Re: Concerta vs new Generic Concerta

[Anonymous]

I did a little bit of research, and from what I have read, The US and Canada have completely different generic Concerta.

The US generic is pretty much the exact same thing as the name brand. It’s still made by ALZA, it’s just sold by Watson under the generic name, Methylphenidate HCL. Last month I was on the “Name Brand” Concerta and this month I was given the generic. It’s the exact same pill. Same shape, sample ALZA 27 imprint, everything. There seems to be absolutely nothing different about it other than the price. And even then, the actual cost is the same – $190.00 on both the generic and brand name. My copay was much cheaper on the “generic” even though the total cost was the same.

In Canada, however, it appears as though it’s a different story. It’s the same active ingredient, but it is, in fact different time release methods. The generic name in Canada is Novo-Methylphenidate ER-C (I think the name may have changed to Teva-Mehtylphenidate ER-C). So…it seems as though it’s 2 completely different cases.

My Psych NP actually said that no one has actually been prescribing the name brand since the generic is no different than the brand name – in active ingredient or the high-tech release method.

So, here’s my dilemma: I started on 27mg of Concerta, once daily, in August. It was amazing, and the first day was like someone lit a fire under my butt and I suddenly enjoyed my job again. The amount of focus I had was insane and for that first month…I felt like a normal person. I got my work done, I prioritized well, I didn’t procrastinate anything, and I found myself with true free time. I did tell my NP that I get a bit irritable around 3pm because I take the Concerta so early in the morning. She gave me 10mg of plain old fast acting Ritalin for the afternoon.

One Tuesday of last week, I started noticing that I was slipping into my old habits of procrastinating, unable to focus on the task at hand, allowing myself to get distracted, and of course, really tired all of the time. My GP’s nurse said it’s very common to develop a tolerance and I might need the higher dose, but I didn’t anticipate it happening this soon. At first I thought it was because I had been taking the “generic” for the last week, but by all the research I’ve done, there is seriously no difference here in the US.

Is this “normal” that I would develope a tolerance and suddenly not feel any benefits from the meds? Is it possible that because I was taking the regular 10mg Ritalin in the afternoon that my body might not be getting the same benefits from the time release Concerta? yesterday at work I actually had to take 3 of my Ritalin after already taking my morning Concerta: and 10am, 1pm and 3pm. I’m just not even sure where to go from here! I’m so frustrated because I felt so great for a month and now…well, i forgot how awful I felt before!

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