I’m a bit of a tightwad, especially when it comes to spending money on myself, so when my doctor told me to pick up OTC Zyrtec for this dry cough I’ve been having (she thinks it’s allergies), I hied myself to my nearest SuperTarget.
$18 for 24 pills? Yikes. I started looking around and found a Target version, same drug, same drug amount, for much less. I also did the same thing with a Target version of Cetaphil (a fancy face soap for sensitive skin.)
I think my doctor told me to give the Zyrtec about three days to start working, so I haven’t yet noticed an improvement in my cough. I know pharmacies often substitute generic medications for prescribed drugs (I got a generic version of Compazine, and it worked fine) but I wasn’t sure if generic or store brand versions of OTC medicine were comparable to the name brand. Should I have gone with the name brand of Zyrtec, or is the Target version just as good? And who makes the generic versions available to Target/Publix/Wal-Mart et al?
I use generic versions of allergy medicines, OTC and prescription, quite a bit. In general, no problem. They can have different inactive ingredients. So if you are sensitive to lactose or other common fillers you may want to check what’s in the pills, both OTC and prescription. People often commonly complain that generic controlled release medications don’t do as good a job at extending the release time.
I didn’t notice Zyrtec taking any 3 days to start working, though. It definitely kicked in right away for me. Unfortunately it was not non-drowsy for me. If you can handle drowsiness, ask about taking Benadryl/diphenhydramine HCl. It is cheaper and IME more effective than other OTC and prescription antihistamines. Fast acting, too, which would let you get a quicker read on whether allergies are really at the root of the problem. Since Zyrtec and Benadryl both make me drowsy, the main advantage of Zyrtec seemed to be not taking a pill as often. However, that was also a downside since I can take Benadryl at night and it will wear off by morning. Apparently not everyone gets the drowsiness from Zyrtec, so YMMV.
Doctors have probably been getting Zyrtec promoted to them like crazy since it just recently went OTC.
I don’t generally have a problem with the inactive ingredients. My doctor did warn me the Zyrtec could make me sleepy.
I’m already getting Benadryl as part of my chemo meds every two weeks, and that does put me out like a light. The nurses even tease me when they hook up the Benadryl about how fast it puts me under.
I did have a chest X-ray last week that came back fine, so I don’t know what this cough is. (I’m not asking for advice, if it doesn’t get better, I’ll go back to my doctor.)
She also recommended getting a neti pot, but I think I’m going to wait on that a bit…something about squirting warm salt water up my nose makes me go :eek:
I’d definitely recommend the neti pot over chronically taking antihistamines which affect one’s entire system. Especially since you’re already on occasional benadryl. Might want to ask your chemo docs about using the two antihistamines; get their recommendation on it.
I use my neti pot regularly, much to the relief of my previously longstanding congestion problems.
I use 8 oz of warm water, 1/2 tsp of non-iodinized sodium chloride, and 1/8 tsp of sodium bicarb, and I mix it up real well. If not fully dissolved, the remaining salt in the last bit of neti pot liquid is not pleasant.
Dump in one nostril and let it run out the other, at whatever speed gravity and your natural nostril flow rate allows (the nostril flow rate will vary depending on your degree of congestion). Then repeat, pouring in the other nostril (with a new batch of liquid).
Nasal saline irrigator here chiming in on the “don’t knock it til you try it” chord. If the neti pot doesn’t work for you, before you give up, you might try one of the plastic squeezy bottles – your doc may have a sample one on hand, or you can try one of the ones someplace like National Allergy stocks. I find the saline easier to control by gentle squeezing versus by gravity. mremilyforce does not.
This almost made me a nasal ginger ale irrigator, sir.
The requirements regarding safety/effectiveness etc are the same for prescription as for generic drugs, and a generic has to be proven to be statistically bio-equivalent to the brand name when it gets approval. The whole thing is pretty complex, and I’m not familiar with all the rules, but in general, generics can and should be considered the same for pharmaceuticals. This wiki might be of interest to you (I haven’t read it, though): Generic drug - Wikipedia
As for who makes them; there are a lot of companies that make nothing but generics. Sandoz, Apotex, ratio-pharm, Watson, Teva and pharmascience are probably amongst the largest (at least in Canada - they are the names I see the most often!).
If you look at prescription generics, you’ll often see the drug name listed as something like SAN-XXXX, ratio-XXXX, apo-XXXX, PMS-XXXX etc. The prefix refers to the drug maker!
I used to work for a generic-only manufacturer (Purepac). I was in charge of new employee orientation and I discussed these issues at length. And the answer is “What mnemosyne said.”
While the generic manufacturers are spared the burdens of doing the initial research and the massive clinical trials, they do have to get across some significant hurdles to get approved. I’m not going to give details because the regs may have changed and I’m sure my memory of it all is imperfect anyway.
I’m confident in them, but I prefer not to use them… I know rationally that they’re just as effective, but I still feel that they’re somehow inferior. Still, I don’t buy much medicine, so I’m sure money will change my mind in due time.
I’ve been buying store brands of just about everything OTC for years and years. I check the active ingredients in the name brand, then make sure that’s what’s in the house brand.
Because of allergies I take various antihistamines from time to time. I see absolutely no difference in effect between name brand and generic.
In our household we are fine with generic for almost everything. The one exception is based on advice from my dad who is an endocrinologist. He told my husband to fill his script with Synthroid for his Hashimoto disease and not the generic equivalent. My dad’s experience, the variance between generic and original had been enough to make a significant different in treating his patients with thyroid disease.
So we get Synthroid, the real deal, and generic equivalents for everything else.
Yeah, what mnemosyne said. The generic drugs have quality thresholds and hoops to jump through just like the originals.
Though there can be differences in the “filler” material. I tend to buy generics when I shop OTC products and on the rare occasions when I get a prescription I let the pharmacy exchange the branded product for a generic if there is one.
It does happen that I buy brand name painkillers just for my wife, but that’s because I suspect that she gets a bit of a placebo effect.
You can buy generic Claritin (loratadine) which is non-drowsy and I believe also OK for people with high BP. Always wear safety “googles” when using the internet for drug advise and consult your doctor if you experience any side effects.
And always floss. Seriously. A lot of what is on your teeth ends up in your nasal cavities.
Oh, I floss twice daily, so no fear on that account.
It’s very reassuring to know that except for some inactive ingredients, OTC generic is just the same as name brand. I won’t be so fearful picking up the cheap stuff anymore!
I have to butt in to add that in my experience the generics are fine – most of the time. However, that is not 100%. A couple of examples:
If you have any allergies, if you have celiac disease, or other problems with specific foods, you probably already know you have to read the ingredients carefully. A common ingredient is “food starch,” which may or may not be wheat, and can be a problem for celiacs. I’m sure there are other situations.
Generics don’t have to be 100% the same; they can be somewhat less than that. Also there can be differences in processing, such that for a particular person the generic is less effective. I found this out myself when Paxil went generic. The substitute just plain didn’t work. I looked up a lot of stuff on line, including info about a lawsuit, and found that many of the generic paroxetines, while they technically have the same main ingredient, they use different processing methods. I had to try one after another until I found one that worked, which was a miserable few weeks, since that stuff takes at least several days to start, and to stop, working. I also had to increase the dosage of the generic. This was, of course, with the consultation of my doctor.
With that in the back of my mind (or what’s left of it) if it’s something really important, I stick with the expensive version.
My soda is brand, but whatever i have a coupon for, or whichever brand on special will do, unless i get the Publix diet soda. My cats get Purina Indoor Cat Chow
Generic bandaids, body wash, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, toothpaste and toothbrushes, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, chapsticks, toilet paper, tissues, cleaning products, dish soap, laundry detergent, eyeshadow, nail clippers and flies, bobby pins, hair clips and combs are all purchased at the Dollar Tree, so brand or generic, neither will break the budget.