You Don't Look Like My Pill...

[OneTampa]

Good article linked below about changes in pill shape and color and general impact on adherence, treatment, and side effects.

This article resonates with me as a few years ago my pharmacy made an error with my HIV medication prescription as I saw that the pills looked different.  I took them back and the pharmacy made the correction.

Often times, however, generics replace brand names and the pills look different. Dosage changes can also be a factor.

I have noticed enhanced labeling now as there is a description on the pill bottle that lists the name of the medication, what shape (e.g., oblong, round) and color (e.g., white, blue) the pill should be and notes the markings (e.g., numbers, letters) on the pill to help confirm that you have the correct prescription.

Article Link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/if-color-or-shape-changes-patients-more-likely-to-stop-taking-much-needed-drugs/2014/07/14/60e687f4-0b8c-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348_story.html

[OneTampa]

Got my refill at CVS yesterday for Lamivudine (Epivir) and noticed a different bottle, pill color, shape and imprint for the generic.  It is back to white and oval shape. The imprint is 67 Y.

The label confirmed the shape, color and imprint listing as being Lamivudine and the new manufacturer as Arobindo Pharma Limited, INDIA for Arobindo Pharma USA, Inc out of Dayton, NJ

The previous generic I used for several years up to last month was a different bottle with grey diamond shaped pills and APO and LMV 300 imprints.

The previous pill manufacturer was Apotex, Inc. out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

This prompted me to do some checking and I found these US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) quality control report links:

FDA to Arobindo Warning Letter:

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm256861.htm

FDA to Apotex Warning Letter:

http://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/2013/ucm344476.htm

Although I am OK, according to my lab reports and I feel fine, all this does give me pause.

 

[eric48]

We have 3tc generics available ,here, but different maker
I am considering it
Can you get 3tc 300mg in just one pill?

[OneTampa]

We have 3tc generics available ,here, but different maker
I am considering it
Can you get 3tc 300mg in just one pill?

Yes Eric, you can get it in one 300mg pill.

[eric48]

Here we can get 300 mg 1 pill or 150 mg, thus 2 pills to make 300 mg

1 x 300 mg is slightly cheaper than 2 x 150 mg.
Our management guidelines say:
2 x 150 mg once daily, but does not mention 1 x 300 mg at all ...