Generic Adderall XR – New Formulations
ByAdderall XR went generic in the US in April 2009. I wrote an initial blog post about it here: Generic Adderall XR. You can also review the nature of generic medicines in an article here: Are Generics The Same?.
While my initial thoughts were that the generic Adderall XR was very similar to the trade brand (made by Shire), the comments on my blog post made it clear that many people are finding that the generic version of Adderall XR just doesn’t work as well as it is supposed to.
As DS writes:
“After the first week, I really felt a difference, but tried to put it out of my mind. My shoulder and rib cage is sore, I don’t sleep and I am snapping at people all day, all night. This is not the same drug mixture/compound. It cannot possibly be. I feel tired from the lack of sleep, moody/agressive/weepy (not me!), sore (for no apparent reason) and just plain out of sorts.
Has anyone had any luck figuring out why some of us are feeling this hell-ish effect from the generic version?
- Sleepless (and crabby) in Seattle
The original generic Adderall XR was produced by the pharmaceutical company Teva.
Now, two more pharmaceutical companies will be joining the production of Adderall XR:
- Impax Pharmaceuticals will begin to ship its own version of Adderall XR at the end of 2009/early 2010. You can read more about this here.
- Sandoz Pharmaceuticals just settled a law suit with Shire (the original makers of Adderall XR) to allow them to make a generic version of Adderall XR as well. It is not clear when their production and distribution will begin. You can read about this here.
Why Are These Generics Coming?
When a pharmaceutical company creates a new medicine, they get a patent for a certain number of years. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars to get their drug to market, and then they have a number of years to profit from their medicine, before it goes ‘generic’ and other pharmaceutical companies start to manufacture the medicine (and they sell it for less).
Even when a medicine is within its patent, the generic pharmaceutical companies start law suits to challenge the patents – i.e. to see if they can start to market the drug earlier, and increase their profits. It seems that the companies that are now manufacturing and selling generic Adderall XR have pursued the legal process to challenge Shire’s patent, and they are now in the position to start to manufacture and profit from this medicine.
What does this mean to you?
Well, although I initially thought that the generic Adderall XR wouldn’t cause problems for people – there are 94 comments on my original blog post which essentially prove me wrong – i.e. many people are struggling with the generic form of the medicine.
Here is where it gets complicated.
If you used to be on the Shire Adderall XR, and then the Teva generic comes out – your pharmacy or insurance gives you the ‘cheaper’ version. Let’s say it doesn’t work as well for you, but because of the finances, or your insurance’s policy, you work with your doctor, adjust the dose and make it work.
Now, your pharmacy, or insurance company may make a deal with Impax – to get their new version of generic Adderall XR. Now, the formulation is slightly different again. Translation – you may have a different response or reaction to the new version of the generic than you did to the first one. You’ll need to go to your doctor, advocate at your insurance, and see if you can get on the medicine which works best for you.
Of course, if you can afford it – you can always ask your doctor for a prescription for Adderall XR – No Substitution (this means that your doctor is insisting that you get the original adderall xr only). The thing is that your insurance can refuse to pay for it, even if your doctor is that specific.
This can be complicated for you, or your child if you take Adderall XR. Best to monitor your symptoms, and work with your doctor to find the best solution for you.
Please share your thoughts and comments below. Your input is tremendously helpful to thousands of other people who come to this blog and learn from your experience.
All the best,
Dr. Kenny
=================================================
Written by Dr. Kenny Handelman – The ADHD Doctor
To find get a FREE special report on ADD/ADHD Medication, visit: Medication Mastery
==================================================
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.addadhdblog.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-big4.png "Generic Adderall XR New Formulations"){kind=icon}
7 Comments
October 25th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Adderall XR was wonderful when I had good prescription coverage. Then I had to go to generic Adderall, which was okay, until they removed the Barr version and gave us Core Pharma. It was a nightmare and I am not the only one – everyone all over the internet have made big complaints about this nasty pink pill. I kept finding pharmacies who distributed the Barr version but now it has been discontinued. I have been hoarding the last few, breaking them into pieces and suffering with severe ADD. I am wondering if these XR generics are any good. I just don’t know what to do and my psychiatrist doesn’t seem to know much about ADD so I have to do the research myself. But I’m really confused about what to try. I could pay a ridiculous price for the real thing and try to fight my insurance company for payment, but I doubt I will get anywhere. Any ideas on this stuff?
October 25th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I would suggest trying Adderall XR – it is once per day, lasts 12 hours, and a great medicine. The issue now – is – around which generic version is available to you.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I was taking Adderall XR through their patient assistance program for nearly 3 or 4 years when they suddenly cancelled the program and I was forced to take the generic regular Adderall which for me does not work as well. I have to pay for the Adderall XR myself and when I tried to get the generic I found that the cost was still way too high for me to pay ($375.00 for 60 ct, 30 mgs) could you please look and see when the cost will finally come down and why is still so expensive?
Thank you sincerely, loribeth
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
I had switched over to 30mg of the generic a few months ago, and hadn’t consciously noticed a difference. After reading this post, I dug out a couple spare non-generic Adderall XR, and tried them Sunday and Monday. I could immediately tell the difference. I was now calmer and more patient. At work, yesterday, I was able to focus WELL past 4pm, which is where I had been dropping off. Upon reflection of the last few months, my performance at work had dropped, and I can think of several incidents where I had inappropriately lost control.
I’m wondering if the generic formulation is simply coming up short, for me. My experiment, though brief and hardly scientific, has convinced me to switch back to the name brand.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:15 am
I had good luck with amphetamines, but always felt like a robot. So I switched to nicotine.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:15 am
not to get into too much detail on my past, but yeah i used to snort more than that all the time, the first time I ever did was a 30mg and then proceeded to do like 5 more one night… you should be just fine.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
The first time that my son received the generic, right after Teva’s Adderall XR generic was approved in April, he tried to jump out of my car while driving down the highway and told me he was going to kill me. My son was in Kindergarten. His behavior had dramatically declined the week and a half that he was on it. I returned it to the pharmacy, told them what had happened and they exchanged it for Shire’s brand name for me. Well, maybe exchange isn’t exactly the correct word since they charged me the difference in price.
Since then, we’ve asked our Pediatrician to only prescribe the brand. Every time we get a refill RX, we have to get it corrected for brand name only. This time the pharmacy dispensed the wrong medicine. That’s what I get for sending my husband to do an errand for me.
We couldn’t figure out why his behavior started to change. Thank God it wasn’t as bad as before, but school and his before and after care program complained and life pretty much stunk at home. Supposedly its been marked in his chart again at the pediatrician’s office and his ‘profile’ has been flagged at the pharmacy as “Brand Name Only”. It’s a good thing he is not deathly alergic to something. Its interesting that CVS won’t provide us with a copy of the original prescription. Its also interesting that they do not track the lot numbers of the medication that they distribute. I need to look into that. Can that really be legal? How would they handle a class 1 recall? It might be time to change pharmacies and send an email to the FDA.