My Meds

[NotAChevy]

I've seen a couple of people talk about this over the last 6 months I've been reading, and posting, to this site. Most seem to agree there’s a correlation between changing pharmacies and people’s reaction to their ADHD meds. In other words, even though the drug (Med) has the same name, the drug will react differently from one pharmacy to another. Am I reading that correctly?

I really don't understand that as I would believe the med is made the same for all pharmacies, thus it wouldn't matter where you get your meds, they all should work the same; BUT, I witnessed this for myself a couple of months ago when I switched from Walgreens to Publix. With Walgreens, the Strattera made my stomach very upset, to the point of throwing up, if I took them on an empty stomach. I could also feel them start to work after about 30 min. as my head become clearer, and my concentration increased .

With the Publix brand, I don't have the upset stomach and my concentration increases slower.

So, my question to you all is, am I just imaging the difference in the meds- same name, same dosage- or is there really a difference.? Please let me know as it’s really messing with me.

[STEM_Dad]

If you are taking the actual brand name medication "Strattera", it should be the same regardless of which pharmacy you get it from. Strattera was originally developed by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, and continues to be manufactured by the same.

If you are getting a generic atomoxetine, then each pharmacy might be getting their supply from a different pharmaceutical company.

After moving across the country, my pharmacy changed from Safeway grocery store (out West) to Wegmans grocery store (in the Northeast). I've been on generic atomoxetine the whole time. The formulation from my current pharmacy seems to be a little less potent than I got from my last pharmacy.

.....

I learned early on not to take it on an empty stomach. It makes me very nauseous for about 5-20 minutes when I do so (it hits about 20-30 minutes after I take the medicine). The nausea with the current formulation is less intense than my original one was...which hit so hard that I felt like I was going to throw up.

• With 40mg dosage, if I take it with food, I don't get the nausea at all. When I was on 60mg, I still got some mild to moderate nausea even with food. (Thankfully, I never tried the higher dosage without food.)

[NotAChevy in reply to STEM_Dad]

I'm on a generic, but would think there wouldn't be too much difference- shows what I know (haha). I've learned to eat before taking the meds, but sometimes I have to take it and run- and boy do I pay for that.

[STEM_Dad in reply to NotAChevy]

Generic forms of a medication have to have the marked amount of the active ingredient, the medication compound itself (within a certain margin of error). However, whatever other ingredients that are used to create that specific formulation will vary from one manufacturer to the next.

• These inactive ingredients (also called excipients) might be fillers, binding agents, preservatives, dyes, flavorings, etc.

* Side note: I know that some people can be sensitive or allergic to certain chemical ingredients. I know two people who were sensitive to Red Dye #5 as children...one would become nauseous with a small amount or would throw up if they had the amount in a cup of Kool Aid; the other has severe ADHD that was normally mostly controlled on their medication, but if they had even the slightest bit of that dye then it tripped their ADHD into overdrive as if they hadn't taken their meds at all (the effect would last at least 30 minutes and sometimes over 2 hours...I think until the dye in their gut had been exhausted).

Have some sort of snack or breakfast on the go that you can grab if you have to dart out the door. Make sure it is substantial enough...too light of a snack wouldn't help. Some ideas might be: a breakfast shake in a can, a package of trail mix, a single serving pack of mini donuts, maybe a pack of Pop Tarts might be enough for you (but I have to get a little protein with them, like a spoonful of peanut butter or a handful of almonds).