Wellness

[always wrong never right]

I just thought that some people may want to be informed. My internist and I had a very long conversation about this a week ago. I frequently have exaggerated reactions to medications, and so have always been prescribed "brand name only".

So, about a month ago, our smallish pharmacy was bought out by CVS. My three prescriptions were transferred to CVS by this little pharmacy. When I went to get them two weeks ago, CVS tried to force generic drugs on me. Despite their pleas that generic drugs are the same, I was able to walk out with my brand name drugs.

So, since I had an appointment with my internist anyway, I asked him to write new prescriptions for my meds to take to Walgreens. He readily did so, marking them all with "Do not substitute". Then he said, I do not encourage any patient to use generic drugs, because while the active ingredient may be the same, the filler is not. He said what I have believed for a very long time, that different fillers do affect the absorption and potency of the drug. Also, generic drugs may use fillers that may react poorly with your body. If I am given generic Vicodin, as I once was, I would vomit for hours shake and get a cold sweat. If I take regular Vicodin, I can function normally.

So, if you need to save money, you may want to look elsewhere and use the money you have saved on other things and spend it on brand name medications.