Brand Name vs Generic clonazepam

[[...]]

Please help - I have been getting generic clonazepam for year.  Currently looking to start my third taper - very slowly- my normal Teva brand is indefinitely back-ordered.  I don’t want to keep getting a different generic brand - would it be ok to just request Brand Name Klonopin ?  I’m scared of it being different from the generic brand also , but more afraid to keep changing generic brands every so often.  I’m going to/have been directly tapering from clonazepam.  Any thoughts?  Is the brand name Klonopin the exact same?  

[[Pa...]]

I've read other members mention they've been able to detect differences between the different generics and certainly between them and the name brand.  I've also read they have requested certain brands from their pharmacy and they've been accommodated. I wonder if you could speak with your pharmacist and work something out so you could get a consistent supply? 

[[Li...]]

Hello @[...].

Have you tried calling pharmacies in your area that are not in the same chain as your current pharmacy to ask if they stock Teva clonazepam and/or can get it from their distributor/supplier?  My experience is that smaller, independently owned pharmacies are more amendable to such requests than larger, chain pharmacies.

Have you asked your prescriber if they would be willing to include a ‘dispense as written’ order for Teva clonazepam on your prescription?  Or, if you decide to use brand, you could ask your prescriber to include a ‘dispense as written’ order for brand Klonopin.

Brand Klonopin contains exactly the same active pharmaceutical ingredient as clonazepam tablets from generic manufacturers such as Teva.  An advantage of using brand tablets is that brand manufacturers tend to have higher quality control standards than generic manufacturers.   This means there is usually less variability in the amount of active ingredient in brand tablets both within and between batches.

[[...]]

Thanks so much for your thoughts:). For a long time now I’ve only used Teva - there is definitely going to be a problem moving forward with that one .  I’m comforted to think (Libertas), that the brand name would mean a more consistent supply, and yes My doctor has prescribed the brand name - just hoping it isn’t stronger than the generic brands- my poor brain is going down the rabbit hole of what if Klonopin brand name binds even tighter to receptors?  If that makes sense 🥺

[[Li...]]

You’re welcome @[...].  I know from personal experience how unsettling manufacturer changes can be.  

Let me assure you that the brand Klonopin will not bind more tightly to receptors than the Teva clonazepam.  As I wrote earlier, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (i.e. the clonazepam) in brand Klonopin and generic clonazepam is the same.

I have used both generic clonazepam manufactured by Teva and brand Klonopin without issues.

[[...]]

Help again!

After filling my script for Brand name Klonopin- I am definitely feeling awful- I am currently on month 3 of updosing from .25mg generic Teva to .5mg - I was destabilized from dropping too fast to get to .25mg .  It was so unbearable- I just started to feel much better when I was told the Teva was on back order…hence my thoughts of just getting brand name to make things go smoothly for my tapering.  Brand name has brought back withdrawal symptoms.  I do have some Teva leftovers - I think I will use those until I can figure this out … any suggestions on why the brand name would do this ?  Too much of a change to quickly? 

[[st...]]

When I was given different generic like Mylan, I also felt worse until switching back to TEVA. I see TEVA is expected back mid August?

I thought I heard all these companies, including Roche have accuracy requirements that allow active ingredient actually in each tablet to be within certain % points range of specified tablet dose and some could be near bottom of that range while others near top.

Another variable could be the bioequivalence of generics to original brand. If I'm reading correctly on p.18 here, they say:

"BE criteria are that the 90% confidence interval of
AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and Cmax must fall within 80.00 to 125.00%."

If that's what I think it is, it explains why for me it was better to stay with one brand. But if I could switch from K to V, switching brands of K should also be possible but I would do it like a K to V crossover - gradually over 2 weeks (if that much prior tablets still available).

I was sensitive to artificial colors too but they both seem to have same one. Some people claim that different fillers might change absorption rates but I don't see how that's possible. Here is what I found on other ingredients:

ROCHE KLONOPIN 0.5 mg tablets contain:
- magnesium stearate
- microcrystalline cellulose
- corn starch
- FD&C Yellow No. 6

TEVA 0.5 mg tablets contain:
- magnesium stearate
- microcrystalline cellulose
- FD&C Yellow No. 6
- colloidal silicon dioxide
- croscarmellose sodium
- glycerin
- lactose monohydrate
- polysorbate 20

 

 

Edited June 26 by [st...]

[[Li...]]

 

 

9 hours ago, [[s...] said:

Here is what I found on other ingredients:

ROCHE KLONOPIN 0.5 mg tablets contain:
- magnesium stearate
- microcrystalline cellulose
- corn starch
- FD&C Yellow No. 6

TEVA 0.5 mg tablets contain:
- magnesium stearate
- microcrystalline cellulose
- FD&C Yellow No. 6
- colloidal silicon dioxide
- croscarmellose sodium
- glycerin
- lactose monohydrate
- polysorbate 20

Hello @[st...].  May I ask what source you consulted for the excipients in Teva clonazepam and brand Klonopin above?  They are different than the ones reported in DailyMed — the official source of FDA drug labels here in the US.  See below.

0.5mg brand Klonopin manufactured by H-2 Pharma
LACTOSE, UNSPECIFIED FORM (UNII: J2B2A4N98G)
MAGNESIUM STEARATE (UNII: 70097M6I30)
MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE (UNII: OP1R32D61U)
STARCH, CORN (UNII: O8232NY3SJ)  
FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 (UNII: H77VEI93A8)

0.5mg generic clonazepam manufactured by Teva
STARCH, CORN (UNII: O8232NY3SJ)  
LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE (UNII: EWQ57Q8I5X)
MAGNESIUM STEARATE (UNII: 70097M6I30
MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE (UNII: OP1R32D61U)
POVIDONE K90 (UNII: RDH86HJV5Z)  
D&C YELLOW NO. 10 ALUMINUM LAKE (UNII: CQ3XH3DET6)

 

 

[[Li...]]

Hello @[...].

As you can see from my post above, brand Klonopin in the US has the same excipients as generic Teva clonazepam with only one exception (brand does not contain povidone K90 whereas the Teva generic does).  So it’s unlikely that the switch from Teva to Klonopin is due to a change in excipients.

Am I understanding correctly that you made the switch from generic to brand in one fell swoop?  That is, you stopped taking the generic one day and started taking brand the next?  (Generally speaking, it’s preferable to make such changes gradually depending on your daily dosing schedule — e.g. in your case, take part of your dose in Teva and part in brand then gradually increase the amount of brand.)

How many days has it been since you made the switch?

Can you tell us more about the symptoms you experienced after the switch?  For example, did you notice a difference in the onset or duration of action of the drug?

Re: a possible shortage of Teva clonazepam …

The resupply information cited in a post upthread has not been updated since May 2, 2023 so may not be accurate. 

For example, according to the independent pharmacy I use, their distributor (McKesson) has a substantial supply of 0.5mg Teva clonazepam available. 

[[st...]]

46 minutes ago, [[L...] said:

The resupply information cited in a post upthread has not been updated since May 2, 2023 so may not be accurate. 

For example, according to the independent pharmacy I use, their distributor (McKesson) has a substantial supply of 0.5mg Teva clonazepam available. 

That's great news if local pharmacies can get it from McKesson. (That resupply post was created 4'23 but updated 5'24.)

Teva ingredients I listed were from Canada on p.3 here: https://pdf.hres.ca/dpd_pm/00049601.PDF

But I don't see how removing povidone can cause problems. Maybe if it feels like more withdrawal symptoms are happening on same dose but different brand, it could be that prior Teva generic had higher bioequivalence than current Klonopin.

[[Li...]]

Thank you for sharing the information source you consulted @[st...].  That’s interesting that the US formulation for generic Teva clonazepam  is slightly different than the Canadian one.

Re: the resupply page … here’s what I see:

Updated

Updated May 2, 2024 by Leslie Jensen, PharmD, Drug Information Specialist. Created April 10, 2023 by Leslie Jensen, PharmD, Drug Information Specialist. © 2024, Drug Information Service, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.

 

[[...]]

Thanks so much for both replies .   I thought I was doing the right things,  I never thought about switching over “slowly “.  To be honest- I don’t want to switch at all from Teva if I can .  Today is Wednesday, I got my script filled on Saturday- first Brand name tablet that night .5mg of Klonopin.  Didn’t feel anything different.  Sunday nite I took my usual dose (I am currently in a holding pattern to stabilize from too big of a drop last November). It’s taken my 3 months of very slow improvement back to my baseline and I was very happy that I was feeling much better! . Was almost ready to start my taper again in a month or so, then this….By Sunday nite , after my second dose of the new Brand, I could definitely feel something was off- had a really troubling sleep, but continued on thru Monday, took my dose again (5:00pm)… same.  That nite my sleep was worse.. woke up feeling like I barely slept at all- awoke early with panic symptoms and cold sensations- felt very much like withdrawal symptoms that I am so very used to.  High anxiety, confusion, that I know will get worse if I don’t do something to correct-.  That was enough for me!  I have some older Teva 1mg - I cut in half , took .5mg Teva last nite at 6:00pm.  Had some immediate relief- slept much better and awoke this morning-better but shaken up.  I don’t think I felt anything off as in the Brand name wearing off any sooner- but I did feel better in the afternoon closer to my dosing time- thinking this was the brand name clearing out a bit - was not going to take another one of those - went for the Teva.  I’ve been on Teva generic for 15+ years - actively trying to wean last 4 years or so with 2 tapers to zero , and 2 reinstatements.  Thankfully I don’t seem to experience tolerance.  Just incredibly hard to get off.  Sorry for the ramble - just thought I would add in some history- this is going to be my third taper off and I’ve learned so much from prior experiences- to listen to my body and symptoms- something I just pushed thru the past attempts and always destabilized myself- I have never been at more than 1mg of clonazepam- lots of holding to restabilize myself , then start again.   

[[Id...]]

@[...], with surprise, because I never thought about it, I detected a difference for the worse when, one day, I was given a different brand, but my case is different because the brand name I was given that time worked worse than the generic one. This to tell you that, without knowing your case, if you have the possibility to choose and give it a try, the opposite of what you describe might work better 

[[...]]

Yes - thank you!  I see it as - for some Benadryl puts them to sleep- for me …it wires me up!  Our chemistry is all different and ofcourse there is the sensitivity we all have to different things.  I can take certain antibiotics- while others have reactions on me .  Makes all this super difficult!

[[st...]]

I think you're doing great and you'll get there, it's worth it!