juliaki (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} juliaki) wrote,@ 2008-12-30 16:08:00 |
|
My generic med Ocella hell
Some of this may be TMI, but if you're a woman who takes birth control pills or if you're on medication that you get through an insurance company, it's stuff you might want to know...
I've been a very lucky and healthy woman. From the very first time I got my period until the present day, I've been absolutely regular. Once I entered a stable relationship, but had no desire to have kids yet, I went on Yasmin, and it worked very well for me. A couple months ago, my insurance company required me to switch to the generic...Ocella. And that's when problems started. Massive mood swings. Severe headaches. Insane bloating. Insomnia. Out of control appetite. I've put on 10 pounds in the past 45 days.
And then the kicker....a skipped period. For someone who has been like clockwork for nearly two decades, this was more than a bit surprising. Just to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, I did take a pregnancy test, and not surprisingly, it came back negative. Because this was so odd, I did some research on the Internet to see if other people had similar issues and made an appointment to see the doc.
http://boards.webmd.com/webx?THDX@@.89a
If you don't want to read through all 150 or so posts in that single thread, I don't blame you. Suffice it to say, since August when people were forcibly switched to Ocella by their insurance companies that automatically require generics instead of name brands, almost every post in this thread mentions things like what I'm going through and worse.
So today I talked to my doctor. She has a friend who works in the pharmaceutical industry as a quality assurance supervisor. According to FDA regulations, a generic is only required to be 80% of the original. In most cases, that means that the active ingredients are the same but the inert ingredients can vary. In the case of items that are very, very touchy in their dosages (i.e., any sort of hormone-based medications such as birth control or something like thyroid medication), this can cause problems for the people who have sensitive bodies.
In essence, name-brand drugs are required to have consistent dosing between batches. In other words, the package that I pick up for January should be the same dose for February which should be the same dose for March. For generics, as long as it is 80%-ish the same, it's fine for use. Well, that 20% difference has horribly, horribly harmed my body.
Thankfully, the damage isn't long-term in my case (and because I had good folks in my life, I didn't act on the severe depression that the hormonal flux caused), and I've got a new prescription in to go back on the original medication with no substitutions permitted. Also, thankfully, I can afford the more expensive stuff. Not everyone can.
I don't know what could be done to change the way things are. The doc pointed out that because she doesn't have a lobbyist, there's not really anything she can do aside from what she is doing... compiling records about the numerous cases like mine. People who have had their health, their sanity, and potentially even their life put in danger due to generic substitutions required by the insurance companies.
So if you're on a medication where even the slightest change in composition of the meds could cause problems, please please please talk to you doctor about the dangers of generics. They aren't the same stuff as the name brand. And if you're on a generic and notice side effects that you never had with the original, get to the doctor ASAP.
Some of this may be TMI, but if you're a woman who takes birth control pills or if you're on medication that you get through an insurance company, it's stuff you might want to know...
I've been a very lucky and healthy woman. From the very first time I got my period until the present day, I've been absolutely regular. Once I entered a stable relationship, but had no desire to have kids yet, I went on Yasmin, and it worked very well for me. A couple months ago, my insurance company required me to switch to the generic...Ocella. And that's when problems started. Massive mood swings. Severe headaches. Insane bloating. Insomnia. Out of control appetite. I've put on 10 pounds in the past 45 days.
And then the kicker....a skipped period. For someone who has been like clockwork for nearly two decades, this was more than a bit surprising. Just to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, I did take a pregnancy test, and not surprisingly, it came back negative. Because this was so odd, I did some research on the Internet to see if other people had similar issues and made an appointment to see the doc.
http://boards.webmd.com/webx?THDX@@.89a
If you don't want to read through all 150 or so posts in that single thread, I don't blame you. Suffice it to say, since August when people were forcibly switched to Ocella by their insurance companies that automatically require generics instead of name brands, almost every post in this thread mentions things like what I'm going through and worse.
So today I talked to my doctor. She has a friend who works in the pharmaceutical industry as a quality assurance supervisor. According to FDA regulations, a generic is only required to be 80% of the original. In most cases, that means that the active ingredients are the same but the inert ingredients can vary. In the case of items that are very, very touchy in their dosages (i.e., any sort of hormone-based medications such as birth control or something like thyroid medication), this can cause problems for the people who have sensitive bodies.
In essence, name-brand drugs are required to have consistent dosing between batches. In other words, the package that I pick up for January should be the same dose for February which should be the same dose for March. For generics, as long as it is 80%-ish the same, it's fine for use. Well, that 20% difference has horribly, horribly harmed my body.
Thankfully, the damage isn't long-term in my case (and because I had good folks in my life, I didn't act on the severe depression that the hormonal flux caused), and I've got a new prescription in to go back on the original medication with no substitutions permitted. Also, thankfully, I can afford the more expensive stuff. Not everyone can.
I don't know what could be done to change the way things are. The doc pointed out that because she doesn't have a lobbyist, there's not really anything she can do aside from what she is doing... compiling records about the numerous cases like mine. People who have had their health, their sanity, and potentially even their life put in danger due to generic substitutions required by the insurance companies.
So if you're on a medication where even the slightest change in composition of the meds could cause problems, please please please talk to you doctor about the dangers of generics. They aren't the same stuff as the name brand. And if you're on a generic and notice side effects that you never had with the original, get to the doctor ASAP.
