With the help of topix.net, I came across an article, titled
`Pharmacists may be switching your meds'
<http://www.msnbc.
article will remain online, so hopefully, for those of you who are
reading this posting will be able to read the article.
While reading over the article I started to remember a particular topic
that was discussed during an epilepsy conference that I had attended
several years ago. But I just could not remember a particular word that
was used in that topic. So with the help of me taking notes during that
epilepsy conference, and copying those notes to my computer, I was able
to locate that particular word that I was trying to remember. And that
word was, Bioavailability.
The issue with generic medications is known as bioavailability, which is
the amount of medication available for your body to absorb. The
bioavailability of the medication has to be plus or minus a certain
percentage of the bioavailability of the name brand drug. That
"certain percentage" was something else I could not remember,
but I did know that percentage had been increased by the FDA. So I did
some online searching by using the word `bioavailability' and it
appears that that certain percentage had been increased to roughly 20%.
Now, for some people with epilepsy, but not everyone with epilepsy, that
plus or minus 20% might not be such a big deal. However, for many of the
other individuals who have epilepsy, and this does include people who
might have their seizures controlled with brand-name antiepileptic
medications, if the brand-name medication is switched over to a generic
medication, the bioavailability of the medication could vary, and the
person's blood level could very as well, which could result into
problems either with toxicity or breakthrough seizures. Would you be
willing to take the risk in order to find out if you, your loved one,
and/or someone else you know who has epilepsy, might have these
problems? I'm not.
The generics can save you money, but the question is... "Where does
your pharmacist get their generics?" Let's say for example, a
pharmacist is getting low on one of their generic antiepileptic
medications, and company `A' is having a special on their
generic antiepileptic medications. Where's your pharmacist most likely
going to get their generic antiepileptic medications? Yes, most likely
from company `A'. Then later on, another company, company
`C' comes in and says, "Listen, if you buy this much product
from us, we'll give you and your spouse a free weekend in
Hawaii." Where do you suppose your pharmacist is most likely going
to get their generic antiepileptic medications this time? Yeah, company
`C'. So do you suppose the bioavailability of company
`A's' generic is going to be the same as the bioavailability
of company `C's' generic? Probably not. One potential
problem with generics is that pharmacists are probably not consistently
buying from the same generic supplier.
One advantage of brand-name drugs is you always know what you are
getting. And to get these brand-name drugs, usually there are two lines
on the physician's prescription pad. One says, `Dispense As
Written' (DAW), which means the pharmacist has to fill the
prescription exactly as the doctor has written it. Then there's another
line that they can sign that says, `Substitutions Permitted',
which means the pharmacist does not have to give you the name-brand
drug. So if you're one of the individuals who needs or wants the
brand-name drugs, then you want to make sure the prescription is signed
by the physician on `Dispense as Written'.
Going back to when I was searching online in order to find out what the
results would be when using the word `bioavailability'
links I've included below are to a few websites that came up in the
search results. And each of those 3 articles include the word and
explanation for the word `bioequivalence'
recommend for everyone to read these articles because what is mentioned
in them might be very helpful when dealing with generic antiepileptic
medications, pharmacists, financial assistance, and or trying to
maintain control, or a enough control, for your or someone else's
seizures.
Generic Drugs: They Save Money. But, Are They Effective and Safe?
<http://www.original
The Epilepsy Battle in the War Between Brands and Generics
<http://www.managedc
... And just as a heads up, some of the words that are used in this next
article, are not clean words.
Brand Name Medications vs. Generic Drugs: The Differences Are Real.
<http://www.crazymed
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