Generic meds

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Itr786

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Hi,
Has anyone had issues with their GP being very hesitate with offering their patients branded medication, instead forcing them to take generics?...

I've been on keppra and lamotrigine for afew years, and I'm very sensitive to which version I take.
I've been supplied a change of brand in the past, and reacted really badly to them, it's caused a number of seizures not long after taking them...

I've made it clear in the past I'd like to stay on the same branded version, but everytime I have a change of dosage via my consultant, and I need my prescription updated, my surgery seem to constantly put me back onto the generic versions!?...

So I've had a change of dosage again, report in hand, I went in to the surgery, showed the secretary, she told me they'd have it updated by the following morning.
So I pop in to pick up the updated prescription, get home, and realise they'd done it again, put me back onto the generic version.

I go back in (like I have nothing better to do) and she stated the GP was only willing to give me the generic version of the updated medication (levetiracetam), and I'd need to go in to see my GP to explain my reasoning if I wanted the branded version (keppra).

So now I'm having to go in to see my GP, which isn't the easiest thing to do, wasting my time, and wasting the GP's time to tell him what he'll already have on record.

Why do they make you jump through soo many hoops to have this done?
 
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Your doctor must write a DAW prescription (Dispense As Written) in other words NO generics! But make sure the prescription is written in the correct order.

IE:

If the prescription reads as:

Lamotrigine (Lamictal)

DAW

You will get a Generic.



But if your prescription reads:

Lamictal (Lamotrigine)

DAW

You will get Name brand.


That has been my situation I've experienced for the past 3-4 years.

You should also look into a medical waiver from your doctor. This is a yearly form that your doctor fills out for you. This form explains to your medical insurance company why you need a specific prescriptions. This could be brand name only, or a specific generic, etc.
 
I do not get generic because they sent my seizures through the roof.
All AEDs I take have to be name brand drugs only.My neuro just had to fax off to the insurance company for pre approval.
 
yep had very same situation..Some of generic ones bad quality but try telling gp that only answer I got was register with google why bother with me madam I only had 5years training,that sodding helpful I replied.
some of these generic do not have precise dose are made from poor quality proberly been sitting around in all weathers so god knows how old they are when you get them..Thyroxin and e meds are the worse examples..
My problem like yours still on going
 
I've had pharmacists tell me "Your doctor wants generic." They just make that stuff up, as if they know. You know exactly what you and your doctor decided, the pharmacist doesn't have a clue. Sometimes the doctor accidentally writes the prescription wrong. Sometimes the pharmacy messes up, especially when they no longer have the original paper prescription. I don't let them get away with it. I can usually get the pharmacist to call my doctor, but sometimes I have to call myself.

I'm ok with having generics available as an option, but not with having them crammed down my throat. We need laws to protect people with epilepsy. Generics should never be mandated by law. The choice should never be the pharmacist's. The customer should always be able to get brand name by request, without a prior authorization for brand name. No particular formula should be required on the doctor's prescription, and the patient should be able to choose whatever they want regardless. The patient should always have the choice of generic. Pharmacies should be be required to identify the manufacturer of generics before dispensing. Pharmacies should be required to dispense the same thing with every refill or prescription renewal - once brand name, always brand name; or one particular manufacturer of generic, always the same manufacturer - unless the customer requests differently.
 
Pharmacies should be required to dispense the same thing with every refill or prescription renewal - once brand name, always brand name; or one particular manufacturer of generic, always the same manufacturer - unless the customer requests differently.

That was the reason why I had to fight for brand name only Trileptal.

When I was first prescribed it, I had brand name. But not to long after I was switched to generic. That was because of my health insurance. That would have been fine if the switch was a one time thing. But that wasn't the case. With each refill the generic was changed to the cheapest at the time. Sometimes the bottle had a mix of different manufacturers because they didn't have enough of either to fill the prescription.

During that time my seizures didn't get better, they got worse. It wasn't until after I got back on the name brand, that my seizures got stable. I'd have about 3-4 CPS a month. But nothing worse than that. My neurologist at the time established my DAW prescription, and waiver I posted above.
 
After speaking to afew people, my friend (the pharmacist that I get my medication off), and his brother (a gp), it turns out it's generally the gp who force their patients with supplying them with generic mediation.
lets just say there's financial interests involved.

The more the gp saves the NHS with supplying generic (FAR cheaper) medication as apposed to branded, the nicer their bonus is at the end of the year.

Money talks.
 
Dispensing Generics

The way that some doctors literally 'force' their patients to use generic meds is why a law was passed in Minnesota that bans a pharmacy from dispensing a med to a person if the med is in any way different to the med that the person has been getting before.
This is to help stop pharmacists' from dispensing generics when brand name meds have been used previously.
If the pharmacist has a different med, they have to contact either the user's doctor or the user themselves about the change in the med.
I know that my pharmacist didn't care for me for a while after this law was passed. This was because that pharmacy had been changing brands of meds very frequently prior to this law being passed. They had been doing this to save a few cents in the 'bottom line'. Well, when they kept doing this with my meds(not always my aeds) I called the pharmacy and told the pharmacist that I was going to report the company if they didn't start following state law about changing meds and contacting the necessary people. I even told him the new law's number, so he could check it out. When he realized that I was in the right he apologized and made sure the entire company knew about the new law.:clap:
This type of law should be passed in every state in the USA!

ACsHuman:twocents:
 
After speaking to afew people, my friend (the pharmacist that I get my medication off), and his brother (a gp), it turns out it's generally the gp who force their patients with supplying them with generic mediation.
lets just say there's financial interests involved.

The more the gp saves the NHS with supplying generic (FAR cheaper) medication as apposed to branded, the nicer their bonus is at the end of the year.

Money talks.

I take it you are in the UK. In the US, it is the insurance companies that often may not pay for brand if there's a generic available. When I was on meds that had generics available, my neuro would get around this by writing "brand medically necessary" on the prescription. I haven't had toll worry about this since he switched me from Keppra to Keppra XR, but I saw something recently about there being a new generic for the extended release. Something to discuss with him next time I see him.
 
when it comes to generic AEDs and some say there is no difference generics will send my sz's through the roof.I talked to my pharmacist and there is a slight difference in the make up and I have to have name brand only.
 
Differences

While I was using the eCommunities site there were some members who said that they their generic meds worked better than the original brand meds that they took. The were many people who said the exact opposite. To many people it doesn't seem to make a difference whether they use one or the other!:ponder:

ACsHuman
 
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