Generic medication V. namebrand medication - Epilepsy Message Board

BAHAMAS · 01-18-2007, 12:06 PM

Hi

I am on Lamictal because of a few side affects I am thinking about going on Keppra,
I am on a disability income and because of the high price of Keppra I cannot afford the expensive name brand and because the generic brand of Keppra is covered by our medical plan but the name brand is not covered because it is a lot more expensive I was wondering how a good the generic brand is in comparrison to the name brand. Is there as good of a person's seizures or not ?

Thanks very much Craig ...

...

jerrytom · 01-18-2007, 07:56 PM

I personaly don't like any generic AED as a primary AED, as an add on I can handle it maybe. I tried generic Dilantin, Phenytion, about 5 years ago and had status epilepticus seizures in a day or two. See if your insurance will pay for a brand name if the doctor orders a rand name only.

PearlDoves · 01-18-2007, 08:39 PM

I've heard that docs can write on the prescriptions scripts "no substitutes"

Travis from MN · 01-19-2007, 09:53 AM

Talk to your Neuro and see what they can tell you about the generic; that may be a good information source. Personally I was unaware of a generic Keppra being out on the market, atleast in the US, I thought it was still "covered" for brand name only.

The main item between generics and brand names is the buffers (inert ingredients) and possibly the coloring agents may be different in makeup. However the drug itself in the pill/tab/cap is the same +/- a %. Depending on the generic some work fine, others are radical and can be problamatic (generic dilantin was in my case).

Best of luck in saving expences.

--Travis

SentenceDoing · 01-19-2007, 01:20 PM

This is my personal experience:
I'd had complex partial sezures for years without any mention from my doctor that I should be on meds (grrr), and then 6 years ago, I had a GM seizure, and started taking meds. They started me off with Dilantin, but the pharmacy gave me the generic brand, and when I went back to my doctor for the blood test to check the med levels, he found that my body wasn't absorbing the meds at all. So he made sure to note "name brand only" on the script. The non-generic worked much better for me.