Q about pills

[Mara13]

-----I am confused. I take Hydrocodone/APAP-10-500 MG tabs. Why are there different colors of these? I normally take PINK ones, but have also been given blue ones-Today I was given white ones with M363 on them. Now the PINK ones were the largest, sorry don't remember what number was on them, but they were large thick and oval. The Blue ones were smaller and a bit more of a oblong shape. The white ones I got today (from the same pharmacy that normally gives me the PINK ones)--are smaller than the pink ones. Why all the different colors? and are they the SAME pill? (Hydrocodone/APAP 10-500 MG) because honestly they do not seem to be as strong as the pink ones! Thanks for clearing up this major confusion. Mara13

[Cats Meow]

It's because various mfr's make a generic, and they all by law must be uniquely different from one another, at least have a different imprint code.
All generics are suppose to be equal, but the truth is they can vary up to plus or minus 40%, but I've found Hydrocodone to be very consistent. A lot of times the difference you may notice may be due to absorption, the inactive ingredients are the only thing that varies from one generic to another, absorption in your stomach may be the factor you're noticing.
It's also a phenomena that many users prefer the first generic they try over all others. However, when you find a med that you like that works good for you, by all means try and stay with it, you may have to go to another pharmacy to obtain it. Pharms stock whatever is cheapest, profit is the bottom line.


Your M363 is made by Mallinckrodt, more people complain about their generics then probably all the others pharmas combined. Your pink 10/500 (V 3600)?, is made by Qualitest, and they are very reliable, very few people complain about Qualitest.