Different brands of Clonidine work differently

[guy123]

When I first started using Clonidine I got Mylan brand from Walmart. I had the following side effects:

 

- drowsiness

- eye pain

- dizziness when I stand up

- reduced libido

 

I figured it was just my body adapting so I kept up with it. Eventually the drowsiness lessened a bit and the eye pain went away, but the dizziness and reduced libido continued.

 

Eventually I was contacted by a company called Medco (mail order prescription drugs), who told me they could give me 90 pills for $5. As that was less than I was paying, I said sure, let's do it.

 

Medco sent me Actavis brand pills. They were a different size, slightly different shape, and different color. I began taking those when my ones from Walmart ran out.

 

I thought the ones from Medco worked better, but I kept telling myself it was in my head. I thought chemically they are the same, there is no way there could be a difference.

 

After two years my insurance changed and I was no longer able to get my pills from Medco. I renewed my prescription at Walmart and was again given Mylan pills.

 

The first day I used them, I again had eye pain, drowsiness, and a loss of libido, the same side effects that I had gotten from Mylan brand Clonidine the first time I used it a year or so prior, even though I was on the same dosage as I had been on with the Actavis pills.

 

I decided that it was not, in fact, in my head. I called Medco to ask if they would sell me the Actavis brand pills direct even though my insurance wouldn't go through them. They said no. I explained my situation and why I wanted the Actavis brand pills and the guy at Medco said "you're not the first person I've heard that from."

 

Whoa.

 

He transferred me to a pharmacist who gave me the national drug code for Actavis brand pills and told me to have my doctor write a prescription specifying this drug code and I could get them. But then my doctor told me that I need to first find a pharmacy that carries Actavis brand pills. I called around and Target was the only place I found that carries Actavis. Target switched my prescription and refilled it for me that same day and I went and got my Actavis Clonidine.

 

Another pharmacist told me that sometimes different brands have different effects because the filler material might be different, or it might dissolve at different rates so you get a bigger or smaller dosage all at once, etc.

 

I also spent some time online researching this and I found another forum where the members were pretty much unanimous in saying that they thought Mylan brand drugs were the worst. That forum wasn't for tics/Tourettes so it was a different type of drug being discussed, but no one liked Mylan, and one person said he will call around to different pharmacies before getting his prescription filled just to make sure they don't use Mylan brand drugs.

 

I'm posting this here because I think it may be relevant to some of you.

 

Cliffs Notes:

- Mylan brand Clonidine helps my tics but gives me very noticeable side effects

- Actavis brand Clonidine has the same benefit but significantly reduced side effects

[JTs-Mom]

Thanks for the info. That's very helpful.

[laurena82]

Wow---that is interesting!

 

THANKS

 

(do you remember the website that people were posting on re: generic drugs? )

[guy123]

Wow---that is interesting!

 

THANKS

 

(do you remember the website that people were posting on re: generic drugs? )

 

It was a recreational drug using forum.

 

I found it in a Google search when I was searching for brands of drugs.

 

I'm not sure if posting a link here is allowed.

[laurena82]

Wow---that is interesting!

 

THANKS

 

(do you remember the website that people were posting on re: generic drugs? )

 

It was a recreational drug using forum.

 

I found it in a Google search when I was searching for brands of drugs.

 

I'm not sure if posting a link here is allowed.

[laurena82]

That's OK---

 

I dont need to go to a recreational drug forum

[guy123]

I think they were talking about Clonazepam and I believe they said the Mylan brand was weak and required a higher dosage to get the same effect. A few other people chimed in and said they also specifically didn't like the Mylan brand.

 

But that doesn't mean that Mylan versions of other drugs will be the same, but it supports the idea that different brands of the same drug may have different effects.

[guy123]

I just renewed my prescription and the place that used to carry Actavis no longer carries it and gave me Northstar brand Clonidine instead.

 

I'm going to try it tonight. I'm a bit nervous after how my body reacted to the Mylan brand but I will let you know how it goes.

[DsMom]

My son started on Clon from Target (peach color, very small sized pill) but then we too went to a mail-order Rx for refills after a few months. He gets vertigo and or a spinning feeling now when he's in bed, I'm wondering if it's a side effect of the new pills (bigger and light yellow with an MP embossed on them). Are the peach colored ones the brand you prefer? Thank you SO much for posting. I know this is from last year but if you get a chance to debrief on how you feel since the switch back I'd love to see it.

[guy123]

Yes, the Actavis brand I prefer is small and peach and looks like this:

 

 

edit - apparently this forum doesn't allow image posting, so click this link:

http://www.actavis.us/NR/rdonlyres/611842AA-7D2D-4559-8A61-8ADBD9AA82DF/10178/02282127_t.jpg

 

Here's my summary of the 3 brands I've tried:

 

Mylan - headaches, eyeaches, sexual side effects, drowsiness, dizziness every time I stand up.

 

Actavis - minimal side effects. Occasional diziness on standing. Minimal sexual side effects. No headaches or eyeaches.

 

Northstar - somewhere in between. Not as bad as Mylan, but not quite as mild as Actavis.

 

I found another place that could get Activis brand so I got another refill of that brand.

 

I imagine everyone might respond differently, however.

Edited January 7, 2013 by guy123