, Dilantin is pretty cheap.
As I posted above, I've had my court date and am waiting for the decision in my case. Not being able to work or have any other means to support myself, I recently received Lamictal I had to order from Mexico. It was that or nothing at all. Disability doesn't pay for your meds while you are waiting for the decision to be made in your case. I'm trying to do what I can to not have seizures with what I can afford right now. If it means ordering drugs from Mexico or Canada, that's what I have to do, it's either that or not take anything at all.
In the past few weeks I've switched from generic tegretol & depakote to name brand.On adivce from my nurse friend next door & the nurse at my gp office & you guys.Now I've been on these meds so long that I don't know what it feels like to off them.But I do feel 100% better on the name brand stuff.Now we'll just have to see a improvement in sez control hopefully.Doctors should warn you.I was told that in the generic med the strength veries and the fillers are harmfull.
My daughter is now 12 years old and has been seizure free for about 2 1/2 years we the brand name Lamictal. My daughter was on the generic brand of Lamictal and was constantly having seizures. The insurance company Blue Cross/Blue Shield switched us to the generic and she started back having seizures. I tried to refill her prescriptions 2 days ago April 30 and found out the insurance company has increased the charge from $163 for a 3 month supply through Express Script to $802.96 for a 3 month supply, because they are trying to force me to use the generic. This is my child's life and I am not trying to take any more chances. I would like to know if anyone can tell me if I just give her 1 tablet a day would this also cause an effect on her. She takes 2-100mg tablets twice a day. I am a single parent and I just can not afford to pay $802.06 for a prescription.
What do we have to do to get the generic companies and insurance companies to understand that we are spending more money by having to take the patient to the emergeny rooms and more frequent doctor's visit due to the generic Lamitcal that is not working.
I haven't slept in a couple of days, because I am constantly watching her to make sure she is ok.
I am crying out for help to strangers, but I need know what else I can do.
Janice a concerned parent
Janice,
My insurance company (Capital Blue Cross) "made" me change or I had to pay the price difference between the brand and generic versions of Lamictal. I was paying $40 for a 3 month supply and all of a sudden I was told that I would be charged over $700 because there is a generic available. I talked with my doctor about it and she was irate that the FDA allows for such a thing. She wrote a letter to the insurance company indicating that it was medically necessary that I take the brand, gave them my specific health issues and requested that they "waive the ancillary fee". The insurance company came back and declined the request. She wrote several other grievance letters with no luck. Then I wrote a letter, sent copies of all of the letters my doctor sent to them and printed out all of the posts on this site about the problems people are having with this. I faxed the information to ESI PA Department at 1-800-357-9577 and told them that a "Generic" reply from them is not acceptable and I wanted more done about this issue! I am happy to say I got a letter in the mail today from Capital BC indicating that they received my appeal and based on the information I sent them for the "voluntary appeal process" they agreed to "waive the ancillary fee and allow coverage for Lamictal at your non-preferred cost-sharing level"!! What a relief!!! That letter came from the following address: Voluntary Pharmacy Appeal, Capital Blue Cross, P.O. Box 779518, Harrisburg, PA 17177-9518. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!! Just keep hounding them, and anyone else that you can get information from! Send letters, faxes and reasons why you daughter needs this assistance, get your doctor to write a letter with concerns and again DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!!!!!!!!! It will not be a fun process but the more you bother the insurance company the better chance you get someone that actually cares and realizes that this is something that you will not back down from!! Good luck to you and your daughter! Oh, I forgot to tell you that my Rx carrier is Express Scripts. If you have them try calling 717-703-8168 or the pharmacy benefits manager at 1-800-585-5794. Or general customer service number at 1-800-962-2242. Again, good luck and don't give up - trust me!!!!!!!!!!!!
My Insurance company tried the same thing..I got my doctor to insist that I get brand name Lamictal.
My son was just put on the generic lamictal but has never actually been on the brand name. Should I switch him now? He's only been on the generic for three weeks and we are slowly increasing his dosage over 8 weeks to avoid getting the dreaded rash. Any suggestions? Keep on generic or switch now?
Hi Hilary,
I'm following this thread b/c we had some issues with the generic form of Keppra for my daughter. We decided to switch to Lamictal and ramp up slowly, like you are doing. We are on the generic too, and no problems yet!
I would say keep on with the generic, because you might not have any problems with it and it is cheaper. Although you are reading posts from people who have had trouble with them, my neurologist said that MOST people do NOT have side-effects with generics. Good luck!
-Muffin
Janice a concerned parent
jan007
on Sat, 05/02/2009 - 8:43am
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REPORT THIS INFORMATION TO THE FDA, AND TO THE AMERICAN ACADEMEY OF NEUROLOGISTS. THESE GROUPS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT GENERIC DRUGS ARE NOT BIOEQUIVALENT TO BRANDED DRUGS, EVEN THOUGH THEY THINK THEY ARE BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF "ACTIVE" INGREDIENTS. FILLERS AND OTHER THINGS MAKE GENERICs VS BRANDED DIFFERENT. I HAVE HAD ADVERSE EXPEERIENCES WITH DILANTIN GENERICS, AND I DON'T LIKE PEOPLE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY INSURANCE COMPANIES OR PHARMCOS!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU
HI SPEEDER, aka Phineas T. Gage
"do not squander time, for that is the stuff that life is made of"
Is there any kind of action that can be taken by us, in bulk, that can make some sort of a difference?? we are talking people's LIVES here. Do you know of anything?
I can relate to the problems you are having with the generic lamictal because i am having the same problem. What we need to do
is ask the pharmacist what company makes the generic lamictal then contact the F.D.A. You can do this by going online at
medwatch.com you can tell them the problems that you are experiencing with the generic lamictal. Make sure you tell them
who makes the drug. If enough people complain the will take it off the market.
The first thing you need to do is let your neurologist know about being forced to switch to generic. The reason being that it is the same medicine . . . but its not the same amount. The fillers and other substances that are used make up generic lamictal is allowed to be a certain percentage per mg. My doctor at the Cleveland Clinic needed to increase my 700 mgs daily dose to 800 mgs. Be cautious though and pay attention to any side effects changes if any and dont let any pharmacist try to tell you that it is the same exact medication as the name brand. My 700 mg dose was only about 550 mgs and this had me all messed up because I took my pharmacists word for the same amount but starting having siezures again. Then I also take Keppra and Carbatrol. After things got complicated and out of control and I researched this info and talked to my neurologist about the new siezures and made the increase using generic. The side effects had my head spinning with double vision , headaches and vomiting. It was real tough for me beause I was taking over 5000 mgs of all meds combined. Everything was going great until this whole ordeal happened and it took a while for to get back on track with my mediacation adjustments and everything is fine now. I'm just preparing you for some of what you can be told and what you do in your situation .
Good luck and take care , Johnny
Hi janice.
I am truly sorry for all your daughter and you are going through. It's so sad. Nobody understands unless they go through it. We gave in to trying the generic and our daughter had seizures within 72 hrs. After the dr. called and then wrote the insurance company they allowed her to go on the regular meds again. BUT I would not mess with that. I would suggest telling your dr. and pleading with them to call the insurance co and send/sign a letter with explanation why the generics is a bad alternative. I hope the insurance will listen. We have Blue Cross and because my dau gave in so easily to generic w/o calling the dr first, we ended up in the situation we did. She was in college then and thought it would be cheaper for us. Keep us posted on here as to how it goes and fight for the right for your dau. to have the lamictal. If she has to try the generic first before going back on the lamictal I hope she does well as some actually have no issues with it. It's an awful mess the way the insurance co. are acting. You and I and others know in the long run the regular drugs are best and if it works why mess with it, but the insurance co. are just looking at the$$$ ...
Good luck and keep us posted. thanks for writing
My insurance company (Capital Blue Cross) "made" me change or I had to pay the price difference between the brand and generic versions of Lamictal. I was paying $40 for a 3 month supply and all of a sudden I was told that I would be charged over $700 because there is a generic available. I talked with my doctor about it and she was irate that the FDA allows for such a thing. She wrote a letter to the insurance company indicating that it was medically necessary that I take the brand, gave them my specific health issues and requested that they "waive the ancillary fee". The insurance company came back and declined the request. She wrote several other grievance letters with no luck. Then I wrote a letter, sent copies of all of the letters my doctor sent to them and printed out all of the posts on this site about the problems people are having with this. I faxed the information to ESI PA Department at 1-800-357-9577 and told them that a "Generic" reply from them is not acceptable and I wanted more done about this issue! I am happy to say I got a letter in the mail today from Capital BC indicating that they received my appeal and based on the information I sent them for the "voluntary appeal process" they agreed to "waive the ancillary fee and allow coverage for Lamictal at your non-preferred cost-sharing level"!! What a relief!!! That letter came from the following address: Voluntary Pharmacy Appeal, Capital Blue Cross, P.O. Box 779518, Harrisburg, PA 17177-9518. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!! Just keep hounding them, and anyone else that you can get information from! Send letters, faxes and reasons why you daughter needs this assistance, get your doctor to write a letter with concerns and again DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!!!!!!!!! It will not be a fun process but the more you bother the insurance company the better chance you get someone that actually cares and realizes that this is something that you will not back down from!! Good luck to you and your daughter! Oh, I forgot to tell you that my Rx carrier is Express Scripts. If you have them try calling 717-703-8168 or the pharmacy benefits manager at 1-800-585-5794. Or general customer service number at 1-800-962-2242. Again, good luck and don't give up - trust me!!!!!!!!!!!!
.hi! yea, my neurologist wants me to stay on the lamictal. he said that its too early to take the generic brand to know if it works or not. my mom wants me to stay on it too so we're just paying the full price. i think it's worth it in the long run. the price of lamictal is nothing compared to the price of seizures (possibly your life, hospital bills, your license etc.). good luck!
My insurance company (Capital Blue Cross) "made" me change or I had to pay the price difference between the brand and generic versions of Lamictal. I was paying $40 for a 3 month supply and all of a sudden I was told that I would be charged over $700 because there is a generic available. I talked with my doctor about it and she was irate that the FDA allows for such a thing. She wrote a letter to the insurance company indicating that it was medically necessary that I take the brand, gave them my specific health issues and requested that they "waive the ancillary fee". The insurance company came back and declined the request. She wrote several other grievance letters with no luck. Then I wrote a letter, sent copies of all of the letters my doctor sent to them and printed out all of the posts on this site about the problems people are having with this. I faxed the information to ESI PA Department at 1-800-357-9577 and told them that a "Generic" reply from them is not acceptable and I wanted more done about this issue! I am happy to say I got a letter in the mail today from Capital BC indicating that they received my appeal and based on the information I sent them for the "voluntary appeal process" they agreed to "waive the ancillary fee and allow coverage for Lamictal at your non-preferred cost-sharing level"!! What a relief!!! That letter came from the following address: Voluntary Pharmacy Appeal, Capital Blue Cross, P.O. Box 779518, Harrisburg, PA 17177-9518. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!! Just keep hounding them, and anyone else that you can get information from! Send letters, faxes and reasons why you daughter needs this assistance, get your doctor to write a letter with concerns and again DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!!!!!!!!! It will not be a fun process but the more you bother the insurance company the better chance you get someone that actually cares and realizes that this is something that you will not back down from!! Good luck! Oh, I forgot to tell you that my Rx carrier is Express Scripts. If you have them try calling 717-703-8168 or the pharmacy benefits manager at 1-800-585-5794. Or general customer service number at 1-800-962-2242. Again, good luck and don't give up - trust me!!!!!!!!!!!!
The same thing happened to me. After my pharmacist said the two drugs were the same, I had two seizures. I talked to my doctor and she said that it is because I was on the generic brand after years of being on the brand name. The only thing that my insurance company needed was my doctor to write that it had to be the brand name and I pay the same deductible. I cannot say too much more because I have contacted an attorney. I would call your insurance company and your doctor and see if you would pay the same if your doctor says you cannot use the generic. Good luck to you! You aren't alone in that mess.
Hi elizab I hope things are going well for you. Keep us posted!
About 2 to 3 weeks ago my wife got switched to generic. The Pharmacist and Doctor said it was the same and was cheaper. Since then she has had nausia and headaches everyday. Her doctor ordered an MRI and the results were the same. Tonight she had a breakthrough seizure and it felt different than seizure she has ever had. There were no blinking lights or flashes. Prior to the breakthrough she felt light headed and disoriented. Now 2 hours later she feels jittery and has a headache. She had been on Lamictal about 7 years. Tommorrow we will call her Doctor and try to switch to Lamictal brand. We are now concerned about the future results of the switch.
Joshua & Linzi
Hi everyone,
It appears many of you switched from Lamictal to the generic because of cost issues, just like myself! I am so glad I found this site because I am exeriencing Dizziness- very bad. I just switched to generic 2 days ago and couldn't figure out why I am having auras and feeling very dizzy. I've called my Dr this morning and am switching back. He strongly recommeded I stay on lamictal but I had to give this a try. Poor decision.....thank you everyone for sharing this side effect. I feel like I'm not out there alone.
Melissa Blackwell
Kansas City, MO
My insurance company (Capital Blue Cross) "made" me change or I had to pay the price difference between the brand and generic versions of Lamictal. I was paying $40 for a 3 month supply and all of a sudden I was told that I would be charged over $700 because there is a generic available. I talked with my doctor about it and she was irate that the FDA allows for such a thing. She wrote a letter to the insurance company indicating that it was medically necessary that I take the brand, gave them my specific health issues and requested that they "waive the ancillary fee". The insurance company came back and declined the request. She wrote several other grievance letters with no luck. Then I wrote a letter, sent copies of all of the letters my doctor sent to them and printed out all of the posts on this site about the problems people are having with this. I faxed the information to ESI PA Department at 1-800-357-9577 and told them that a "Generic" reply from them is not acceptable and I wanted more done about this issue! I am happy to say I got a letter in the mail today from Capital BC indicating that they received my appeal and based on the information I sent them for the "voluntary appeal process" they agreed to "waive the ancillary fee and allow coverage for Lamictal at your non-preferred cost-sharing level"!! What a relief!!! That letter came from the following address: Voluntary Pharmacy Appeal, Capital Blue Cross, P.O. Box 779518, Harrisburg, PA 17177-9518. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!! Just keep hounding them, and anyone else that you can get information from! Send letters, faxes and reasons why you daughter needs this assistance, get your doctor to write a letter with concerns and again DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!!!!!!!!! It will not be a fun process but the more you bother the insurance company the better chance you get someone that actually cares and realizes that this is something that you will not back down from!! Good luck to you and your daughter! Oh, I forgot to tell you that my Rx carrier is Express Scripts. If you have them try calling 717-703-8168 or the pharmacy benefits manager at 1-800-585-5794. Or general customer service number at 1-800-962-2242. Again, good luck and don't give up - trust me!!!!!!!!!!!!