Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2015 21:33:37 -0500
From: “stinmar1@ connectnc.net
Subject: Generic medicines
For many years I was on a medicine that controlled my blood pressure and the insurance company that covers the medicines I take dropped 90% of the brand name blood pressure medicines .
I am not the only person in Chatham county that is dealing with the new wave of generic medicines THAT DO NOT WORK ! I am going to share my experience and what my doctor said about it . I take 160mg of a drug called Diovan . It has worked for a long time controlling my blood pressure .. I tried many different drugs with my doctor originally to find one that worked for me . My drug coverage changed and the insurance company dropped Diovan from my formulary and replaced it with its generic version Valsartin. I went to pick up my prescription and it was substituted to the comparable generic dosage of Valsartin . I was told it was the same so I started taking it . Less than one hour after my first dose I was red faced and hot . I felt bad and developed a migraine . I figured it was just a migraine coming on until I took another dose the next day and had the same exact results . I didn’t realize what it did to my blood pressure and I was really shocked that my blood pressure after taking it was 190 over 123 . My blood pressure never in my life exceeded 100 on the bottom number ( diastolic ) and my top number ( systolic ) never exceed 140 . My blood pressure has been elevated since I took Valsartin where the lowest reading I have had in the last month was 155 over 103 .
My doctor explained to me that it was his understanding that drug stores are like everyone else they buy their drugs from the cheapest supplier . He said that he had several other patients complain with similar experiences after generics were substituted for their name brand prescriptions . It was his opinion that some of these generics were not chemically formulated close enough to the name brand to be effective . I do not know what company made my particular prescription of Valsartin . With that said Valsartin made by another company may be formulated more like Diovan and work just fine . I can say that the dosage I took definitely effected me in a bad way and I have not recovered from it . I am still fighting extremely high numbers even though I have received a temporary supply of Diovan . If you have a medicine that has worked for you and its substituted at the drug store make sure you talk to your doctor about ANY changes you notice after taking a generic substitute.
Doctors can ask for an exemption so a prescription is filled ( AS PRESCRIBED ) with no substitutions where the insurance company will provide the name brand that worked for you . In my case they will not even offer an exemption and expect me to be a guinea pig and try new cheap generics until I find one that works . I went through this process years ago to find one that worked and now Im forced to do it again . I cant get my blood pressure back under control and I am positive its because of what that particular generic did to me . Doctors are not mind readers so speak up its your health and your right to get medicines that work . Goodnite Mark
This is so true. I have had the same problem for years. Our insurance premiums rise every year, yet what they cover gets smaller and smaller.
Drug stores get from the cheapest supplier which may not provide the best product. So many of our generic medications come from foreign counties and are sub-standard.
Both insurance companies and drug companies will improve ONLY when we demand better.