Posted by john51 on May 29, 2008, at 9:29:28
In reply to Re: Nardil....'New' Nardil as good as Original?, posted by stargazer2 on May 28, 2008, at 21:28:47
> There's a whole website on former Nardil users who have failed terribly when they were switched to the newly formulated Nardil in 2004 or 2005. It was never identified as being a new formula and users started to notice they were becoming depressed again for no reason after being very stable on Nardil for many years.
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> It has been found out that the "new" version has different incipient ingredients which are the buffering agents and fillers used to mix the ingredients. The active ingredients are the same, but the changes in the formula can be enough to change the way a med dissolves or stays in your bloodstream for a shorter length of time. That is why the earlier formula was more effective at a lower level (I took only 15 mg vs the 60 mg I now take). The side effects, i.e. gas, weight gain are more pronounced in the current version of Nardil.
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> Former users noticed changes in the was they felt and questioned a change in the medication. Pfizer was not forthcoming in the changes and over time users have lobbied Pfizer to get the old version reformulated, since many formerly stable users relapsed after taking the reformulated Nardil.
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> Google 'Nardil activism' to read about the whole story on this. It is very interesting to say the least.
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> I went through a similar situation myself when I took Marplan over two years and then Roche decided to stop manufacturing it. I relapsed and never was able to find another med to help me as successfully as Marplan did or the original Nardil.
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> Both those and probably many other meds are changed especially when generic manufacturers start to make a version of a brand drug name and the generic version does not work in the same way. It is always said the ingredients are the same but there is alot more to it than having the same active ingredients. The manufacturering process differs and can cause changes in the way the brand drug was designed to work. I found this happened with generic wellbutrin too.
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> SGHello again, my name is John and I began this post. Thanks to the people that have responded. I would also like to add another very significant fact. Not ONLY did they change the formulation and/or the manufacturing process and I am fairly sure they did this in a way that it now costs LESS to manufacture than did the "original" Nardil, but to make matters even WORSE, if you have Medicare Part D Drug Coverage you will find that a prescription for Nardil is filled as Brand Name Drug and NOT as a generic. For me this means that a one month supply costs me $30.00 instead of $7.00. When Nardil was still being produced by Parke Davis it was priced as a generic, of course, because it had been on the market for so long....but, of course, when Pfizer 'took it over' I'm sure that they were allowed to put it on the market as a "NEW" drug again. I believe that this is most likely the reason that they "messed" with the formulation. Sad, sad news for many people who found the original Nardil to be the only drug that ever helped them and now they have none. Thanks for 'listening'!!
poster:john51
thread:831601
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080528/msgs/831866.html