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safe & sound
Picture of a1abdj
posted
As some of you may have read previously, I have been in a never ending battle with my insurance company and Walgreens to ensure I get a monthly supply of a drug I have been on since the late 1990's.

Due to them causing me grief, I have attempted to return the favor whenever possible. They most recently switched my medication from a name brand to generic, and I had my doctor fight them back and force them to cover the name brand.

I am also being forced to purchase my medication through my insurance company's contracted supplier instead of Walgreens. Good riddance to them. The supplier sends me a 90 day supply of the generic. I call them, they look it up, realize the insurer approved name brand, and send me the name brand.

I have one bottle of "name brand" from Walgreens, one bottle of "generic" from the supplier, and now the bottle of "name brand" they just sent.

All three bottles display the names of three different manufacturers, but the pills within are identical in size, shape, color, and even markings.

I thought if nothing else, different manufacturers would at least have different markings on the pills. Is somebody playing mind games with me?


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Posts: 15950 | Location: St. Charles, MO, USA | Registered: September 22, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caribou gorn
Picture of YellowJacket
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quote:
Originally posted by a1abdj:
As some of you may have read previously, I have been in a never ending battle with my insurance company and Walgreens to ensure I get a monthly supply of a drug I have been on since the late 1990's.

Due to them causing me grief, I have attempted to return the favor whenever possible. They most recently switched my medication from a name brand to generic, and I had my doctor fight them back and force them to cover the name brand.

I am also being forced to purchase my medication through my insurance company's contracted supplier instead of Walgreens. Good riddance to them. The supplier sends me a 90 day supply of the generic. I call them, they look it up, realize the insurer approved name brand, and send me the name brand.

I have one bottle of "name brand" from Walgreens, one bottle of "generic" from the supplier, and now the bottle of "name brand" they just sent.

All three bottles display the names of three different manufacturers, but the pills within are identical in size, shape, color, and even markings.

I thought if nothing else, different manufacturers would at least have different markings on the pills. Is somebody playing mind games with me?

Pills are marked with a consistent size, color, and number specific to the drug for identification purposes regardless of manufacturer.

There is also a "pill identification" book that shows examples and lists numbers for each drug. When I worked in pharmacy, we'd have people come in all the time with a pill they found asking what it was and we could look it up in the book.



I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log.
 
Posts: 10659 | Location: Marietta, GA | Registered: February 10, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Cat Whisperer
Picture of cmr076
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quote:
Originally posted by YellowJacket:
quote:
Originally posted by a1abdj:
As some of you may have read previously, I have been in a never ending battle with my insurance company and Walgreens to ensure I get a monthly supply of a drug I have been on since the late 1990's.

Due to them causing me grief, I have attempted to return the favor whenever possible. They most recently switched my medication from a name brand to generic, and I had my doctor fight them back and force them to cover the name brand.

I am also being forced to purchase my medication through my insurance company's contracted supplier instead of Walgreens. Good riddance to them. The supplier sends me a 90 day supply of the generic. I call them, they look it up, realize the insurer approved name brand, and send me the name brand.

I have one bottle of "name brand" from Walgreens, one bottle of "generic" from the supplier, and now the bottle of "name brand" they just sent.

All three bottles display the names of three different manufacturers, but the pills within are identical in size, shape, color, and even markings.

I thought if nothing else, different manufacturers would at least have different markings on the pills. Is somebody playing mind games with me?

Pills are marked with a consistent size, color, and number specific to the drug for identification purposes regardless of manufacturer.

There is also a "pill identification" book that shows examples and lists numbers for each drug. When I worked in pharmacy, we'd have people come in all the time with a pill they found asking what it was and we could look it up in the book.


amazon is working on an app (according to my neighbor that manages something with the cloud) that you take a picture of any pill and it tells you exactly what it is.


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246R
 
Posts: 3902 | Location: SE PA | Registered: November 13, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Some brand name manufacturers will make a generic and license it for distribution to another company. Same exact drug made by the brand name manufacturer, but marketed as generic. A handful that come to mind currently are Concerta and Adderall XR. Pfizer also does this with Zoloft under the Greenstone mfg name. Those are the ones I can think of right now, although there are many others.
 
Posts: 2181 | Location: St. Louis | Registered: January 28, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Pills are marked with a consistent size, color, and number specific to the drug for identification purposes regardless of manufacturer.


That is odd. I have several prescriptions for generics. From time to time, they will look completely different than the last time with the difference being the manufacturer.
 
Posts: 694 | Location: E. Central Missouri | Registered: January 05, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caribou gorn
Picture of YellowJacket
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quote:
Originally posted by Steve Collins:
quote:
Pills are marked with a consistent size, color, and number specific to the drug for identification purposes regardless of manufacturer.


That is odd. I have several prescriptions for generics. From time to time, they will look completely different than the last time with the difference being the manufacturer.

Might not be a hard, fast rule... I suppose there is some deviation. I was just looking up some valium/diazepam and there are different numbers for various manufacturers. But some pills are consistent in appearance across manufacturers. I'm sure it has something to do with patents and trademarks.

It's been awhile since I worked in that field...



I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log.
 
Posts: 10659 | Location: Marietta, GA | Registered: February 10, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I believe in the
principle of
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Picture of JALLEN
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That's a surprise. I think the pills are different size, shape, color every time I get a refill. No two are alike. Same stuff.

I just refilled one last week. These are light beige. The previous ones were white.




Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown
 
Posts: 48369 | Location: Texas hill country | Registered: July 04, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Thank you
Very little
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Yep happens to me, refills will come with different color and shape, last time one medication was white and round, now it's a tan color and square, I'm hoping for a blue triangle or perhaps a pink flowery pill next time...
 
Posts: 24674 | Location: Gunshine State | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I believe in the
principle of
Due Process
Picture of JALLEN
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by HRK:
Yep happens to me, refills will come with different color and shape, last time one medication was white and round, now it's a tan color and square, I'm hoping for a blue triangle or perhaps a pink flowery pill next time...


Be careful. The side effects of those pink flowery ones give you a figure.




Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown
 
Posts: 48369 | Location: Texas hill country | Registered: July 04, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
safe & sound
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Posts: 15950 | Location: St. Charles, MO, USA | Registered: September 22, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
אַרְיֵה
Picture of V-Tail
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quote:
Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Pills are marked with a consistent size, color, and number specific to the drug for identification purposes regardless of manufacturer.
Are you sure about this? I would like to know where you get that information. Not a personal challenge, I'm actually asking for information.

Reason: I'm on Lisinopril for BP. I get it from the pharmacy at Publix ("Where Shopping Is A Pleasure," and where certain prescription medications, including Lisinopril, are free). Sometimes it's an oblong pill with parallel sides and rounded ends, kind of like a racetrack, and sometimes it's a round tablet. The label on the bottle always specifies the same drug and dosage.



הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
 
Posts: 31716 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by V-Tail:
quote:
Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Pills are marked with a consistent size, color, and number specific to the drug for identification purposes regardless of manufacturer.
Are you sure about this? I would like to know where you get that information. Not a personal challenge, I'm actually asking for information.

Reason: I'm on Lisinopril for BP. I get it from the pharmacy at Publix ("Where Shopping Is A Pleasure," and where certain prescription medications, including Lisinopril, are free). Sometimes it's an oblong pill with parallel sides and rounded ends, kind of like a racetrack, and sometimes it's a round tablet. The label on the bottle always specifies the same drug and dosage.


Each pill will have a different imprint on in specific to that manufacturer. Lisinopril 10mg from Lupin will have a LUP and 10 imprinted on it. Another mfg will have a different imprint. It isn't uncommon for a pharmacy to have a different mfg from one month to the next, especially if there are supply issues. Currently, Atenolol is on nationwide backorder due to a shortage of raw ingredient. We will cycle through different mfg until our supplier is completely out of everything.
 
Posts: 2181 | Location: St. Louis | Registered: January 28, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
safe & sound
Picture of a1abdj
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Each pill will have a different imprint on in specific to that manufacturer.



That's what I would have thought. All three of mine are the same.


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Posts: 15950 | Location: St. Charles, MO, USA | Registered: September 22, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Also with regard to similar size and color. I've only seen that with certain meds.....Synthroid/Levoxyl and their generics and Coumadin and its generics. Others will be different size and color, depending on the manufacturer. The actual imprint can be specific to the strength (i.e 10 imprinted for 10mg tab) or specific to the manufacturer (i.e the mfg logo or letter corresponding to their name).
 
Posts: 2181 | Location: St. Louis | Registered: January 28, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by a1abdj:
quote:
Each pill will have a different imprint on in specific to that manufacturer.



That's what I would have thought. All three of mine are the same.


Frank, read my first post in this thread. Those are called clones. Generic med, made by the brand name company marketed or licensed to and distributed by a generic company. Some, like Pfizer, have their own generic offshoot...Greenstone. That is why they look the same, but are labeled both brand and generic.
 
Posts: 2181 | Location: St. Louis | Registered: January 28, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Man Once
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There is an app that I use to identify pills. Pill Identifier from Drugs.com.
 
Posts: 11158 | Location: NE OHIO | Registered: October 22, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Honky Lips
Picture of FenderBender
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the size, shape, coloration and marking of every drug is included in it's FDA certification.

as to the origin here's a tip you can have forever stay away from Chinese and Indian produced pharmaceuticals.
 
Posts: 8197 | Registered: July 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici
Picture of ChuckFinley
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quote:
Originally posted by Erick85:
Some brand name manufacturers will make a generic and license it for distribution to another company. Same exact drug made by the brand name manufacturer, but marketed as generic. A handful that come to mind currently are Concerta and Adderall XR. Pfizer also does this with Zoloft under the Greenstone mfg name. Those are the ones I can think of right now, although there are many others.


This is 100% accurate. I'm not sure if Allergan does so for Asacol HD.




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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
 
Posts: 5701 | Location: District 12 | Registered: June 16, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by FenderBender:
as to the origin here's a tip you can have forever stay away from Chinese and Indian produced pharmaceuticals.


At Walgreens and others, it's getting harder and harder to stay away from Indian pharmaceuticals if you're using generics.

They sometimes look at me as tho I have two heads if I request a U.S. or European manufacturer.
 
Posts: 441 | Location: Wichita, KS USA | Registered: April 04, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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When in doubt if you got the correct drug call poison control, give them the description of the tablet or capsule with colors, shape and any numbers or letters and the general size, they should be able to tell you what you have.
 
Posts: 1833 | Location: central Alabama | Registered: July 31, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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