Is there any reason I should be concerned about different brands of prednisone not being made properly or consistently, or acting differently because they were not made the same way? (Generic versions, for example.)
It seems that every time I pick up pills from my pharmacy, they are a different brand. I always look them up on various drug identifier websites to make sure they are real, but the last time I could not find the brand anywhere. I went back to the pharmacy to ask who makes this brand and they showed me the bottle. It was an Indian company called Strides Pharma. Above is an image of the bottle.
The problem is the pills say "P 5" on them, and I cannot find these pills on any drug identifier website anywhere.
I have heard that some brands of some drugs aren't exactly the same (due to various reasons), and of course we all know here how important it is to get the exact dose of pred correctly.
Should I take these pills? Or should I find the same brand I've already been taking?
Thank you!
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sferios
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Like most pharmaceutical companies, Strides is a global multinational and mostly involved in the worldwide production of generic medications. It is most likely that the tablets you were given are produced in the USA - they have 5 manufacturing facilities in the USA, approved by the FDA - with the local standards of monitoring and safety. Something that the Covid pandemic has made more obvious is the massive reliance of the West on drug manufacturing companies in India and China - but they are no less safe or reliable than companies based in the homeland. Continuous monitoring identifies problems. Even when the drugs you are given were manufactured abroad, they are subject to checks.
The dosage is the same, the differences tend to be in the fillers used to make up the bulk of the tablet, the dose of pred is only a tiny part of that. Some people find the different fillers make a difference to them but it is unusual.
I presume the P 5 is just Prednisone and the dose 5. I was cutting some 5mg tabs in half yesterday and noticed they said P 5, and the 1mg say P 1. I was low on my supply of 2.5mg and used them up knowing I could just cut the 5mg in half, so I don't have any 2.5mg to see what they say. I've cut Pred pills in half before, and I don't remember having seen those dose marks before
In New Zealand we have a Government drug buying agency Pharmac so we get whatever brand we get. The suplier changes as Pharmac manage the overall drug purchases, and during the supply crises created by Covid.
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