Brand name or generic ..?

Drug firms spend a lot of money and many years researching a new drug before it hits the shelves. This is then reflected in the price of the product.
After a certain period of time has passed, other manufacturers are given licence to produce "generic" versions of these drugs which are meant to be just as effective because they contain the same "active ingredient".
Well, that's the theory anyway.

Whether you get the brand name or a generic version when you hand over your prescription depends on the chemist. Its obviously cheaper for them to dispense generic drugs but there seems to be more and more concern about the effectiveness of some of these preparations.

My own experience is as follows:

I was prescribed Co-Codamol for severe back pain. It was totally ineffective. I put it down to the severity of my condition as I was not up on generic drugs at the time. I was then prescribed Tramadol as an alternative. Again, it wasn't very effective but I continued with them. On my second prescription, I used a different chemist which was nearer to my place of work. This time, I was given brand name Co-Codamol and brand name Tramadol (Zydol) ... the effect was nothing short of miraculous.
This astounding difference in the effectiveness prompted a discussion with my GP who remarked that I had probably been given a "Russian fake". He explained that there were safeguards in place to ensure the potency of the "active ingredient" but as generic drugs are now big business, particularly in India and eastern Europe, fake preparations did sometimes slip the net ..!

A similar discussion with the chemist also revealed that a number of generic drugs had been withdrawn owing to their ineffectiveness and this particular chain of pharmacies were now ONLY stocking brand name drugs.

So ... what do you do ..? First thing is to check what type of drug you are on. Is it generic or brand name ..? Is the effectiveness less than you would expect ..? Do NOT be fooled by your pharmacist who insists that they are just as good as the brand name. Sometimes they are NOT. Pharmacies KNOW this. Have your GP state the brand name on your prescription, NOT just the name of the drug. This way, pharmacies are obliged to supply the real stuff.
Don't be fooled into thinking that your condition is worse than it is just because the tablets don't work. It may be that the tablets don't work because the tablets themselves are useless. Be aware.