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Thought those $4 generic antibiotics were junk until my $85 brand name script did the same thing
Got a sinus infection last month and the CVS tech offered me the generic for $4 instead of my usual $85 brand, and I almost walked out because I figured you get what you pay for. Took the cheap ones, felt better in 3 days, same as always, and now I'm wondering how much of that $81 difference was just marketing. Anybody here actually notice a real difference between generic and brand, or is it all in our heads?
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martin.riley15d ago
My sister is a pharmacy tech at a Walgreens in Ohio and she told me something interesting about this. The FDA actually requires generics to have the same active ingredient, same strength, same dosage form, and they have to prove it works the same in the body before they can sell it. The difference is mostly in the fillers and binders, which can change how fast your body absorbs it, but for most antibiotics it doesn't matter enough to notice. Where people actually get burned is stuff like thyroid meds or certain seizure drugs where even a tiny change in absorption messes with your levels. Your sinus infection case is exactly why the system works, same drug, way less money, and the $81 you saved was paying for the commercial with the happy people walking on a beach.
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