Generic Met...is it REALLY equivalent to the name brand?
My pharmacy started subbing generic met for the name brand....I felt pretty much like I did before I ever started any PCOS treatment while taking it. I though maybe it was my diet, or a flare up. Didn't occur to me until now that it worked at first, then stopped when I started taking the generic. Then I found a month's supply in the back of the med cabinet of name-brand Met. Started taking it 14 days ago, and not only do I feel a bit better but I think I may have ovulated on my own (After 50 anov days)
So, I've got a call in to the Doc. I do wonder though, if I am gonna have to pay full out price for brand-name if I refuse to use generic?
I don't know. I know that on my copay scale, Gluc is the most expensive, then Met, then generic. I always get Met. I would think the generic should be okay, but if it doesn't work for you, I'd just take Met.
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From what I understand Met is generic glucophage. I prefer glucophage. I tried the generic a month and I just don't want to take any chances. For me the difference is about $5 for the brand name stuff.
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I'm taking Met and I don't think it's working as well as the glucophage. For Glucophage I have to pay $40 out of pocket because Met is available and it's only $7, so my insurance company doesnt' have to pay a dime.
When I was on glucophage my appetite decreased and I was able to lose weight without even trying. I ovulate now even on the generic, so maybe you won't have trouble either.
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I had taken Glucophage for a year at 2000mg and nothing happen!!! Started taking the generic brand (due to copay @ $30 ) I went ahead and tried the Metformin and you know what I got AF in less than 3 months! My MOM can't take Met she pefers Glucophage I say take it and see if it works for you!
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Met stopped working for me shortly after I switched from name brand to generic. I have read of other cysters having this problem, and I actually emailed Charles Gleuck (sp) who is this big PCOS doctor in OH and asked if he had seen this problem and he said yes. And then when I went to get name brand gluc at the pharmacy, the pharmacist asked if I knew there was a generic, and I said yeah but it doesn't work for me, and she said she's had a lot of patients come in with reports that the generic wasn't controlling the blood sugars well.
I think there is plenty of anectdotal evidence to support that they aren't equal. It's a damn shame because it seems SOMEONE should do something about it...
For me if I get meds at the pharmacy (up to 30 days supply) it's $5 for generic, $20 for name brand formulary, and $40 for non-formulary. By mail it's $10/$40/$80 for a 90 day supply. And name brand Glucophage isn't formular. So the name brand costs me considerable but... what can you do?
This is the worst prescription plan I have ever had, though, as far as costs. I have had other plans where the name brand cost the same or only a little more than the generic. (Once we had a plan where meds were covered 100% and I could get name brand with no problem)
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Last edited by RunnerDuck; 06-16-2005 at 06:43 PM.
wow! RD your plan sounds incredible! comparitivly.
if I get a brand filled (no generic available) at my pharmacy I pay $45 for a 30 day supply, generic is $30
90 days mail order is $90 and $60 respectively...
btw, I do take generic met, and haven't had any problems
Yeah, I guess it's not terrible... I just got really spoiled when I had that 100% coverage. Too bad DH got himself fired from that job...
So one more thing about generics is, you never know what you are getting when you get a generic. I mean theoretically they all contain the active ingredient they are said to contain, but I have read that generics can contain anywhere from 80-110% of the amount they SAY they contain... I don't know why this is OK... and then there is the issues of what fillers are used, manufacturing methods... There are a lot of generic drug manufacturers out there. So one woman may take ie Acme metformin and it works for her but then her pharmacy switches to Beta metformin and it no longer works well. There may be inconsitancies across manufactures... because there ARE women who do OK on generics. That could be an explanation...
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"We've tried to wash our hands of all of this
We never talk of our lacking relationships
And how we're guilt-stricken, sobbing, with our heads on the floor
We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip..."
- the verve pipe
Wow, I did not realize how many others were having problems with generic Met.
BTW, in case you care for a little trivia, the 'real' Glucophage pills always have 'BMS' printed on them and the strength, Ie 'BMS 500' Think it stands for Bristol-Meyers-Squibb. I had to look this up to figure out that my pharmacy had pulled a switcheroo on me without telling me!
You know every time I go to the doctor (the endocrinologist) they ask for the umpteenth time which medications I am on, and the last time when I said "metformin" the nurse asked "Now are you taking the generic metformin or are you taking Glucophage?" I found that kind of odd. I mean, it shouldn't matter, right? I'll have to remember to ask the endo next time I go if he has noticed a difference.
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"We've tried to wash our hands of all of this
We never talk of our lacking relationships
And how we're guilt-stricken, sobbing, with our heads on the floor
We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip..."
- the verve pipe
I know not everyone has health insurance and generic drugs are a way for people to afford medications, but I can't help but think everytime I take the generic pill, "What a disservice the generic drug industry is doing to me and others." It would be wonderful if the generics were always exactly the same as the name brand, but they're not. If it weren't for the generic, my copay would be $20 and I could take the name brand. Now it's like I'm in a PCOS experiment and I'm taking the sugar pill.
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Ok ladies call me an idiot... So the glucophage is concidered the generic brand of Met? I am confused cause I take the glucophage.
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Generic Met...is it REALLY equivalent to the name brand? 
? 
So the glucophage is concidered the generic brand of Met? I am confused cause I take the glucophage.
