Losartan/dry mouth and eyes

Hi louise21984...You'd be surprised at the number of people who truly believe that Losartan & Valsartan are the same. They are NOT. The names are very close, but that's all. Both are from the class of ARB's.,yet have some different ingredients. My Dr. seems to prefer prescribing the Valsartan., although I'm taking an ACE. I was taking the ACE while a patient of another doctor., & have continued to do so. In the near future, I shall be asking my Dr. to review my meds with me & I'd like a change if possible. I do have a cough, but had the cough prior to taking the med. I think the meds are aggravating the cough, but I'll ask that question when I see the Respirologist in the next few months.

Yes I know.  I caught Orange County 'flu while taking Losartan - and my lungs sounded like dry crocodile skin.  Quite frightening to hear your lungs sounding like that.  No problem now - on Candesartan after Valsartan disappeared for a couple of weeks. (Patent ran outl) 

v126618...There's nothing worse than a dry eye that burns. Keep putting drops in to keep the eye lubricated.

As for the burning mouth...perhaps the medication has irritated the nerves??? Just a guess here.

Some people do believe that the BRAND name of meds is better than generic, because they think the generic doesn't have exactly the same ingredients. Some doctors even believe this. My own doctor sarcastically grinned one day when I mentioned this topic. When I said to him.."it's the same thing"..this is when the sarcastic grin came into being. He said.."No it's not". Insurance won't pay for a brand name when generic is available. Even the Pharmacist will say the ingredients are the same...& it's LAW. 

Personally, I can't see how a generic could be the same..& then sold at a cheaper rate. I've heard so many stories about people taking a generic brand of med...then have trouble with it, yet when they take the brand name..they're fine.THAT tells me something. 

By all means speak with your doctor. Please let me know how you get on.

I just read on www.askpatient.com - drug ratings for Benicar that now that it is generic, the maker of Benicar, Daichi Sankyo has stopped making the brand name formulary in Japan & has outsourced to manufacture in India.  If you have product that says Manufactured by SUN, it's a cheap India version with sulfa fillers.   - Now I am wondering if this is why I am suffering eye and face burning.  Most doctors don't usually believe the patient who complains about medications.

vl26618..if you read my previous post, you'll see that my Dr. doesn't believe the generics are the same.

You as much as said the same thing. Again, I fail to understand how a company can manufacture a medication...claim it's the very same only an off-label, yet is much cheaper. I do believe the fillers may have something to do with what some people experience as side effects. I have a friend who takes Norvasc...the brand name of Amlodipine. Her Dr. insists on it. She did take the Amlodipine at one time, but had side effects. When taking the Norvasc, she did not. 

I think Insurance companies need to start respecting their clients. IF their Dr. wants them on a certain medication, & if that medication is a covered item in the policy, then by all means it should be honoured, yet the Insurance Companies wont cover it unless it's the generic brand. Go figure.

Out of curiosity, I'm going to call my Insurance Company later today to ask them about this topic. If say, my Dr. prescribed Cardura, instead of Doxazosin, will they cover it???