davesf wrote:

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Mine are Ribasphere by Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals.  They are blue.  I wouldn't call them ovals; maybe cylinders with rounded tips.

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 Those are what mine were.

LadyAlaise wrote:

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My pill bottle says:
(ZyGenerics)
IC RIBAVIRIN
Tablets
200mg
[This is a PINK, ROUND-shaped TABLET imprinted with ZC19 on the front]
--
MFR: ZYDUS PHARMECEU

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LadyAlaise wrote:

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Mine too are small round and pink pills
I take 3 in morning and 3 at night.
Although today my liver doc said that the dosage amount is based on patients wieght; when I started tx I was about 200 lbs, today I am 166-167lbs. He told me to reduce my dose by 1 pill :)

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Mine too are small round and pink pills
I take 3 in morning and 3 at night.
Although today my liver doc said that the dosage amount is based on patients wieght; when I started tx I was about 200 lbs, today I am 166-167lbs. He told me to reduce my dose by 1 pill :)

Ribavirin has been off patent and available generically since 2004 in the U.S. 

Ribavirin is an antiviral drug that was originally discovered in 1970 by ICN Pharmaceutical.  ICN licensed ribavirin to the two main companies marketing interferonfirst Schering-Plough, which markets ribavirin as Rebetol and later Roche, which markets ribavirin as Copegus.

http://hepcproject.typepad.com/hep_c_project/2004/04/generic_ribavir.html

So if you are not taking Rebetol or Copegus you are taking a "generic." 

Some generic brands some of you might be taking: Ribasphere, Ribapak, Vilona and Virazole.

I take Ribasphere.

I take Copegus ( Roche), oval pink caplet with Rib 200 on one side, Roche on the other. 3 at 7am, 3 at 7pm.

Mine are Ribasphere by Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals.  They are blue.  I wouldn't call them ovals; maybe cylinders with rounded tips.

I don't know what my riba looked like!

My riba was pre-dissolved and dispensed in a 1200 ml oral syringe (like the ones you give medicine to young children in).  I would get 1 package of 7 syringes each week.

I know this sounds weird, but it worked like this:

My hepatologist (with Southwest Medical Associates, here in 'Vegas) referred the medication dispensing  to Walgreen's Infusion Services.  They also handle pain pumps, Chemo med dispensing, etc.

After my first orientation visit and general health and mental eval to the Infusion Services, I would go in once a week.  At that time, they would check vitals, dispense 1 week of ribavirin filled oral syringes, Incivek, and give me my interferon shot.  Once a month they would draw blood. After 3 months they allowed me to do my own weekly shot, so I only had to come in once a month. (I had to talk them into that)

They handle quite a few people on HepC TX, plus HIV, cancer, and others.

The NP said they make enough off these specialty drugs to do this at no charge.

All in all, it seems like a good  way to set up TX.

Brad

My Ribavirin is the white capsule; I'm too lazy to go look at the pill container to see if it's generic or not.

A generic medication HAS TO be equal in quality to the "branded" med.  

   The reason that branded meds are more expensive than the generics has everything to do with the cost of marketing, advirtising, etc.

Hi Bauhaus.

The link refers to the Riba on page 12, along with the different prices etc..

You have an opinion on the generic versions and don't want them, which is fine, but an opinion is different to a fact.

Good luck with getting the one's you want

Love Steff xx

Hi Bauhaus,

It's true that we should respect different opinions, but here we have a situation where people are worried about being given generic Riba and thinking that it's going to effect their chances of SVR. Yes, it's about money, because the major pharma companies have the monopoly of the market until their patent runs out and this allows other companies to produce the same meds  at a more competative price. I'm sure you know this though.

We're discussing Riba here, not Interferon - The 2 Interferons vary very slightly, hence Alpha 2a and Alpha 2b. Riba is the same compound whatever you call it.They all have to be FDA approved, so it's not some dodgy outfit on the internet supplying them.

Here are just a couple of links relating to generic drigs, one of them from HCV Advocate

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/RX_costs.pdf

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=46204

Love Steff xx

greenqueen wrote:

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Hi Everyone,

There shoudn't be any difference in the quality of generics!

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/resources/pdf/best-buy-drugs/BBD_Hepatitis_C.pdf

"Generics are much less expensive than newer brand-name medicines but theyre not lesser quality drugs.

Indeed, most generics remain useful medicines even many years after first being marketed. Thats why more

than 60 percent of all prescriptions in the U.S. today are written for generics."

Love Steff xx

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 i just dont buy it...there are also many other investigations proving the contrary...its al about the price..the base ingridient is mostly the same but the rest of the componets making the meds al together are diferent. people are hostage of the price,i ask my DOC what would she chose for her self...she laugh...i know enough.deeper research about peg interferons should prove that pegassys (alpha 2a) most likely to give a higher SVR than peg intron (alpha 2b),and have in mind that most of research made on meds are not independent but sponsord by pharmaceutical companys trying to sell their stuff!!! on my country we also have this culture of giving generics at first..but the patiente is ALWAYS free to ask for the BRAND. after al if we pay insurance every month should not be our problem how mutch this stuff costs! but....respect !we al have diferent opinions!!

Hi Everyone,

There shoudn't be any difference in the quality of generics!

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/resources/pdf/best-buy-drugs/BBD_Hepatitis_C.pdf

"Generics are much less expensive than newer brand-name medicines but they’re not lesser quality drugs.

Indeed, most generics remain useful medicines even many years after first being marketed. That’s why more

than 60 percent of all prescriptions in the U.S. today are written for generics."

Love Steff xx

Mine was oval blue (600 mg), now its gray round shape 200 mgs. But i think i already told you ;)

12Step Guy wrote:

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Mine are round pink and have ZC19 stamped on them

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Mine are round pink and have ZC19 stamped on them

greenqueen wrote:

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Hi Bauhaus,

It's true that we should respect different opinions, but here we have a situation where people are worried about being given generic Riba and thinking that it's going to effect their chances of SVR. Yes, it's about money, because the major pharma companies have the monopoly of the market until their patent runs out and this allows other companies to produce the same meds  at a more competative price. I'm sure you know this though.

We're discussing Riba here, not Interferon - The 2 Interferons vary very slightly, hence Alpha 2a and Alpha 2b. Riba is the same compound whatever you call it.They all have to be FDA approved, so it's not some dodgy outfit on the internet supplying them.

Here are just a couple of links relating to generic drigs, one of them from HCV Advocate

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/RX_costs.pdf

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=46204

Love Steff xx

 

 hi STEF i was talking about interferons because it was the subject on you link(i actualy read it),its not my intention to scare nobody with this info...but for shore i wont hide it.i still think that generics are less qualitative.but well im no FDA expert im just a patiente hoe does NOT want that stuff at all.i herad from some people on this forum that at first they got brand meds and later on generics...i mean thers got to be something wrong.but thats just me,have you wondered how come that the price of generics are so competitive?

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-- Edited by bauhaus76 on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 09:25:50 PM

-- Edited by bauhaus76 on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 09:28:24 PM

-- Edited by bauhaus76 on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 04:19:25 PM

yes guys ...i know al abou it.. now i have the brand meds but i realy had to complain....the ones i have now are ovals...(european version COPEGUS) and at the first week they send me ribavirine from theva pharm the round ones that crap was so big as a paracetemol....they said its the same base ingridients...but i know for a fact that quality and absortion time in our bodys together with side efects are worse on generics ,insurance companys go for low cost meds but dont accept it! DAHM!!!

-- Edited by bauhaus76 on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 03:44:48 PM

-- Edited by bauhaus76 on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 03:47:13 PM