Has anyone tried Generic Keppra XR?

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momof3boys

momof3boys

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I was just wondering if anyone here has tried the generic keppra xr yet?
Ive been always on the name brand for epilepsy medications, and never have tried to the generic before. Price wise, its way cheaper for me. Brand name costs me $50 for a 3 month supply, compared to only $17.50 for the generic for a 3 month supply.

I ran it by my doctors nurse, and they said its up to me. Its new, and she said there probably wasnt alot of companies making it yet, and said I could always try it and see what it brings for me. If I had any problems, I can always go back to the name brand.

We get our prescriptions from Express Scripts, this will be our first time using them, since they changed things in July of this year. Instead of being able to go to a local pharmacy, we now have to go through a mail order pharmacy.

But I just wondered if anyone has tried it yet and if it was a succsess?
 
Originally we filled my sons Keppra generically and we were fine but when the doctor realized we were taking the generic she told us to switch right away to the name brand. I now pay $75 for a 3 month supply vs $15 for a 3 month supply, crazy true.
I was told that it can not be trusted, my son has nocturnal Grand Mal seizures that last a long time so we were not willing to chance it.
 
Ive never been on any generic medications for seizures in my entire life before. So I was really concerned at how it might affect me. I was having complex partial seizures and grand mal seizures before my VEEG this year. But after getting that done, and the dr commenting that I may have outgrown the grand mals, and possibly the complex partials, it makes me want to give a generic a try to see how things go. Like the nurse said, since its so new, there probably is not alot of companies making it yet, but for peace of mind, we can contact our pharmacy that we will be ordering through and ask them if they have alot of different companies supplying the medications to them. She explained how some companies make the drug different, and it ranging between 80% to 120% of the affect the medication has on someone.

So, I think I may give it a shot and try it. A 3 month supply is $17.50 and if it works, that would be great to save that much money each year! Instead of paying $200 a year for the name brand, I would only be paying $70 for a year! I hope it works for me.
 
momofthree said:
Originally we filled my sons Keppra generically and we were fine but when the doctor realized we were taking the generic she told us to switch right away to the name brand. I now pay $75 for a 3 month supply vs $15 for a 3 month supply, crazy true.
I was told that it can not be trusted, my son has nocturnal Grand Mal seizures that last a long time so we were not willing to chance it.
Click to expand...

Thats the same price I was paying for Keppra too! I was getting it in a six month supply, and paying $150 for a 6 month supply! The headaches were the worst though. Once I heard about the Keppra XR, I got that filled for $100 for 6 month supply. I seriously thought it would be more than the Keppra! But I guess not!? The Keppra XR truely helps me out so much!
 
oK.... I spoke to my mom, who talked it over with my aunt, who happens to be a nurse, and she thinks I should stick with the brand name. I know the nurse is going to think Im nuts! :roflmao: So I called her back, left her a voice mail saying that I think its best to just stick with the name brand Keppra XR.

I seriously dont want to go into seizures, not after having the long two months, March through May of this year.... trying to get my level of Keppra XR built back up, then having break through seizures, and going to and from medications, feeling the side effects and seizures of those.... it was not a fun time! Im just glad to be feeling like myself again! :)

I told the nurse she doesnt have to call me back, just as long as she can send me a prescription that I can send into our mail in pharmacy to get the refills I need.

I hate it when insurance companies change their crap around! This will be the first time I use the mail in pharmacy, instead of just going to one of our local pharmacies to order my medication! Im just so hoping I dont have complications with ordering through them! Its a PITA!
 
My son is only 7 and can't swallow pills so we can't do the XR, but I am told it is much much better and I guess from what you say cheaper too. I can't wait until he can swallow pills
 
I was put on it with out my old pharmacy letting me know they switched it and I started having seizures worse.
 
Hi! I've been on Keppra for about two years now and I take generic sometimes. My dad is a doctor and he said it doesn't make any difference besides the shape/color of the pill. But, I am on 3 medications and have the VNS and my seizures still aren't controled, so I really can't tell you for sure.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

I decided to stick with the name brand for now. I just dont want to risk having any seizures during the school year, and make it harder for everyone to help me out with the kids getting to and from school, if I do happen to have seizures and cant drive. Maybe I will look into it more in August of next year when I can sit down with my dr himself at my next appointment and talk about it more then with him.
 
I started on the name brand Keppra and fought through the adjustments to the side effects. After I was used to the Keppra and my seizures were controlled they substituted generic Keppra and it started all over again. Every time I refilled I had to readjust to a new recipe. I discussed this with my Epitologist and he said that each manufacturer makes subtle changes to the recipe and that usually it makes no difference in other meds prescribed for other problems. However anti seizure meds are a bit different and often folks are less tolerant of the change in consistency. He promptly switched me to Keppra XR since it wasn't available in generic at that time. Now that they are both available in generic we'll have to discuss it again. I may just have to bite the bullet and pay the big $$$ for name brand.
 
I take Keppra and the crazy insurance company tried to get me to change to generic keppra. Well my Dr does not like the generic (regular)Keppra so he had to send the insurance co a letter to tell them that he didn t want to to take the generic Keppra .:e:
 
Yeah thats how most insurance companies can be. They can be a PITA! I have yet to recieve my prescription from my drs office yet in the mail. With today being a holiday, I will have to check tomorrow's mail to see if it arrives.
 
Already back to brand name

My son started on the generic XR last Thursday and he's already back to the brand name. He was very tired and slow and confused and people noticed that something wasn't quite right. He started on the regular Keppra (1000 mg/day) a year ago and never adjusted to that either--he slept inordinate amounts of time and couldn't make it through the school day. After 6 mo. we changed to 2, 500 mg XR pills at bedtime and then he was back to normal sleep and more energy. The pharmacist changed to the generic XR because our secondary insurance wouldn't pay for the brand name last week.
 
I have tried levetiracetam from Actavis and Watson Labs. I tried Actavis first and got hives all over. I paid the insurance penalty price to get name brand Keppra XR then tried Watson labs. Watson Labs brand gave me headaches, tingling/numbness in my hands and feet, sucked the life out of me, I started having seizures again, I've been having sleep apnea, my skin has been breaking out like crazy, and I had to start taking anxiety meds to calm me down and help me sleep. When the side effects were at their worst, I accidentally got pregnant. I found out last week that the baby stopped developing early on and had to have a miscarriage. I had a perfectly healthy son in August 2010, perfectly healthy pregnancy and delivery, and breastfed him for 15+ months, and I was on name brand Keppra XR the entire time. I can't help thinking that the meds killed my baby. I'm still fighting the insurance company with appeals and third party reviews and medical judgements and not making much progress. It's very frustrating. I was normal without major seizures on Keppra then Keppra XR for over 6 years. Now it will cost me over $1000 for 3 months of the meds at my insurance company's "copay" price when it used to cost $25 for 3 months before the generics were available.
 
I've realized after reading this that the strange things that have been going on are probably all related to the different manufacturers of generic keppra XR. Tingling and numbness on my face, extreme confusion and tiredness, difficulty talking. I don't see how it could be that different. Guess I will change to brand name. I've tried 3 different manufacturers and all had problems.
 
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