Generic vs Brand Name Stimulants
According to F.D.A. rules, a generic version of a brand medication must “have the same active ingredient, strength and dosage form” as the brand name or reference product. The generic medication must also be “bioequivalent” to the brand name drug, meaning that it must “be shown to give blood levels that are very similar to” the brand name product. More specifically, it must reach a blood serum level that is 80% to 125% of what the brand product achieves. While the spread is generally much smaller, in extreme cases this could be a difference of over 50%.
Some ADD specialists worry that the allowable range of bioequivalence may be too wide for the stimulant medications, which, to be effective must be carefully adjusted to a patient’s fairly exact needs. If the absorption of the drug is different between brand and generic or between generics, these medications could lose their effectiveness or cause disturbing side effects.
While this may be a problem for a patient who is switched from a name-brand drug to a generic, it can be even more of a problem when a patient is switched from one generic to another and is not notified of the change by the pharmacy. (Pharmacies are not required provide such notification.)
If you are taking a generic, it is a good practice to make a note of the name of the manufacturer of the medication, which should be printed on the label of the prescription container, then check the manufacturer’s name on every subsequent prescription you get filled. If you find one generic works better for you than another, it would be worthwhile to find a pharmacy near you that carries it. If there is none, you might want to discuss changing the dose of your medication with your clinician so you can get equivalent benefits and side effects from the new generic as you had with the one you had been taking previously.
