Pseudotumor Cerebri Support Group
Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is a neurological disorder that is characterized by increased intracranial pressure, in the absence of a tumor or other diseases affecting the brain or its lining. Diagnosis requires brain scans and lumbar puncture. Characteristic symptoms are headache, transient visual obscurations or transient visual loss in one or both eyes usually lasting...
My daughter has been on topiramate since 2009 and over the last few weeks her headaches have been getting worse. the only thing that has changed is her supplier of topiramate from Teva to Zydus. She had enough med from Teva to make up her current dose so she started taking them and after several days her headaches are back to where they were before the change in supplier. Has anyone else had a experienced something like this. Does anyone know how regulated these foreign company's are.
I know my insurance company is always trying to get me to switch a medication to a cheaper one, and my doctor has to fill out a form once a year as to why I should still take the more expensive name brand. I would ask the doctor to switch back to see if it helps. Even if it means jumping through some hoops.
Generic drugs must be "bioequivalent" to their brand-name counterparts. That means:
"The FDA considers two products bioequivalent if the 90% CI of the relative mean Cmax, AUC(0-t) and AUC(0-) of the test (e.g. generic formulation) to reference (e.g. innovator brand formulation) should be within 80.00% to 125.00% in the fasting state."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioequivalence
In other words, the potency of the drug could be 20% less than you are used to, or 25% more than you are used to. Both are sub-optimal for a sensitive person. That's a possible 45% swing! Just speaking for myself, if someone reduces my dose by 20% it's a problem.