Defending generic drugs

Q. I can’t believe so many people complain about generic drugs on your website. Generics are required by law to contain the exact same active ingredients in the same quantities. What does it matter if the inactive ingredients differ? They’re inactive.

I am really disappointed that The People’s Pharmacy offers a forum to uninformed morons who don’t mind paying 700 percent more for a brand name. Just because it has a name doesn’t mean it’s any better, only more expensive.

A. For 25 years, we agreed with your position that generic drugs were identical to brand names and a great way to save money. In the past decade, however, we have seen too many complaints about generics from patients and physicians to ignore.

Comments like this scare us: “My epilepsy was controlled for five years on Keppra (brand name) until my insurance switched me to generic levetiracetam. I started seizing again. My doctor said the generic is less effective for other patients, too, and switched me back to the brand.”

Hundreds of visitors to our website (www.PeoplesPharmacy.com) have reported similar failures with certain generic antidepressants, blood pressure drugs and sleeping pills. So many medications are manufactured overseas that the Food and Drug Administration has trouble monitoring their quality. There is an in-depth discussion of the generic-drug controversy in our new book, “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”

Q. I have struggled my whole life with an itchy scalp. Prescription Nizoral shampoo offered a little relief, but it was expensive.

I tried amber Listerine followed by a vinegar rinse, but that dried my hair out. Then my hairdresser suggested Sea Breeze astringent for acne (sensitive skin formula). That has helped the most!

The condition will never go away, but I don’t itch anymore, and using Sea Breeze twice a week in the shower has freed me from this annoying condition. I hope others will benefit from this natural and effective remedy for scalp itch and dandruff.

A. Listerine contains menthol, eucalyptol, thymol and methyl salicylate in an alcohol base. The Sea Breeze astringent you are using has some similar ingredients, including eucalyptus leaf oil and alcohol.

Q. Before I was put on levothyroxine for underactive thyroid, I was irritated by even the smallest things. I felt so tired and depressed that I was always crying. I couldn’t sleep or lose any weight, and I always felt cold.

When I started on levothyroxine (150 mcg), I felt more like my normal self than I had in a long time. My doctor lowered the dose, and my symptoms have gotten worse again. The doctor says the blood test is OK, but I still feel bad.

What do the tests mean? How can I overcome the lethargy and depression?

A. Depression, fatigue and feeling cold can be symptoms of inadequate thyroid hormone. So is trouble losing weight.

Getting the dose of levothyroxine (T4) right can be tricky. Some people do better with a combination of T4 (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid) and T3 (Cytomel). Anyone who would like a copy of our Guide to Thyroid Hormones, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (64 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. T-4, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

2011 King Features Syndicate, Inc.