Crestor, Lipitor...or the Generic

[ESMonitor]

If you take Crestor for your cholesterol as I do I am sure you are aware it has gone generic this month, which means the pricing for the drug has moved from the normal price tier to the stratosphere $$$ price tier.

However, my pharmacy told me on phone today I have a coupon for Crestor, so I will be paying $32 and some change...about $14 - $15 more per month, I think.

I had called doc to change prescription to Lipitor and they said they would. Then after talking with pharmacy, they had filled the GENERIC Lipitor, not the brand name Lipitor. Ughhh. And I told them no thank you. I will ride that Crestor coupon out as long as I can. I had them switch it back, so it was inconvenient for everybody.

After further discussion with doctor's tech on phone she told me insurance company will NEVER cover a drug once it goes generic.

My question is this:

If you take one of these statin drugs, what do you do? Do you use a coupon, do you pay premium price for it or do you elect to take the generic drug? Drugs are expensive.


The reason why I don't want to take the generic drug is because I have taken the generic Lipitor before and I notice it was giving me some muscle soreness as a side effect. So I quit taking the generic statins.

[corn18]

If you take Crestor for your cholesterol as I do I am sure you are aware it has gone generic this month, which means the pricing for the drug has moved from the normal price tier to the stratosphere $$$ price tier.

However, my pharmacy told me on phone today I have a coupon for Crestor, so I will be paying $32 and some change...about $14 - $15 more per month, I think.

I had called doc to change prescription to Lipitor and they said they would. Then after talking with pharmacy, they had filled the GENERIC Lipitor, not the brand name Lipitor. Ughhh. And I told them no thank you. I will ride that Crestor coupon out as long as I can. I had them switch it back, so it was inconvenient for everybody.

After further discussion with doctor's tech on phone she told me insurance company will NEVER cover a drug once it goes generic.

My question is this:

If you take one of these statin drugs, what do you do? Do you use a coupon, do you pay premium price for it or do you elect to take the generic drug? Drugs are expensive.


The reason why I don't want to take the generic drug is because I have taken the generic Lipitor before and I notice it was giving me some muscle soreness as a side effect. So I quit taking the generic statins.

After my heart attack. they put me on generic Lipitor, 80mg (that's a metric boatload). My cholesterol went from 310 to 196. That is good I think. Better yet, I haven't had any of the dreaded muscle issues that have plagued many people on statins. I am a powerlifter and continue to do that, so I would notice any issues. I do take CoQ10 because my MIL said it really helped her when she was having muscle issues on her statin. I have done that since day 1 so maybe that has helped, maybe not. I also started straight into the generic so I can't tell you if the brand name is better. I do know the generic is free on my plan and they won't pay for anything if I don't get generic.

Data point of one.

I won't minimize the impact it may have on you and your observation that the generic was not as good as the brand name. My buddy who is a world class iron man athlete started taking Lipitor and was debilitated to the point that he could not walk. He can't take statins. So I empathize with your situation and hope you find a good solution.

[disneysteve]

Speaking from the doctor point of view, I almost never prescribe brand name drugs for anything unless absolutely necessary. It's a total waste of everyone's money - patients, insurance companies, tax payers, etc.

Generic drugs are fine 99.9% of the time. They're cheaper, sometimes phenomenally cheaper. And in some cases, especially when a generic first becomes available, they are literally the exact same pill with a different label.

A few years ago, the arthritis drug Mobic went generic. The pharmacist we work with showed me the bottles one day. The brand name and the generic were in nearly identical bottles except one said Mobic and the other said Meloxicam (the generic name). All the manufacturer info was the same. The other difference? The price. Mobic was about $400/bottle. Meloxicam was about $25.

I say take the generic and save yourself and your insurance company the money.

[Singuy]

Did you ever take brand Lipitor and NOT experience muscle pain?

Not all statins are created equal, and certain statins have lower chances of getting muscle pain than others. Simvastatin is the worst, and these newer statins like crestor has the best side-effect profile while also being the most potent.

The drug being generic will usually have very little to do with any additional side-effects you were having. You probably would experience the same problems with Brand name Lipitor.

Have the MD write for rosuvastatin instead of brand name crestor to save you some $$$.

This is from a perspective of a pharmacist.

[Nutria]

If you take one of these statin drugs, what do you do? Do you use a coupon, do you pay premium price for it or do you elect to take the generic drug?

Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor).

The reason why I don't want to take the generic drug is because I have taken the generic Lipitor before and I notice it was giving me some muscle soreness as a side effect. So I quit taking the generic statins.

Luckily I've never noticed.

[Nutria]

If you take one of these statin drugs, what do you do? Do you use a coupon, do you pay premium price for it or do you elect to take the generic drug?

Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor).

The reason why I don't want to take the generic drug is because I have taken the generic Lipitor before and I notice it was giving me some muscle soreness as a side effect. So I quit taking the generic statins.

Luckily I've never noticed.

[disneysteve]

I have a coupon for Crestor, so I will be paying $32

I wanted to comment on this. My Crestor rep was in recently with coupons to get it for $3/month. I just checked their website (crestor.com) and it mentions them there. If you're eligible to use the coupon, that's far cheaper than $32 and even cheaper than the generics.

[Like2Plan]

DH takes the lipitor generic.
A major concern we have on the generic drugs is that they maybe they are not manufacturer under the same strict controls as the name brand drugs are--and you have no control over the source of the drug.

For example, the recalls Ranbaxy had on Atorvostatin Link to the article on Ranbaxy One recall was glass in the product. One was the wrong dosage was mixed in the bottle ( a 20mg pill sealed in a 10mg bottle). Another problem was "issues that included using raw chemicals from unapproved sources."

Or when there was a recall, patients were not notified to stop taking the meds http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/health...ipitor-recall/

[Nutria]

DH takes the lipitor generic.
A major concern we have on the generic drugs is that they maybe they are not manufacturer under the same strict controls as the name brand drugs are--and you have no control over the source of the drug.

For example, the recalls Ranbaxy had on Atorvostatin Link to the article on Ranbaxy One recall was glass in the product. One was the wrong dosage was mixed in the bottle ( a 20mg pill sealed in a 10mg bottle). Another problem was "issues that included using raw chemicals from unapproved sources."

Or when there was a recall, patients were not notified to stop taking the meds http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/health...ipitor-recall/

I once had a situation where the pharmicist (or technician) filled my prescription with the wrong medicine: he/she grabbed the bottle next to the one holding my pills. At home, we noticed that the pills were different, but I thought they'd just changed suppliers. Not So!! Hilarity, naturally, did not ensue.

Point being: did we stop using that pharmacy? No, since accidents happen.

[Like2Plan]

I once had a situation where the pharmicist (or technician) filled my prescription with the wrong medicine: he/she grabbed the bottle next to the one holding my pills. At home, we noticed that the pills were different, but I thought they'd just changed suppliers. Not So!! Hilarity, naturally, did not ensue.

Point being: did we stop using that pharmacy? No, since accidents happen.

What if they did it 3 times like in the case of Ranbaxy? Would you change then?

Also, another difference is you can chose to go back to that pharmacy. Or not. But (so far as I know, anyway), you have no control over the source of the generic medicine. So, they can fill it with whatever lowest bid provider they can find. You like it or don't take the meds... That is the part that I don't like.

[disneysteve]

A major concern we have on the generic drugs is that they maybe they are not manufacturer under the same strict controls as the name brand drugs are--and you have no control over the source of the drug.

For example, the recalls Ranbaxy had on Atorvostatin Link to the article on Ranbaxy One recall was glass in the product. One was the wrong dosage was mixed in the bottle ( a 20mg pill sealed in a 10mg bottle). Another problem was "issues that included using raw chemicals from unapproved sources."

Or when there was a recall, patients were not notified to stop taking the meds http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/health...ipitor-recall/

I could cite plenty of instances of brand name drugs being recalled for various safety concerns, manufacturing mishaps, etc. This is not a problem unique to generic drugs.

I think the public has this impression that generic drugs are being mixed up in somebody's garage with a chemistry set. The reality is that the vast majority of generics are made by 4 or 5 companies worldwide including major pharmaceutical manufacturers like Teva. Some of the biggest producers are divisions of well-known drug makers like Merck. And, as I referenced above, some generics literally come off the same assembly line as the brand name version of the drug.

Generics are every bit as safe and effective as their brand name counterparts, just at a fraction of the cost.

[rennigade]

Price is certainly a factor...but if there isnt a huge gap try to find out where the drugs were manufactured. For the love of god stick to drugs made in the USA if you can. Unfortunately ive been introduced to the FDA regulatory stuff when it comes to drug manufacturing. People like to hate on the FDA but if it wasnt for them you would have most of your medicine that comes from overseas manufactured in a filthy warehouse with rats and pigeons crawling around...and there would be no one to stop them!

[Nutria]

What if they did it 3 times like in the case of Ranbaxy? Would you change then?

I could change pharmacies, but it's not like this was a cut-rate hack shop staffed by $3/hr Illegal Brown People. It was the Big, Well Respected, full service, full price pharmacy chain in the region.

But (so far as I know, anyway), you have no control over the source of the generic medicine.

Assumes that I have some control over the source of any medicine I take. Which I don't.

[Jluke]

I think the public has this impression that generic drugs are being mixed up in somebody's garage with a chemistry set. The reality is that the vast majority of generics are made by 4 or 5 companies worldwide including major pharmaceutical manufacturers like Teva. Some of the biggest producers are divisions of well-known drug makers like Merck. And, as I referenced above, some generics literally come off the same assembly line as the brand name version of the drug.

Generic manufacturers are held to the same FDA/foreign regulatory standards as the brand name manufacturer.

The drugs may come out of the same packaging facility, but where/how they are manufactured is probably not the same., unless pharm company outsources the work too.

The generic is allowed to be sold once the patent has expired. It is the same active ingredient, but the other raw materials may or may not be exactly the same. For this reason, some drugs may not perform similarly and side effects could be different.

A generic company is in direct competition with the pharmaceutical companies for selling the product post-patent expiration. Are you saying that the pharm co. sells a generic version too (like the old saying coke and pepsi are from the same parent company)? Typically a pharm company does their best to prolong patent exclusivity so I'm not sure about that...

[Nutria]

Who else (besides me) thinks that Crestor and Lipitor sound like they belong in He-Man cartoons along with Skeletor?