Bigbob Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Ive noticed when you go to the chemist to get a repeat prescription you never seem to get the same tablets by the same manufactures twice its obviously comes down to where they can source them the cheapest ?. now the tablets should be identical in there make up but i'm sure different brand have different affects on me ? anybody else think so ?or is it all just in the mind ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondoggy Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 I'm with you on that one. I hate different shapes, sizes and colour, it wrecks my system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 My Doctor always prescribed me Clarityn which is brand name for my hay fever instead of the generic loratadine which is identical but a lot cheaper. The pharmacist asked me to tell the Doctor not to use brand names. I mentioned it next time and got Clarityn again, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushkin Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Is it not a case that chemists have to source the correct medication regardless of the name but at the best price? Interesting to know from someone in the profession itself? Pushkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me matt Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Ive noticed when you go to the chemist to get a repeat prescription you never seem to get the same tablets by the same manufactures twice its obviously comes down to where they can source them the cheapest ?. now the tablets should be identical in there make up but i'm sure different brand have different affects on me ? anybody else think so ?or is it all just in the mind ?. My daughter is epileptic, her consultant has said NOT to change brands, so far our local chemist has supplied the correctly branded medication. But yes- it sounds like there could be some variation between manufacturers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 I have Salbutemol inhaler for asthma relief. For years it's was always 'Ventolin' and periodically dependant on what the pharmacy has in stock I've had different brands some of which have made me wheeze worse or given no relief. I believe some of the generic Salbutemol inhalers use different ingredients/propellants. I've mentioned this to Dr's and he prescribes 'ventolin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 The only tablets I have on repeat prescription couldn't be sourced by my pharmacy some time ago, so I now have a replacement which I find I need a double dose of to gain the same effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VULTURE Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 I have Salbutemol inhaler for asthma relief. For years it's was always 'Ventolin' and periodically dependant on what the pharmacy has in stock I've had different brands some of which have made me wheeze worse or given no relief. I believe some of the generic Salbutemol inhalers use different ingredients/propellants. I've mentioned this to Dr's and he prescribes 'ventolin' Exactly the same for me as well,same for my nebuliser nebules. Cheers. Vulture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clakk Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Not here been on the same meds for diabetes for a couple of years now and always get the same two brands of Loristan and Canolgliflozin month in month out.Well either that or my chemist prints his own labels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) I am with you on this I have to take about 6 tabs every day mostly for hart problems and it seems that every time I get my tabs from the chemist half of them are from different makers it says that they are the same stuff but different shape and size. Edited March 4, 2017 by four-wheel-drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger-Mouse Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Ive noticed when you go to the chemist to get a repeat prescription you never seem to get the same tablets by the same manufactures twice its obviously comes down to where they can source them the cheapest ?. now the tablets should be identical in there make up but i'm sure different brand have different affects on me ? anybody else think so ?or is it all just in the mind ?. Definitely not in your mind. My chemist once rang me to ask if I minded if they changed the brand of a cream that was on my prescription. Apparently the one the doctor had written up was £300 for a 50gm tube! When you hear prices like that it makes you really appreciate the NHS and our cheap prescriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Definitely not in your mind. My chemist once rang me to ask if I minded if they changed the brand of a cream that was on my prescription. Apparently the one the doctor had written up was £300 for a 50gm tube! When you hear prices like that it makes you really appreciate the NHS and our cheap prescriptions. I don't think people realise how much most drugs do indeed cost! Re the initial question, as a general rule generic medicines are EXACTLY the same, no difference whatsoever, the laws are strict. There are some medicines however that can be different, but not the pharmacological activity, more to do with absorption or 'bio-availability' that can effect the efficacy of the drug. Some of the excipients may differ, changing the rate of absorption, but these must be within guidelines and not affect the safety of the drug. It should be noted though, that a generic drug may intentionally be different, law states that there should be 'bio-equivalence' if it is to be a generic competitor, thats really up to the skill of the pharmacist to interpret. As already stated, anti-epileptics are one of these groups of medicines that a Dr would prescribe a specific brand, there are others, but not many. What is interesting is, that Ventolin has been mentioned, there is several cohorts of evidence suggesting that large percentages of patients can detect a difference between Ventolin and generic salbutamol, my 4 year old son is an example, his asthma is easier controlled with ventolin. This really should not be the case, but it is...... Edited March 4, 2017 by kyska Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 On the subject of cost - I'm on a course of Iron injections, our local Hospital charges my Doctors surgery £300 per injection ( course of 6) + £10 for each complication I suffer from on their list i.e. high blood pressure etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith RW Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 My Doctor always prescribed me Clarityn which is brand name for my hay fever instead of the generic loratadine which is identical but a lot cheaper. The pharmacist asked me to tell the Doctor not to use brand names. I mentioned it next time and got Clarityn again, Try asda's own brand off the shelf .... cheap as chips and work for me ... been suffering with the fever for more than 40 years and must have spent a reirement fund with the NHS up until giving the supermarket brand a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krugerandsmith Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Definitely not in your mind. My chemist once rang me to ask if I minded if they changed the brand of a cream that was on my prescription. Apparently the one the doctor had written up was £300 for a 50gm tube! When you hear prices like that it makes you really appreciate the NHS and our cheap prescriptions. Makes you realise how the NHS is being ripped off compared to other European countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondoggy Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 I don't mind if they source it cheaper, I just want the same shape, size and colour of all of my tablets every month. I decant them weekly in to a Pill Minder and I like to know, at a glance, that I have got the correct tablets in the correct compartments, simples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Definitely not in your mind. My chemist once rang me to ask if I minded if they changed the brand of a cream that was on my prescription. Apparently the one the doctor had written up was £300 for a 50gm tube! When you hear prices like that it makes you really appreciate the NHS and our cheap prescriptions. This is why pharmacists ask doctors to prescribe the drug rather than the brand. If a doctor prescribes neurofen for example, the pharmacist HAS to dispense neurofen, if the dr prescribes ibuprofen, then the pharmacist can dispense any ibuprofen which matches the prescription. This is so the drugs that HAVE to be branded are always dispensed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Kyska above gives some good information re the question asked and as said all medicines are regulated tightly by the Medicines health regulatory authority (MHRA As part of the prescribing process, prescribing generically (non proprietary) is encouraged, this enables any suitable product to be dispensed saving delay to the patient and sometimes a saving to the nhs. The British National Formulary (BNF prescribers bible) states " The only exception is where there is a demonstrable difference in clinical effect between the manufacturers version of the formulation, making it important that the patient always receives the same brand, in such cases the brand name or manufacturer should be stated". Re cost i will give you an recent example of a change in prescribing practice for one small area in primary care (community ) for some medicines both on prescription. Many trusts make up the total of services across the uk so multiplied. changed one single specific brand of transdermal patch analgesia (pain patch absorbed through skin) to a generic biosimlar medicine (see kyska above) made a cost saving of approx £300, 000 (yes three hundred thousand before anyone thinks it is a typo?) in 12 month period alone. in the bnf: generic transdermal x5 patch 12mcg per 1 hour approx cost £12.59 brand transdermal x5 patch 12mcg per 1 hour approx cost £ 18.11 another change made to E45 brand cream to as biosimlar emollient cream for topical application (onto skin) made cost saving of £30,000 in a 12 month period. When prescribing the E.A.S.E process is central to the process. The drug: is it Effective ? is it Appropriate ? is it Safe ? is it cost Effective ? As you can see that is just a couple of real examples of savings, the nhs has had a huge overhaul of its prescribing practice and medicines management in the last three years for the most effective use of resources. Cost alone to the nhs in medicines from 2014-15 was approx 20 billion alone, 1.25 million prescriptions dispensed daily, over a billion a year and growing Admin cost to nhs for every single px cost approx £10 outside of cost of medicine just to throw you some numbers. Could go on and on. These are all recent stats. Any way just off for a meal, that's me done! atb 7diaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 ^^^ Good post. It puts hair on your chest thinking how much we actually from the NHS, poor lass in on her knees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me matt Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 I don't think people realise how much most drugs do indeed cost! Re the initial question, as a general rule generic medicines are EXACTLY the same, no difference whatsoever, the laws are strict. There are some medicines however that can be different, but not the pharmacological activity, more to do with absorption or 'bio-availability' that can effect the efficacy of the drug. Some of the excipients may differ, changing the rate of absorption, but these must be within guidelines and not affect the safety of the drug. It should be noted though, that a generic drug may intentionally be different, law states that there should be 'bio-equivalence' if it is to be a generic competitor, thats really up to the skill of the pharmacist to interpret. As already stated, anti-epileptics are one of these groups of medicines that a Dr would prescribe a specific brand, there are others, but not many. What is interesting is, that Ventolin has been mentioned, there is several cohorts of evidence suggesting that large percentages of patients can detect a difference between Ventolin and generic salbutamol, my 4 year old son is an example, his asthma is easier controlled with ventolin. This really should not be the case, but it is...... Very contradicting post, after reading it I'm none the wiser..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Very contradicting post, after reading it I'm none the wiser..... Go on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me matt Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Go on... You say - "medicines have to be the same by strict laws", then you said "There are some medicines however that can be different, but not the pharmacological activity, more to do with absorption or 'bio-availability' that can effect the efficacy of the drug. Some of the excipients may differ, changing the rate of absorption" Not really making medicines the same after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Exactly the same for me as well,same for my nebuliser nebules. Cheers. Vulture Interesting that you mention the nebules,I think only Once have I ever dispensed an alternative brand of nebules. I used them and noticed no lack of effectiveness or other ill effect which lead me to believe that the difference I've experienced with genetic Salbutemol inhalers over is due to different ingredients/propellants used in the inhalers but not in a nebuliser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlaserF3 Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 I have a repeat prescription and I use Boots chemists, the tablets are always the same brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) You say - "medicines have to be the same by strict laws", then you said "There are some medicines however that can be different, but not the pharmacological activity, more to do with absorption or 'bio-availability' that can effect the efficacy of the drug. Some of the excipients may differ, changing the rate of absorption" Not really making medicines the same after all. I see. See my other comments, the pharmacological properties are the same, the law states that generic drugs have to have 80-120% of the same action, with most drugs this is an insignificant shortfall or over action. The drugs that are vital to be consistent are the branded products that doctors would specifically prescribe. Exemplar, ibuprofen generally takes about 30 minutes to start to relieve pain efficiently, any generic ibuprofen must act within 80% of 30 minutes or quicker. Edited March 4, 2017 by kyska Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.