I think they replaced my generic xanax with genericer xanax. Also, “genericer” is now a word. Please add it to your spellcheck.

Today I picked up my generic xanax but then I noticed the note on the bottle explaining that they’d replaced the drug I usually get, but with exactly the same drug.  


220 thoughts on “I think they replaced my generic xanax with genericer xanax. Also, “genericer” is now a word. Please add it to your spellcheck.

Read comments below or add one.

  1. Maybe it’s secretly a different drug but with a space at the end or something? Database FAIL, I’m guessing.

  2. Maybe its a test to see how bad your anxiety is so they know if they need to take the drugs away or give you more.

  3. Alprazolam!

    Isn’t that the word second-rate magicians are required to use, instead of “Abracadabra!”, until they fully develop their skills?

    Love you, Jenny!

  4. It may just be from a different manufacturer. Nbd. I mean, unless that manufacturer is a Chinese sweatshop full of super ebola AIDS. But I’m sure it’s fine.

  5. Sometimes they’re just warning you that they’re getting it from a different manufacturer, so the pill might look slightly different. But it still has the same generic name. (I think).

  6. Maybe they had to fool the generic Xanax into thinking it was good enough?

    Alprazolam sounds like a magic word. Which is I guess the point of a Xanax product. ALPRAZOLAM! Anxiety begone!

  7. Apparently someone at the pharmacy has taken too much Alprazolam!!!

  8. FWIW, if your doctor and you have a great relationship and will prescribe you 1.0 you can tear them in half and save $$$$ on prescriptions. Or I may just be broke.

  9. They could be messing with you…either that or your pharmacist desperately wants attention and figured this would get them on your blog. Either way I think it’s time for a new pharmacist.

  10. I had to run, grab my bottle & check. Luckily it says “Xanax” generic. Whew, nervous breakdown avertered here!

  11. Once they had to fill my klonopin from 3 different brands. It was actually kind of awesome because they were all different colours. It was like the Fruity Pebbles of calm.

    …now they’re just boring blue tablets. 🙁

    Maybe your genericer ones are a prettier colour?

  12. and that is the percise reason my doctor switched me to lorazapam .5 mg

  13. The first time I went on meds I went to a free clinic that mostly handed out samples from pharm companies. They would give me just enough pills to last until the day PRIOR to my next appointment. So if I missed my appointment I’d be off my meds. So for a few months, my biggest trigger was the meds themselves.

    Eventually I mentioned this to the pharmacist and he slipped me an extra week’s pills as a buffer.

  14. Pretty sure it’s a challenge from the drug companies. “How much anxiety can we give you so we can give you more meds”, or something like that.

  15. Jeez, you get 60 generic Xanax with 3 refills? My doctor would only give me 30 generic Ativans with no refills when I started having panic attacks a couple months ago. I want your doctor.

    But not your pharmacist. Who is possibly drunk.

  16. My generic Prozac warns me that it may cause feelings of depression, sadness, and anxiety. Which is why I take the fucking things to begin with. *pfffbbbttthhhh*

  17. It’s pretty clear to me! They changed your medication from 6 point font to 25 point font. This size font comes with ten percent less anxiety. Good bargain!

  18. All drugs cause me anxiety…but I need them so that is why I have the Physicians Desk reference bookmarked…

    And I love when you add words to my vocabulary…but damn autocorrect never speaks our language…

  19. I’ve seen this before. It’s to test to see if you’re anti anxiety medication is working. Clearly, you need to up your dose. (WARNING: I’M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL!!!)

  20. I just got sooo paranoid and had to check mine.

    It still says “substituted for xanax” though.
    I think that means that my alprazolam is more legit than yours.

  21. Pretty sure doc prescribed the generic, and the computer tried to provide you with the generic of your script to save money. Turns out there is a generic for it… itself. Still, I get it. 🙂

  22. They did the same exact thing with 2 of my drugs today. I had to go online to check out that the genericer drugs were legit options! Wtf!

  23. I am guessing that it is a computer glitch that insists that it must be a substitute because no one actually gets what they actually are subscribed.

  24. Thanks for being you tonight. I needed to laugh with you.. or at least stress over someone else’s stress.. cause today was one heck of a doozy.

  25. Word of caution, as my neurologist said, “not at generics are created equal”. I take daily migraine meds and they replaced one generic with another that did not work. Be aware.

  26. Some of you guys apparently have crappy doctors. That bites.

    My doctor rocks. He’s done his absolute best to make sure my meds for the crazy are plentiful, inexpensive and appropriate to my particular brand of crazy.

    I wish benzos weren’t so widely abused. That’s one reason doctors are sometimes tightfisted with the Rx. Especially Ativan, since it’s one of the stronger anxiolytics. There’s been a tighter restriction on opiods lately, too, because they’ve become a drug of choice for addiction purposes. And I grok the legislation and the prescribing guidelines, but primarily, patient education is something doctors aren’t always good at and the restrictions often just lead to people who legitimately require treatment not getting it.

    Oh, so, hey. This wasn’t the pharmaceutical rant thread, was it? My bad. :/

  27. I work in a pharmacy and can tell you that it only says that because when it was being input in the computer the brand name was not used. In our pharmacy we try and list the brand first since many patiens know the brand name and feel more comfortable seeing both on the bottle. However Drs are sending many scripts electronically and using generic names, as well as some brands not being made anymore so our computer systems drop the brand name as an option. In these situations we often have generics listed in both the brand name field in our systems as well as in the generic substitute field.

    Bottom line-no need to be alarmed, although I do love your new word!! I might have to use that when I have to switch from one generic to another in the computer!

  28. Maybe they ordered a different generic and when she went to check she hit the wrong button and it just lead to a google blackhole so she have up. Ofcourse that raises the question of why she didn’t know that Xanax is Xanax but that leads me back to my initial statement that they just changed genetics. Plus if your a pharmacist and you don’t document that crap properly you can like go to jail so maybe she just never had any Xanax. But my Target Alprazolam says Xanax so maybe I don’t change my prescription to CVS. Also the fact that I recognize the pharmacy label and that my phone autofilled alprazolam says something. Going to cry into my pillow

  29. This pharmacist is pretty sure that your pharmacy has a head office, and that head office got a better deal on a different generic brand of alprazolam (which they hopefully pass on in some way), and their little tiny print is their way of telling you not be surprised if the letters on the tablet look different. They should have told you that when you picked up. Especially considering what they are used for. Well, that’s what happens in Canada, anyway.

  30. I can only look at “genericer” and see “gene ricer”, implying you want to use genes like potatoes and make a delicious bowl of mashed genes. That is all.

  31. Sheesh. I am hoping that’s a typo. Like “replaces” haha. Nice one!

    (DAMMIT. I suck at proof-reading. ~ Jenny)

  32. My doctor does the same. And when she doesn’t, the people at the drugstore do. They say it is to ensure I get the much-cheaper-but-just-as-good-as medicine. I’m quite okay with that 😉

  33. A few months ago my generic 1 mg. alprazolam was changed from a blue tablet to a green tablet that was a tiny bit larger (different manufacturer). Now, I am back to receiving the blue tablet again. The chemical composition is the same in all versions of the medication. No worries. I take a PRN dose at bedtime when I can’t sleep (about 5 nights per week).

  34. you only use .5 generics? shit, i must be more anxious than i thought which will now cause more anxiety. i take 2 mg pills. i once had the pharmacy change manufacturers on me and i was allergic to the binding agent. talk about having anxiety, i flipped out and hauled ass back to the store to get them changed. im sure i looked like a dayglo puffer fish being tasered…i call them my fake xanax because i can never say alprazolam, and it makes me anxious.

    (I take the .5 generics but I take them 2-3 times a day. Plus I also take 3 other drugs that help with anxiety. I’m on the drug-buffet plan. A little bit of everything. ~ Jenny)

  35. Turns out that there are no less than *EIGHT* different companies making generic Xanax. That’s enough that some enterprising pharmacist could bundle them into Variety Packs to really freak the customers out. Since there are four different doses, they could mix and match them so you can actually take a different Alprazolam pill every day for a month! Who says meds can’t be exciting?

  36. Ha. That’s crazy. I feel like weird type-os happen with my medication all the time. My understanding is that the generic has to be within 10% of the strength of the original. Now, as far as the generic of the generic, I am not sure. But I think that the name, Alprazolam, is the actual, technical name of the chemical compound. So that would make sense as to why there isn’t an alternative name for the “generic of the generic.” How many name different names can a substance really be given before it becomes confusing for people?

    My guess is that the patent on the drug is becoming less restrictive, and that copy-cat drug manufactures are now able to copy the original formula easily. A manufacturer only gives a name, like “Xanax,” to a new drug usually….for instance, if you are inventing the drug. Copy-cat manufactures would be stupid to rename it because people become to familiar with the original and the generic names.

  37. I choose to believe that the pharmacist saved your life. The original Alprazolam was evil and had a bad reputation for having less then stellar placebo effects. They replaced it with it’s good twin Alprazolam that was better known for it’s work in the “I think the power was cut because clowns are trying to murder me” Indecent. She really kept it together then. Close call Pharmacist. Not just anyone can tell those two apart because recently the bad Alprazolam got a nose job and a boob reduction. That bitch looks just like her sister now. She even tried to sleep with her sister’s less effective boyfriend, Amitriptyline under false pretense. That Hoe is sneaky.

  38. Different suppliers have different shapes and markings on the pills therefore they must tell you if switching. It’s exactly the same I promise. No stress. 🙂 Also I think you may need one of those right now.

  39. Ahh, a ‘pam by any other name is still just a ‘pam.

    Aren’t they all pretty much the same? I’ve tried them all at different times in the past to help my anxiety. I like Lorazapam, but it definitely doesn’t have the fun sound that Alprazolam does 🙂

  40. “We’ve replaced Jenny’s usual meds with M&Ms and dust bunnies. Let’s see if she notices….”

    I think sometimes it’s better that they DON’T tell you.

  41. Maybe it’s a new kind of anxiety drug to *worsen* your anxiety instead of lessening it. Why are you on those kinds of drugs anyway? Maybe you should see a doctor about that.

  42. Funny that you would obsess about this. That’s the kind of thing that drives me crazy. (Short trip.) And then I drive everyone around me crazy telling them about it and trying to understand why, WHY… No answer ever comes. I see mistakes in print EVERYWHERE. It doesn’t make me anxious so much as disappointed that people who get paid to do a job fuck it up, and don’t bother to fix it before it goes out to the customer. The worst is errors on a menu. They’re everywhere.

  43. I take this as well. It always makes me nervous when they switch me from name brand to generic. You just never know how your body is going to respond to it. Being switched to a “genericer” substitute would make me even more anxious. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?? LOL

  44. We had the same thing happen with my son’s prozac this month. Weird. And genericer is the exact same word we used. It will be added to the dictionary in 2014, I can FEEL it.

  45. I agree about the substitution thing, but you need to recheck your spell-check. That’s not how you spell “genericker.” “Genericer” is plain white rice, only more so. Just sayin’

    (Or short for someone who’s a member of “Generations Rice.” Which I don’t think exists. ~ Jenny)

  46. Your followers are SO hilarious!
    Also genericer is a cool word no matter how you spell it.

  47. My dog has to take alprazolam for anxiety (he’s old and going blind and it freaks him out). His generic Xanax got switched this month too. Went from an oval teal pill to a round baby blue pill. He didn’t notice, but I sure freaked out when I opened the bottle. Maybe I should be taking some of his meds????

  48. FUN FACTS about “Alprazolam”:

    1) “Alprazolam”contains the word “mazola.” Which means you could probably get the same results from drinking corn oil.

    2) “Alprazolam” is an anagram for “Llama or zap” which, hopefully, does not represent the process in which they make it.

    3) This made me think of the old TV show “Shazaam!” so, in a nutshell, I’m pretty old.

  49. I use xanax for :

    1) boarding planes – I’m fine flying, it’s the boarding process that makes me lose my shit because that is the time when I actually have to get on the very small air-tight tube with hundreds of germy strangers,

    2) dentist appointments where strange hands and tools are in my mouth what the FUCK – I should also note that they have to give me the laughing gas too which is amazing and I wish I could walk around with a tank of that tubed to my nostrils all the time the way people with lung issues have to tote around a can of oxygen,

    3) whenever I have an evaluation with my boss at work, which always goes fine, but gets me so twisted up inside that I have diarrhea for days and I lose 5 pounds that week no matter what. Without xanax, I’d never even be able to walk into his office and sit down.

    So basically, I take about 15 xanax pills a YEAR that I very much need and appreciate. Yet every time I have to get my prescription refilled I feel like my doctor, my pharmacist, and whoever processes the insurance paperwork are saying to themselves, “Yeah, she’s definitely abusing these.”

    So it’s nice to read about people I admire who also take xanax.

  50. It’s probably just how it was entered into the pharmacy’s labeling software- just means either a)the Dr. wrote “alprazolam” on the RX and the tech/pharmacist typed it in as so and then matched the actual generic manufacturer they dispensed to the corresponding NDC# or b)the tech/pharmacist was lazy and didn’t type in the brand name Xanax to link to the generic product. Used to happen all the time at the pharmacy I worked at for 10 years, especially with interns since they were taught using generic names (actual drug names), not brand names. Drove me nuts because it always caused unnecessary concern for patients. When in doubt, call the pharmacy to have them do a visual tablet verification.

    *Sorry if someone answered this already =)

  51. Your new drug must be better because it’s in a bigger font.

    It’d be even more awesome if it came in Helvetica, but never take the Comic Sans tablets – they’re icky.

  52. A generic for the generic? What the? That would kind of freak me out a little too! I’d almost call and talk to the pharmacist. That is just messed up!

  53. Why would one want to rice their genes ?
    And why does ricing potatoes result in mashed potatoes instead of rice ?
    But I digress………

  54. What gets me is when the pharmacists take on a superior tone and tell me I can get my allergy medication over the counter. Yeah I know that. But with a prescription it is only four dollars instead of eighteen. Maybe I should be flattered they think I am made our of money?

  55. This is like the Sweet Valley High book where what’s her face accidentally dates identical twins, so to get back at them she and her friends all dress up as clowns.

  56. You know, right after I commented, I had a terrible feeling that I had had my meds replaced with more genericer meds. I checked it. We seem fine.

    On the other hand my high level of stress the last few days can’t be blamed on new meds. 🙁

  57. I recently got an anti-nausea medicine that said “Intended to prevent nausea and voting”

    This was made better by my 50 year old Republican dad responding to my picture message of it with “Thanks Obama”

  58. This reminds me of my first pregnancy when I was so incredibly anxious all the time that they thought I might explode so they wanted to put me on meds, but then I was so anxious about the meds maybe hurting the baby that they decided I should stay unmedicated because the anxiety medicine was causing too much anxiety. Yeah.

  59. i think it just means that they are trading one generic for another and explaining why the pills don’t look the same? this happened to me recently from CVS. Or maybe they’re just messing with us. I’d mess with people if I was in charge of labeling things which is probably why I’m not in charge of labeling things.

  60. Just as long as they don’t give you Alpozolam. That would not be an acceptable substitution, although you would get strong teeth and a glossy coat, so it’s not all bad.

  61. Being a pharmacist, this happens when you have to pick a different generic (because due to contracting, backorders, etc your supplier has changed). The computer systems are not “smart enough” to understand this is not a substitution…and place it on the label (because technically they are substituting one for the other) Once again, things that happen when someone not in your field devises a computer system for you to use… SMH.

  62. Wait, you get refills on Xanax? Jealouse… I only get refills on the klonopin…

  63. They really needed you to know that they changed something by not changing anything. I guess.

    Every time I get a new paroxetine fill, the pharmacy gives me a different pill shape, packaging and/or brand. It’s baffling to me. Now I just keep my latest bottle and empty all otherwise packaged pills in there.

  64. This recently happened to me with my blood pressure medication. Only the new/same stuff was a different color, leaving me slightly more paranoid than usual.

  65. Assuring that the dose is definitely needed. If you weren’t riddled with anxiety before, they want to be damn sure you are by the time you take it

  66. Here is my question…. I am on the same thing, but when I NEED the xanax, just one daily just doesnt do the trick…. who the hell pays attention to those labels anyway??

  67. The same thing happened to me recently, but my pharmacist told me that they switched to a different company for generic Xanax because it’s cheaper (for the customer as well as the pharmacy), so I wouldn’t freak out because my pills looked different. They still work the same. 🙂

  68. Yes it’s just to let you know it’s from a different manufacturer and the pills may look different. THAT would give you anxiety if the pills were all of a sudden different. Several different conspiracy theories come to mind…

  69. They simply substituted a different generic alprazolam from the one with which your prescription was originally filled. That field is auto-populated based on the NDC number for the medication you received. Many manufacturers produce generic drugs; yours may have been changed based on availability or pricing.

    -Holly, the pharmacist

  70. I wish I could up vote some of these comments. Also: I’ve had that happen. I think it’s a different supplier. I go to Costco and the generics I get are SUPER cheap but probably the filler is, like, concrete or air or something else super cheap. And mine are now pink instead of yellow. I miss the yellow ones.

  71. I have taken xanax as needed for several years now. Just started with a pain management clinic for severe chronic pain issues and the doc told me the current meds plus xanex would probably make me wake up dead, so I’m not supposed to touch it. Now it’s stressing me out and I need a xanax.

  72. I was a pharmacy tech through college and was going to give you the technical reason why you see that, but it looks like Holly beat me to it. 🙂

  73. Maybe it’s like a psychology test on your prescription bottle. Kind of like the ink blot test, only instead of determining your state of mind by what pictures you see, they determine your level of OCD by the number of photos you take of your prescription bottle.

  74. On your next pick up , they will substitute the 0.5mg with 5.0mg as a goodwill gesture for the anxiety they caused you before you even opened the bottle. …..

  75. The vet prescribes these for my ridiculously highly strung dog – I’m thinking of trying them out 🙂

  76. Perhaps the changed the balance of ingredients slightly? Or it went through some testing that the prior drug hadn’t? It seems like they’d need to make you go into your doctor to get it re-perscribed or something rather than just replacing the old with the new.

  77. Take it back and demand that they swap it out for Alprazolam, just to see what they say.

  78. That reminds me of the meds I recently started taking. I was reading about the side effects, one of which is anorexia. I went in for refills and asked the doctor how we could ensure weightloss, but not the full blow anorexia side effect. She was not amused. Come on!

  79. Every now and again, Walgreens gets my Celexa from a different manufacturer. They always switch back, but…

    Also, some of the inert ingredients in those can be different – watch how you react to these, Jenny (NOT trying to cause anxiety!!) because not all generic versions work/react the same for everyone!

  80. When one generic goes on backorder, they replace it with a different generic. Most insurance companies prefer the cheapest generic. Same happens when the $4 program for uninsured. I once worked at a pharmaceutical distributor and saw all the back door dealings with this.

  81. I’ve gone off my anxiety meds completely. They made me gain a ton of weight and I was already quite fluffy to begin with. I’m trying my best to manage the crazy, but I’m just waiting for the day I completely snap and have drool running down my face like a rabid dog while screaming bloody murder as if I’d been possessed. It’s really only a matter of time. In the meantime, I’m trying to find a swanky crazy house to be committed to after my psychotic episode. State facilities just aren’t my style.
    If a drug manufacturer could please create an anti anxiety med that caused weight loss, I feel it could eliminate all chance of a breakdown. You would be doing a great service to womankind.

    (It’s just the opposite for me. I eat more if I’m anxious so xanax keeps me eating healthier amounts. I do have to go off it ever few month though because I build up a tolerance. That part totally sucks. ~ Jenny)

  82. It’s a quality control check to see if the drug is working. Obviously it’s not. 🙂

  83. Nah, if the anti-anxiety drugs give you anxiety, it’s like a pharmaceutical double negative, and you shouldn’t need to take them at all. They’ve cancelled each other out.

    (don’t think through the logic of that. Doing so causes anxiety.)

  84. I just made a few inquiries about my new/same mediation and it turns it’s the same drug – different manufacturer. That makes me nervous about which manufacturer I should really trust.

  85. There’s an anti-keratosis cream in New Zealand called “efudix” which they clearly didn’t think through as, said aloud, it’s pronounced like a commonly heard insult in this country. Am thinking of getting a tube so I can wave it about at meetings…

  86. There are different providers of Alprazolam. In the database they are probably coded by manufacturer, but the same generic name is used in the “NAME” field and therefore printed on the label. This is one of the weirdnesses of databases: Two things that are coded different may have the EXACT SAME NAME printed out, but the computer reports it as a substitution. And in fact the exact underlying drug may be slightly different.

    Now, you can up your anxiety by stressing about whether or not you have an effectively manufactured pharmaceutical: http://www.anxietyzone.com/index.php?topic=14458.0

  87. Loooong time follower, first time commenter. I was on my 5th antidepressant in less than 9 months trying to find the one that worked, preferably without the worst side effects…I get the weird side effects, night sweats, smellier body odor, weight gain, insomnia. My doctor kept changing things, upping dosage, adding something new to the mix. I’m on 3 different ones right now, and they seem to be working. The latest addition, the miracle drug, she was just like “ok, we’ll try this, no biggie” I looked it up and it’s a bipolar med, so I found out from webMD that my dr thinks I’m depressed, anxious and now bipolar!!

  88. My pharmacist does this regularly, but always explains it better — it’s the same generic medication, just made by a different manufacturer. She always points out that it’ll be a different shape or color with a different manufacturer. Really, there’s no deep mystery to it, just that it proves your pharmacist is bargain shopping amongst the generics to get you the cheapest (or the most readily available at that particular moment). Theoretically, all generics are the same as the name brand, just cheaper. (I say “theoretically” because there’s some arguments to the contrary, esp. about psych drugs, but I’ve never noticed it myself.)

    It doesn’t mean that either your pharmacist or pharmacist’s computer is dumb, however. No deep conspiracy. Sorry!

  89. Also, I take Xanax XR, which is extended release, 1mg morning, 1mg at night…regular xanax might as well be smarties for me!

  90. I’ve had the pharmacy try to pull the old lets find an even cheaper generic brand to give her game recently … ended up with a new side effect – hearing loss! This was solved by a trip to my GP who specified the brand on my prescription. Now they can’t give the the cheap stuff. Hurray for cooperative GPs. 🙂

  91. Had to pull out my bottle to see if mine said the same thing…this seems to be a common thing anxiety and Moms.

  92. Ha the Pharmacist must know the man who turned you all into dirt farmers!!!
    Nothing like getting all stressed out to pickup meds that distress, only to have the pharmacy just plain
    effff with you!!! Take two pills and a wine slushie!!!!

  93. It’s probably just a way to keep the insurance companies from forcing you to pay an arm and a leg for the exact same drug.

  94. It’s a spacing problem — the first line should be Al Prazolam, and the second Alpra Zolam. They’ve switched you from the female form of the drug to the male one. Notice any difference in the pills? Now you know the difference between boys and girls. (And I really hope no one goes out and names their daughter Alpra.)

  95. My genericker drugs (for migraines) suck… they make me sleepy and I can’t function at work. I tried to tell the pharmacist this, and they basically said, oh well too bad for you. So I get a choice of debilitating headaches or feeling so sleepy all day I just want to go home. I think I need to switch pharmacies.

  96. Alprazolam is a derivative of Alprazoramalamadingdong. A fungal growth of the central Amazon river valley. Used medicinally/recreationally by the Whodafukcarres tribe.

  97. i once went to pick up my xanax,,,and they couldnt find,,i asked if my doctor set that up,,a test to see if i could be weaned.

  98. My rx for clonazepam has recently been replaced by a new item called Jim Beam, or its Generic, “Whiskey” They say take when needed, but I say the bottles are too small. You say tomato I say TOmatO.

  99. I was going to ask if you’ve tried the XR – great, great stuff without the swooshy down I sometimes get from the regular stuff. I love Xanax as an anti-anxiety drug as it takes away my panic attacks but leaves me functional, which Valium does not. Funny how we all have a different cocktail that works for us. I’m like you Jenny – I actually lose weight on Lexapro. And you are less anxious than me because once I saw that on the label, I would have had to call and bug someone at the pharmacy until they gave me an adequate explanation as to what it meant or I would have had to call my doctor to check they were ok. Immediately.

  100. I got one of these notes! It basically said “Don’t be anxious that your anti-anxiety meds look funny!” LOL I stared at it more than I should.

  101. Oh my mercy I was seriously just bitching about how I’m 92% sure that the doctor put me on the placebo version of my brain meds. The scary fucking thing is that this is considered “ethical” in the case of so-called mental patients.
    This is my middle finger, Doc. (Assuming that you did placebo me and I’m not just really have a meltdown which is entirely possible.)

  102. And much like “genericer” is a word, “placebo” can be used as a verb, as in “placeboed me”.

  103. It is more than likely that way because the technician typing in your prescription typed the generic name instead of the brand name. If they had typed it for the brand name, it would be printed there instead of the generic twice. It is a computer software redundancy.

  104. On a side note.. I love the generic name for Xanax. It makes me think of a magic trick 🙂 I ask my boyfriend to go get my abra-cadabra medicine!

  105. Pharmacy software can sometimes cause more problems than it solves. On behalf of everyone who works in Pharmacies, I’m sorry for actually increasing your anxiety.

  106. This is what pharmacists do for fun. Also, if it makes you paranoid enough, you’ll pay for their vacation home by needing MORE drugs!

  107. You’re lucky, you get refills. Here in Australia you can’t get Xanax with a refill. Have to go to the doc everytime I need more. That’s a drag, and stressful – going out is not my favorite.

  108. “Genericker” would definitely need a k. Like “trafficker.” Not the best example, but the only word I could think of that turns a “c” ending into an “er” ending.

  109. Mine says the same thing. Maybe it’s a Texas thing. Mine is .25 g, though. It’s about as effective as a Flintstone vitamin.

  110. I’m a wee bit apprehensive about generic medicines. Esp since my branded Pristiq is my life-saver, I’m way too attached to consider the generic…

  111. Having anxiety about taking your anti anxiety drugs is the worst!!! My Dr. Assures me tit is totally normal!

  112. My dog had surgery a week ago, and I noticed last night on his trammies that it said “2 tablets twice daily for 14 days. Qty:28)”

    It took me a week to do the math. But then again, I’m not the one who went to vet school, am I? Stop fucking with us, medical folks.

  113. It bears repeating someone said it is probably a different cheaper manufacturer. I had about 4 different manufacturers before I was switched to a different med.

  114. My husband is a pharmacist and they do this all the time. Just have them contact your doctor and get the prescription changed to read “Take 1/2 pill every _____” or what-not, to make it the same as what you are taking now. You’ll save money and you don’t have to waste time/money going to the doctor just to ask him/her to do this.

    Rusty July 31, 2013 at 9:27 pm

  115. They are just gaging if you need a higher dosage of Xanax, clearly you do – and feel free to share the one you currently have to anyone with the word Shit in their blog name.

  116. Ok, so it’s not just me that this has happened to…good to know, since it was my anti-psychotics.

  117. Oh my gods, one time I was switched to the generic without being told! I ripped the pharmacy tech a new one, you just can’t go changing things about a person’s anti-anxiety meds!!!

  118. Speaking of drugs…I know you’ll love this…my cousin collects antique pharmacy bottles and
    his birthday was last week and I found the perfect gift…a bottle labeled, I kid you not, “sugar
    coated arsenic and strychnine”. Is this anything like killing someone with kindness?

  119. Dammit. Now I have anxiety about going upstairs and finding this on MY bottle. Vicious circle!!!

    Though, I must say, the Rite-Aid generic version of Tylenol PM is MUCH more effective (almost instantly), without the sleepy hangover.

    But I need my Xanax to be full strength.

  120. Mine just did the same thing — alprazolam instead of alprazolam. The pills that used to be yellow are now orange, and I can’t tell them apart from my prilosec anymore… I really need to start putting them in separate bottles because antacid is just not the same as anti-anxiety. The only way I can really tell the difference is if I put the xanax under my tongue (instead of swallowing it) so it works faster, and the two have a totally different nasty taste. On a similar note, my dr gave me xanax xr’s (extended relief) so I get a .5 dose every hour for 6 hours. Mellows you out like nobody’s business!

  121. ….brought to you by the National Department of Redundancy Department.
    Hey, maybe it’s like that movie Multiplicity with Michael Keaton, where he clones himself; and the clone makes a clone of itself that comes out a little wonky….

  122. See #7.
    ge·ner·ic [juh-ner-ik]
    2. of, pertaining to, or noting a genus, especially in biology.
    3. (of a word) applicable or referring to both men and women: a generic pronoun.
    4. not protected by trademark registration: “Cola” and “shuttle” are generic terms.
    5. a generic term.
    6. any product, as a type of food, drug, or cosmetic commonly marketed under a brand name, that is sold in a package without a brand.
    7. a wine made from two or more varieties of grapes, with no one grape constituting more than half the product (distinguished from varietal ).

  123. They usually do this stuff to me when the manufacturer of the generic changes. And then the pharmacist makes me wait so he can tell me that the pills will now be white and round instead of powder blue and hexagonal, while the name brand is sweet tart green and circular.

    Breathe and relax with a slushy, everything will be fine 🙂

  124. I wouldn’t mind if they subbed Xanax for my Ativan every once in a while just to shake things up a bit.

  125. Generations Rice definitely do exist. Long before twilight, there was team Lestat.

  126. Maybe it’s like “aloha”… the meaning depends on which syllable you … wait for it .. STRESS!

  127. Ok, I lost it at “my anti-anxiety drugs are causing me anxiety.”

    Thank you Jenny, for being my comedic heroine (or heroin depending on what day of the week it is).

  128. I don’t have anxiety so I just joined a study where they give me Xanax or an experimental drug or a placebo and then shock me to see how those drugs work when I’m dreading something. Like electric shock.

    I joined it because you are one of my heroes and I figure stuff like this hopefully trickles down to help people who really need those drugs.

    Also, free drugs and it pays well…

  129. We’re the same color! Good for you to be on 60. My Rx is double that for all of my “just in case” needs.
    I have to take extra before therapy and psychiatry appointments. Talking about my anxiety cases more anxiety.

  130. its sad to know that pharmacists themselves get a ‘P.M” on choosing certain generics that the company is trying to push… i.e.: whatever drug they got cheap and can make money off your insurance company… did you know I have patients that i write rx’s for that send NAME BRAND products— ie NOT generic… to Canada for, get them at a fraction of the cost and get this…the medication is made in the good ol’ USA? And, its completely legal. UMMMM…..

  131. One of my insurance companies had the name brand as the generic for the generic. Which caused loads of confusion for both myself and my pharmacist when it came to billing. I let the insurance company know and they were all, “yeah, ok, thanks. Now go fill your prescription”.

  132. Mom came up to me yesterday, asking if I’d posted about the generic-for-generic drugs on FB. I told her that yes, I’d reposted this post from your FB page. g

    She then brought me her anti-depressants. The bottle is clearly labeled “Venlafaxine. Generic for Effexor”. She opened the bottle and poured out some of the pills – and they’re all labeled Effexor. They filled the prescription for the generic Effexor by giving her the brand name pills, at the generic price. Nice!

  133. You guys are so cute that you check the label at the pharmacy. I’ll just take any ol’ thing they put in a bottle and hand to me.

  134. This? Is right up there with filling my prescription and the pills are a shape and color I’m not familiar with, so then I call every pharmacy in town to ask them what the pill is before I take it. I shouldn’t have to explain why. And why can’t they just keep all the medications the same, huh? DON’T THEY KNOW I HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS AS IT IS WITHOUT THEM ADDING MORE??? It’s like they only think of themselves.

  135. Happens to me all the time. Your pharmacy just switched your generic prescription to another generic prescription. You’ve been genericised! It actually does cause additional anxiety, because not all generics are created equally-contrary to what the would have us believe. Best to take it as prescribed anyway. Unless your pharmacist is a zombie! Then all bets are off… 😉

  136. We are all getting scamed. The brand are even sub standard. Thanks to our government and the laws we are all in a lot of trouble. Do their families and friends have the same health insurance. Do their families take sub standard medicine made overseas with NO Tests or QUALITY CONTROL. IF The GOVERNMENT can TAINT PEANUT BUTTER HOW CAN WE TRUST OUR MEDICAL Supply. Thanks


  137. uh, I’m late replying to this but i checked my bottle and BAM…same damn thing…. I feel sick.

  138. Just smoke weed ffs. Doing shit like this you might just as well be shooting heroin even that works better.

  139. Can a pharmacist put two different types of 1 mg xanax in one bottle? They Look exactly the same just different numbers on them.

  140. I take the same thing and mine says under Alprazolam “common brands Xanax”

  141. I was getting the blue round 1 mg Xanax now they switched it to green 1mg. It does absolutely nothing!!!

  142. cvs changed by alprazolam brand because i asked them, i could tell the difference, it has made me sick and weak.

  143. CVS…switched without warning. They switched to Aurobindo. Very cheap and the FDA has discovered dirty facilities and actual carcinogens in some meds. I noticed a difference without looking at my bottle, as I assumed it was the usual alprazalom (Sandoz..but, didn’t know about the differences in manufacturers then). So i immediately googled Aurobindo and read some disturbing info. Their Alprazolam has made some ill and caused further anxiety…and for others was completely ineffective. I have panic disorder from neurological lyme disease. It all started w my first attack, the overwhelming panic, feeling death was close, unable to breath and thinking it was a heart attack (my heart was way too fast and irregular). Well, 4 ambulance rides
    later, I knew i needed help…ugh. Anyway CVS sux..they were very unhelpful and didn’t acknowledge my concerns)! So, I just found a nice little, independent pharmacy, by making calls. They understood my concern and assured me that they only carry Greenstone! YAY! Cant wait to discontinue these concerning possibly carcinogenic and dirty Aurobindo and never see the obnoxious CVS staff again!! (cheap a-holes 😉 🙂

  144. Usually that just means it’s from a different manufacturer. They let you know if it has a different appearance.

  145. Xanax from aurobino absolute garbage. And a lot is there pills Adderall blood pressure from this company has had recalls. So I could only imagine and I’m pretty sure that my Xanax is probably one of them. It gave me a rash it doesn’t give me or do anything for my anxiety. I should’ve known as soon as I found out the manufacture was from India. China and India do not have to give you the full amount of the pills. Meaning the percentage wise they can give you 100% or they can give you 20%. I think this is nothing but a placebo that I got this month and now I’m stuck with it because the pharmacy made the mistake. This is it freaking fair for people now I have to suffer for a month because of other peoples in confidence. And this is the first time this is happened is like the fifth time and I can’t find any other Pharmacy due to the fact that not a lot of places sell green stone anymore.

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