What Is The Best Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Xl - Watson Or Anchen? (Page 4)

My doctor will not prescribe generic Wellbutrin XL but my insurance will no longer pay for brand name drugs. I will have to pay about $7000 per yer for what I am taking now (3 of the 150mg Wellbutrin XL brand name per day). I am reading that the problem with the generics is the time release mechanism and not the drug itself and that some are better than others. Anybody have experience with the generics made by Watson and /or Anchen?

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Ask your doctor if you can take 300 mg of Wellbutrin XL one time daily which should be taken only once daily and lasts for 24 hours. I can't diagnose you but that's what I'm taking. Do not take a chance on going with the generic. I tried that and had all kinds of complications and it was very unpleasant.

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Ronda - would you mind letting us know what the imprint is on the Wellbutrin XL that you received from Big Mountain Drugs?

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I will be getting a new refill in the next few days and I will let you know then. I had been getting the meds from Bioval which is in Canada, then the last refill, I was told it was cheaper to get it shipped from Turkey and that it was a Glaxo subsidiary. It is not the same, so what is on the way is once again from the company that bought the Wellbutrin Xl from Glaxo Smith Kline a couple of years ago. I will post the imprint on the pills as soon as I get it. It is not the same as GSK for the US, but I have been taking it for over a year. In fact this is the 3rd 3 month refill on the second year. I was one that knew within less than 2 weeks that the generic was not the real deal and my doctor will no longer prescribe generic.

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Ronda - thanks -

I ordered from Northwest, and received it from Turkey - it looked totally different, and I jumped through hoops trying to identify it - the imprint was GS 5YZ, (300mg), and I finally found a site from Korea that identified it as Wellbutrin XR, which I was told was the same. Second time, I ordered from JanDrugs, which was more expensive, but it was shipped from Canada - imprint WXL, which is what Valeant said it should be. Unfortunately, now it looks like JanDrugs also ships from Turkey. Have taken Wellbutrin XL since 2004, so am very reluctant to even try generic - brand-name, even with insurance is $250/month - not an option for me.

I am so grateful to find this thread about generics and ordering elsewhere - I have felt like I was alone in no-man's land on this!

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Hope, Like I said, the last batch I got was sent from Turkey. It has taken about 5 months, but I am now feeling a change, in other words, it is not so different that it was the drastic drop I felt with the generic. I looked around and found the cheapest price online for the brand sent from Canada (Valeant). Then I called Big Mountain Drugs that I have used for nearly 2 years. I was told by the competition to say the words price match. I did so and got a call back from BMD within 10 minutes saying they would match the price. They also have a rewards program that really ends up paying for my shipping each month. After 9 years, I have learned to listen to what my body is telling me. I fought myself for way too many years on accepting the fact that I have no choice but to take the anti-depressants. Mine is chemical imbalance that is not going any where. I went on and off meds for over 20 years. Not sure what that says about me, that it took me that long to realize that taking a med everyday was not a crime. I guess the realization came when I had to go on high blood pressure medication. I wish you the best of luck and I will let you know what the imprint is on the Wellbutrin from Valeant as soon as I get it. I take 3 of the 150's so it may not be exactly the same. The ones from Turkey that I will be so glad to change from have GS 5FV.
Best of luck. I know that being without insurance is horrible. I never knew how bad it could be till me husband divorced me last year and needless to say, I cannot even touch the cost of any insurance.

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Mimi, please read my posts about Big Mountain Drugs. I just ordered the exact dosage that you take and a 3 month prescription was 344. I will try and help anyone I can. I did so much searching before I found this that I was actually getting scared. I know that I need this and also need the brand and I was horrified by the prices. Trying something else is not an option for me. I have tried many over the years and had really bad reactions to way too many. Ended up in the er after some of them. I will stick with what works, if they would just cooperate. I do not like the awful feeling of spiraling down into a hole. I have a daughter with Down Syndrome and really need to be here for her. Good luck.

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Ronda - my apologies - I misunderstood. Do I understand now correctly that the ones from Turkey (GS 5FB) did not do well for you? (But better than generic)
Yes, please let us know if the ones you get from Big Mountain actually ship from Canada and the imprint when you receive them - thanks so much!

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FYI - I too was one who noticed w/in 8-9 days, the generic was in no way the same - sleeping/eating/thinking processes changed significantly. I order from Canadadrugs - always FREE shipping. They give you a choice of what country to order from if more than 1 is available. The XL 300 -90 tablets - 3 month supply - $168.99 - XL - 150 -90 tablets -$149.97.
The XL 300 white tablet has GS5YZ on it and is from Barbados/Turkey and I have noticed no difference from the name brand -thank goodness.
I have ordered my grandmother's mx for years from here, b/c she has no Rx coverage, and have never had any trouble. Good luck to everyone - I felt your pain until I found Canada.

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I did not notice any difference on the Wellbutrin Xl from Turkey immediately. It has happened over a period of about 4 - 5 months. Am anxiously awaiting the refill coming from the company in Canada. I took that for over a year and never had a problem. I wish you the best of luck. I hate that we have to go out of the country to be able to afford medication, but for me it is much better than the alternative of going without. Not an option, just wish I had not taken so long to figure that out.

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Hope,
Just got my newest shipment from Big Mountain. It is indeed from Canada. It is once again has the Biovail on the bottle. This is the company who took it over from GSK. Biovail then partnered with Valeant.
Imprint on the 150 tablets is WXL 150

I am really praying that I will see an improvement soon. I know it will not be immediate. But it really scares me when I realize I am at the point I had gotten before it dawned on me that I was getting meds from Turkey, not Canada. Sometimes our best efforts can get us in trouble and that definitely happened with me. It would have been better, if the difference was so significant that I noticed the change quickly. It is obviously a very small difference, but enough that after my body not having the correct dosage for so long, it started having a negative down hill effect.

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Ronda - Thanks so much for this info.

Did you order these online, or order by phone through customer service, and request the meds only from Canada?

I am going to order some right away - in looking at some of the different Canadian pharmacies, it seems that a lot of them are switching to the Turkey formulary. I am somewhat suspicious of the pills from Turkey - the box says manufactured in Canada, but they ship from Turkey...doesn't make sense to me. Why send them to Turkey from Canada and them ship them out?

I would agree that I am not doing as well on the meds from Turkey, but it has been a subtle change over a period of time - not dramatic.

I hope we are not going to start having problems getting the Wellbutrin XL that comes from Canada!

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Hi Hope,
I have always made my order by phone. This way I can ask all the questions I have. Because of all the shipping from Turkey, I did have to insist that I wanted my Wellbutrin XL from the Canada plant. Also, I did a search to find the cheapest price for the particular dosages I need and then I told Big Mountain that I wanted price match. They are part of the price match program in Canada. Funny thing is the man I talked with at getcanadadrugs is the one who told me this. They had the cheapest price for the meds shipped from Canada, and I have been using Big Mountain so long that I was not comfortable changing, so he said great I understand that completely, just call and tell them you want a price match with our price. I have realized that with all the shipping from Turkey,(I don't quite get it either), it is necessary to specifically tell them you want pricing and shipping from Canada. I wish you the best of luck and I don't mean this in the wrong way, but when you say you are noticing a slow change in the meds from Turkey, also, it really made me feel better. In other words, I now know it is not just my fear feeding these thoughts. What I knew was real, you have confirmed. It is hard when you have someone trying to tell you that it can't be any different as the drugs from Turkey come from a plant that is a subsidiary of GSK. I really don't care about that, I just know what I am feeling and have dealt with it for many many years.

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Just FYI doctors get kick backs for prescribing certain brand meds. You may want to consider another doctor . Or have your script faxed to one of the Canadian pharmacies that offers brand for around $50/mo.

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The $50 a month is only good if you take a low dose of the meds. I am paying about $115 a month, but I take 3 of the 150 mg a day. This is the cheapest I have found it ever. Even when I had insurance, I could not get the brand for this price here in the states. That is sad. Insurance is not wanting to pay for brand at all if a generic is on the market. Therefore, my being without insurance does not really have any bearing on the price I pay for the Wellbutrin XL brand.

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Yep, I've got insurance, but even with doctor specifically saying I need brand, they won't pay. I have to pay my copay for brand ($50/mo), plus the difference between the cost of brand and generic - my total per month through insurance is $250. .

Just ordered from Canada (thanks Ronda!) and getting brand made by Biovail (the stuff from Turkey is questionable in my mind) for $63/month.

It truly is a matter of generic not working right for a lot of us - nothing to do with doctors wanting to just prescribe brand-name. Studies have even shown that the generics don't release the same. Just do a search for Wellbutrin XL generic problems.

I'm okay with generics for most meds - but these time-release meds that mess with your mind are another story. Effexor XR is the same way.

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For me there is a huge difference. I have been on watson 150 SR 2x daily and my hands have been tremoring. My Dr lowered it to 150mg a day but changed it to XL for all day release. I was fine for the first 3 weeks and then this week I am downward spiraling. I feel horrible like I am taking nothing. I am so depressed again for no reason. I don't want to do anything. I looked at the brand name for the new drug and it says Anchen! I am upset because I thought it was Watson brand, which has been really good for me. To be honest I am on a lower does now as well but I am not sure if it is the dose or the brand. Whatever it is I can feel a huge difference in a negitive way. I have never been on the brand name wellbutrin but from my research it does seem to work better for people.

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I should have clarified - for example, Ronda said that she pays $115 - she takes 3 of the 150mg per day.

I am paying $63, but take 1 of the 300 mg per day.

Ronda - have you done a comparison to see if you would be better to take 1 300mg and 1 150mg? Just a thought -

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I have found the Watson brand works as well for me as the name brand did when I first started taking it. The trick is to use a mom and pop pharmacy where they will be able to and will get you the brand of generic you want. The chains have no control over what their main buying folks change to; whatever is cheapest I guess.

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I have tried many generic forms of Wellbutrin XL 30 milligram and I cannot tolerate any of them except the TEVA brand. Now the tell me TEVA doesn't make the 300 milligram tablet, so I will be searching as well

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Well, I haven't tried the brand name, but both generics I've tried have worked for me, but I think the Watson is more effective. I have Express Scripts and went to Walgreens until they stopped taking that insurance the first of this year. I was getting generic manufactured by Mylan there. I switched to the Target pharmacy and got the Watson brand from them and at first I think it was more effective, but both definitely worked. My insurance requires me to pay $10 for generics and half of the cost for brand names, so I don't ever get brand names.

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