I’ve always thought that too - until I bought a generic version of Zovirax and it was a really thin mixture that didn’t stay on the coldsore like Zovirax does. So I ended up using the entire tube when I’d normally only use half a tube of Zovirax.
I’m guessing it’s nothing to do with the active ingredient, but everything to do with the formulation it sits in. 
For a while, I was buying brand-name because no one seemed to carry a generic version of the Advil migraine extra-strength liqui-gels (aka Those Wonderful Blue Pills). Maybe it’s just placebo effect, but they always seemed to work just a little bit faster than the regular extra-strength tablets… and when it comes to the crippling cramps I get with that time of the month, speed is a critical factor.
Thankfully, someone must have heard my complaints, because there’s now a generic version of Those Wonderful Blue Pills available for nearly two-thirds of the price. They work the same, they look the same, but they don’t cost the same. I practically danced my way to the cash register. 
I decided to try Zyrtec for my pollen allergies this year, and lo and behold it’s now OTC. $19 for 15 pills. :eek:
But wait! There is also store-brand available! $13 for 30 pills. What a NO BRAINER. I never used the prescription, never used the name-brand OTC and only used the generic store brand. I am totally allergy-free and loving it.
I’ve never bought name-brand anything if I can help it. Including food (with a few exceptions, after I tried the store brand and found a lack of quality).
I have severe drug allergies. If I find a formulation that does not trigger my allergies, I will purchase that precise formulation (name brand be damned), and only that precise formulation, for as long as possible. I get paranoid when even the packaging changes.
Hence, the reason I buy Tylenol, as opposed to generic versions. For whatever reason, name-brand Tylenol does not trigger my allergy when taken in widely-spaced doses (at least 72 hours apart),* but generic versions do. Therefore, I pay the extra money for name-brand Tylenol. I find that it’s vastly worth it to pay the extra few bucks a bottle in order to be certain of not triggering an allergic reaction. Since my reaction is both hugely unpleasant for me and potentially lethal, I prefer to err on the side of caution.
This is also the reason I buy name-brand NyQuil.
*My doctor hypothesizes that it has to do with the buffers and binders in name-brand. I see no reason to disagree with her on that one. It’s a demonstrable fact that a 500mg Tylenol does not trigger the allergy (when taken alone - if I’m mixing drugs, all bets are off), but a 500mg generic does.
One of the things that really bugs me about having to buy Sudafed at the pharmacy counter is I can’t compare all the prices for the different quantities and generics. When it comes to all kinds of OTC meds, we get the generics, often at Costco where you can get a huge bottle of stuff for pretty cheap (we go through a lot of naproxen sodium in this house).
I’ll buy generics, except for congestion. Despite all using the same ingredients, I’ve found that sinus Tylenol (before the formula change) worked where others didn’t. Now, nothing works when I have a sinus cold except nose spray.
I even use generic PM medicine.
I bought some Tylenol a few months ago. I couldn’t find 350mg tablets in generic, only 500mg “extra strength”. Since I wasn’t sure if it was ok to break these in half, I went with the name-brand.
I’ve found that drugs that are applied topically often have very different properties due to different inactive ingredients. In that case, I just try the different options until I find the one I like.
Generic everywhere I can, meds-wise. I have two prescriptions that aren’t available in generic yet, though.
Wow, I only have regular old Bayer asprin in my medicine cabinet, and then only because you’re supposed to have something. I don’t take pain medication myself. I’m from the “rub some dirt on it” school of discomfort management.
In 12+ years I haven’t been able to convince my wife about generics, or make her understand that many OTC brands have exactly the same active ingredient(s). So we end up with ten different brands of acetaminophen cluttering our bathroom drawers, most of which expires before we can use it. I wish pharmacies would put dividers up, and large signs reading “ALL OF THESE ARE THE SAME.”
I buy generics for all meds when possible. The only exception was when my kids were taking liquid medicines - sometimes the brand name stuff would taste better than the generic.
I also don’t buy combination meds. If I want a painkiller and a decongestant, I’ll take a dose of each.
I like the coating on name-brand Advil tablets. I have trouble swallowing pills and I have yet to find a generic that has the same coating, and generics are usually bigger, as well. To me, it’s worth it to pay so I can actually take the pill.
Same goes for Sudafed, but I will buy generic pseudoephedrine because it’s just smaller overall, but I don’t like it.
I prefer NyQuil (red-flavored) to generics mostly because it’s thicker and coats my throat better. I still get the generic when I know I’ll be using it a bunch, though.
I was going to post this, but you beat me to it. Is there a generic med with the same formulation?
The name brand pills go down easier - they’re smaller and sugar coated. Although I usually buy the generics because they are so much cheaper, sometimes I splurge and buy Advil.
A few times around the office I asked if anyone had ibuprofen and each time I was met with responses such as “I only have Advil”.
You’d be surprised by how many people don’t know that Advil is ibuprofen and Tylenol is acetaminophen.
I’ll take generic when it’s available (i.e. I buy the store-brand ibuprofen). Any minor difference in speed of action is unlikely to be life-shattering.
For some prescription meds, I have noticed a difference (particularly the extended-release theophylline I take for asthma - one generic brand simply didn’t work as well). I’ve heard similar stories about the thyroid hormone (Synthroid and generics) for some people.
One thing that can be very confusing with generics though, is massively different pill sizes. Last time I took prednisone for asthma, the doc wound up extending the duration of the taper, which meant I needed to get more. The refill tablets were about 1/3 the size of the original. Both were supposed to be 10 mg per tablet. I wound up googling what was stamped on the pills to find the generic provider, and confirm they really were the same dose. Still, this led to a lot of head-scratching: if they could get 10 mg in this teeny little pill, why did the other company’s pill need to be 3 times as large???
Or radically different colors (my daughter’s scrip for Buspar was filled with generic, of a different color; again, had to google it to make sure no error was made). Why don’t they stamp the pills with the generic name???
Generic all the way, baby!
I buy a little tiny bottle of the good stuff, then buy a giant bottle of the generic to refill it. That way if a friend wants a pill from my purse they know what they are getting: fake Claritin, fake Advil, or fake Sudafed.
How nice for you. I myself have a hard time rubbing dirt on my brain for my migraines, or in my sinuses for allergies, but more power to you.
This triggered memories of when Tavist changed its formulation several years ago. Tavist saved me from my allergies for years, but apparently, it was killing some people, so they changed the formulation somehow. The new Tavist affected me at some freaky psychotropic level, and I had the most miserable time getting myself straightened out. The only experience with a medication that even comes close was when I couldn’t find an antidepressant that didn’t break my orgasm.
I don’t really notice much of a difference between Advil and generic ibuprofen; both work equally well for me. However, it has to be ibuprofen when I have cramps, or else I might as well be rubbing dirt on myself (sorry, Cluricaun). I’ve tried other OTC painkillers for cramps when ibuprofen wasn’t available, and they just. don’t. WORK!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: Sorry for the excessive anger, as I am remembering an incident at work when my cramps arrived and all anyone had in their desk drawer was Excedrin, which might as well have been a grape Skittle for all it did for me. :mad:
Somewhere in America, an advertising executive is smiling.