IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT SERTRALINE!!

If you have a story to tell post it here..

Thank you for advice. I will keep a check on the headaches after tooth removal and cold has gone to make sure. I am on my 4th tablet on second prescript and both prescript were sertraline but different manufactory neither were lustre. trying to think back? so started new batch on 30th but thinking back I did have a couple of headaches prior to this from 25th Jan onwards so fingers crossed headaches not 5 he new meds. Thank you though I will keep an eye on it.

Well strange you should text that as lustral gave me bad side effects like mouth blisters and a tight head effect. I moved onto a generic which did the job, the side effects went within two days. Side effects will come with most meds, until the body and nervous system gets use to it... Meds work differntly on certain people. Be careful what you say on this forum as you may be creating more unwanted anxiety for folk here...

Post by Jonsti1972 taken from the link in the opening post above:

"Hello everyone, I just came across this site and thought I would share my very brief story with you regarding Sertraline and Lustral tablets. I have been suffering from depression for nearly 8 years now and have been, over this period, on Citalopram, Cipralex, Sertraline and another tablet which name has escaped me, but it wasn't within the SSRI family. I have been on Sertraline for well over a year now and, like most people I know, I have my ups and downs but have been getting various brands from differrent (and sometimes the same) pharmacy. I was told to try LUSTRAL once by a pharmacist who I worked with in my local hospital and the difference was remarkable. I spoke with my GP who said that there was absolutely no difference between the generic brand and Lustral, and me being me, took the word of a professional who had my health at the forefront of his mind, and I just went back to whatever brand they could provide at the time.....BIG MISTAKE!! I had been dispensed Lustral (just by chance) by my local pharmacy about 3 months ago and I was on top form, but the next month I went downhill again after asking for Lustral, but being told that they could only dispense that brand if it was stated on the prescription. Again I took their word for it and took the generic tablet.....this left me nearly suicidal, I wascold with everyone, reclusive and just horrible to be around....this was very worrying for me as a single father of 2 girls, 10 and 14. I had NO drive, NO passion, NO feeling, NO emotion, NO empathy....I just wanted to spend every day in the house, which I couldn't do as I couldn't afford to be off work. I went back to my GP and explained the whole situation and LUSTRAL was prescribed.....within 2 days I was getting back to my "normal" self....within the week I was like a different man completely. I have been so good recently that I have been able to ween myself down from 150mg to 100mg daily (and this is normally my bad time of the year). This combined with a couple of counselling sessions has given me hope again that I can start to live a more fulfilling life......The moral of the story is.....IF Lustral works for you at ANY stage....DEMAND IT from your GP.....it is only a cost saving exercise otherwise....and what is better....having to demand something (which may be out of character) or potentially suffering the "side effects" of a generic, non-effective brand?

I hope that this may give someone else some hope out there.

Paul"

Hi...I believe you are absolutely right! Years ago I took Zoloft with not a single side effect. However, this past summer I had a severe depressive episode and was put on Sertraline. It was an absolute nightmare!! I was so sick. I stayed on it for over a month and then told my dr...NO MORE! He switched me to Effexor and I am so much better!

Hi all, picked up some very interesting stuff re: generics from a pharmacist on another thread, well worth a read:

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/generics-can-they-make-you-feel-this-bad--28893

Post by "sarah17507"

"Hi all

this is such an interesting problem. Here are a few views of a pharmacist, if it helps!

We pharmacists have a sort of standard answer when patients come back and say the cheap generic we've given them (because that's what's on their prescription) doesn't agree with them or doesn't work or gives them side effects.....we say all generic drugs have to be made to certain standards and must show 'bioequivalence' to the original product, I.e. Lustral brand in the case of sertraline, and we are unable to give you lustral due to costs, and we say this all in good faith, because in honesty, this is all true. BUT.....I for one, know that the reality is different to this, as we are all different! And all the generic copies are bound to be slightly different as other posters have said, the inactive ingredients DO contribute some activity, especially with regards to allergies to colourings.

So, I just wanted to say, I do have sympathy and wish I could give each patient exactly the brand they feel best on, but I cant! If the script says 'sertraline' I can give any brand and will be reimbursed for cheap sertraline, a set price. If the script says 'lustral' I can only give you lustral, and as such will be reimbursed the set price of this.....a lot more than generic. I have worked in loads of different pharmacies as I'm a locum, and can say that I advise you all to shop around, as different pharmacies vary in their ability to obtain your preferred generic make.....so always ask the pharmacist if it's something they can do.

your doctor will be under pressure to reduce their prescribing costs so it is unlikely they'll start prescribing you the brand of lustral, but I do know some patients seem to get lucky here, and seem to have persuaded their doctor to write lustral. Well done to them I say! Often, the hospital doctors will be used to writing the brand (effects of company drug reps are influential) so you start on lustral, then your GP takes over and of course you feel fobbed off with cheap drugs. I believe patients when they say a generic has caused their condition to worsen, but I can't do anything about it if you want the brand, only the prescriber can. But i can try and obtain a particular manufacturers generic for you.

another point is, some large pharmacy chains DO supply you with lustral even if your script says sertraline, as they have a deal with Pfizer as they buy in large quantities, so just to add even more confusion, some days you may well receive lustral when you weren't expecting it!

Ive had so many people specifically request Dr reddy brand of other drugs, eg., clopidogrel, saying it's the only one they feel works, and funnily enough, also loads of ppl saying 'never give me Dr reddys brand'......so what does this tell us!? We have so much choice in this country and our wonderful NHS gives us so much for free, we are very spoilt if we can choose the brand of our tablets. I believe Dr reddys are made in India though, and I can only imagine their GMP (good manufacturing practice) is shall we say different to the uk!

always bear in mind your condition can change, and it's very hard to prove causation, as it could always be coincidence, so don't always blame the generic drug, but that said, I do believe problems can be caused by generics and your doctor should listen to your concerns. Fakes and counterfeit drugs are a separate issue though, generics aren't fakes. They're legal and genuine and tested. Always report adverse effects via yellow card system.

sorry to have rambled on! Good luck all."

Your doc gives you the scipt. he dont have a say in your med, the chemist buys them in.

you can use the same chemist for years but they all swap generics now and then, there in it to make money like everyone else , 1 week there white the next there blue i am sure asda buy for profit margin its a supermarket

I have been on Setraline for over 3 years. I'm 27 and recently they gave me a different brand name. Ever since, I have been having these major toothaches. I mean it's so bad that i can't function and the dentist says it's my meds. The only change was the manufacturer. It has to be this MFG AUROBINDO. Nothing else is wrong. Just constant pain and I don't know what to do? Anybody have any suggestions? i can't stop taking Zoloft. My daughter was murdered a year ago and i went from just having social anxiety to full blown depression. If anybody knows anything that might work i would love to here about it. Thanks again! Angela