Generic drugs are not exactly like brand names

Gianna at Bipolar Blast stumbled upon an article at the LA Times that outlines the FDA’s standard for generics:

In almost all cases, the FDA permits a generic drug to release 80% to
125% of an active ingredient into the bloodstream, compared to that
released in a single dose of the original medication.

Gianna makes a good point for tapering down on brand-name meds then switching to generics:

And definately too broad when I’ve been cutting down my only 10% at a
time. If the drug is 80% of what I’m taking that is a 20% cut without
intending a reduction. It of course can work the other way and make
coming off the drug a longer task and more difficult if it’s actually
125% of the brand name.

eek – that’s something to think about.

Blogs around the way

I’m catching up on reading my fellow bloggers’ posts (see Blogroll to the right), so if you’re not reading their site already, I’d encourage you to do so. Below  are some posts that caught my attention. Some might be a little dated.

Gianna at Bipolar Blast: Has a video up of Gwen Olsen, an ex-pharma rep who says that pharmaceutical companies aren’t in the  business of curing but in the business of "disease maintenance and symptom management." It’s nothing new but here are two quotes that caught my attention:

"And what I’m saying is provable is that the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want to cure people. You need to understand specifically when we’re talking about psychiatric drugs in particular that these are drugs that encourage people to remain customers of the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, you will be told if you’re given a drug such as an anxiolytic, or an antidepressant, or an antipsychotic drug, that you may be on the drug for the rest of your life. And very frequently, people find that they are on the drug for a very long period of time, if not permanently, because they’re almost impossible to get off of. Some of them can have very serious withdrawal symptoms – most of them can have extremely serious withdrawal symptoms if they’re stopped cold turkey – but some people experience even withdrawal symptoms when they try to titrate or they try to eliminate the drug little by little, day after day."

"We have got to start making the pharmaceutical industry accountable for their actions and for the defective products they’re putting on the market. It won’t be long before every American is affected by this disaster and we need to be aware of what the differences are between diseases between disorders and between syndromes. Because if it doesn’t have to be scientifically proven, if there are no tests, if there are no blood tests, CAT scans, urine tests, MRIs – if there is nothing to document that you have disease, then you in fact, do not have a disease, you have a disorder and it has been given and has been diagnosed pretentiously and you need to get yourself educated and understand that there are options and those options are much more effective than drugs."

I’ve always wondered why doctors don’t run tests to diagnose any psychiatric disorders. From NIMH:

Research indicates that depressive illnesses are disorders of the brain. Brain-imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have shown that the brains of people who have depression look different than those of people without depression. The parts of the brain responsible for regulating mood, thinking, sleep, appetite and behavior appear to function abnormally. In addition, important neurotransmitters–chemicals that brain cells use to communicate–appear to be out of balance. But these images do not reveal why the depression has occurred.

If MRIs have shown that the people with depression have a part of the brain that functions abnormally then why isn’t it standard for all people diagnosed with depression to have an MRI done to confirm this? I have one of two hypotheses:  it’s too expensive to get an MRI done for each person and that insurance won’t pay for it or the abnormal functioning cannot be detected in the brain of every depressed person.  Therefore, is major depressive disorder really a made-up diagnosis?

Tips for proper self-withdrawal from medication(s)

Gianna, a reader of this site, has a great and informative blog, Bipolar Blast. In a recent post, she gives some tips for proper psych drug withdrawal. This is particularly helpful for those dealing with severe antidepressant withdrawal effects. For me, Effexor comes to mind. I also think about "Honey’s" experience with Zoloft. Not only does Gianna emphasize diet and nutrition as an important part of the process, but she also delves into proper titration. (Many people think that the diet and nutrition thing is obvious, but many people overlook that important piece of recovery.)

I understand that many people – especially in the psych world – think Peter Breggin’s a wack job, but he can have some good points. Gianna refers to Breggin’s 10% rule:

"Breggin suggests what has come to be known the 10% rule. Any given drug should not be reduced anymore than 10% at a time. Once a taper is complete the next taper should not exceed 10% of the new dose. Therefore, the milligram, then fraction of milligram amount decreases with each new taper. I’ve found that I have to sometimes go in even smaller amounts. As low as 5% and sometimes people go as small as 2.5%–for people on benzodiazepines it is not unusual to go in even smaller amounts. Cutting pills is not always enough. Sometimes liquid titration is necessary. This may involve dissolving the smallest dose pill in water, club soda or even alcohol, which can then be diluted with water, then using a syringe to cut down milliliters at a time. Medications also sometimes come in liquid form and can be gotten by prescription. It should be noted that some medications should not be dissolved. Especially time released medications. This would be extremely dangerous."

Gianna clearly knows what she’s talking about. Head on over to her site to read the rest of the post.