I have been on 1mg alprazolam for years and it has been the only thing that will help my anxiety and panic disorder. My pharmacist has always had the alprazolam made by Greenstone and then without any warning he switched to a different brand (Actavis) and when I got home and took my next 1mg of alprazolam made by Actavis it didn't work after talking this new brand my pharmacist switch to (Actavis) i started to feel like i was having withdrawals. can somebody tell me if they're having the same problem that I'm having with this brand? Can somebody tell me why this brand does not perform like the greenstone brand? I know it's not just me because I I had 3 of the Greenstone brand left over in a bottle from a month prior and I took them and immediately could tell I took my medication but now I am back on the brand that does not work (Actavis) I'm having problems with my anxiety and panic attacks. Is there anyway I can contact Actavis and tell them the problem that I am having?
Has anyone else been having a problem with 1mg alprazolam made by Actavis?
Question posted by ActiavisDontWork on 30 March 2019
Last updated on 5 January 2025
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42 Answers Page 3
The One thing that i always tell everybody that have had these kind of experiences is that YOU are the patient and the pharmacists work for you. Therefore i dont think big pharmaceutical chains such as CVS and the others wont take the time to order a different brand for one patient and if they do it typically will take about a week or so. BUT with that said that said that brings me to MY failsafe, when having a problem with your generic brand. The best thing to do is have your doctor request NAME BRAND MEDICALLY NECESSARY. I know that name brand can be a bit more in cost, but there are assistance programs to help pay for them and insurance will cover the as long as the Doc makes them medically necessary. What better thing than the original brand thats been making it since the early 80’s. You also can call around most independent pharmacies WILL order it for you for sure, but if a company stops making a drug eventually the inventory will be all gone. Good Luck.
Greenstone is as close to the original Pfizer Xanax as you can get, because Greenstone is owned by Pfizer - it basically picks up the Pfizer name brands when their patent runs out and continues them as a Greenstone generic. I've taken Greenstone for a long time with no problem, but when the pharmacy substituted anything else, I could tell immediately - sometimes it was such an awful experience (severe withdrawal) that I had to have the doctor intervene and have the pharmacy refill with Greenstone. Actavis was my worst experience (see below) - they're like placebos (no med in them at all).
Pharmacies order from a distributor. If the distributor doesn't have that brand or that kind, then they will take the next best thing. Pharmacists have no control over what's ordered, that's the company that they work for has control over what's ordered, what's cheaper, what's easier to get, and what their distributor has available.
I noticed a couple of years ago when CVS switched my alprazolam .5 to Actavis and first thought it was my imagination. I only take 1/2 at night to sleep but started noticing that it wasn't the same. I started taking the full .5 instead of cutting it in half... even then it wasn't the same. I thought I was building up a tolerance to them. When a friend repaid me with hers (don't remember the brand name) it was like taking a double dose. How can I get the better quality?
And I also noticed that when I break one in half, it crumbles. Is this normal or because they are old?
I have had same exact problems with Actavis 1 mg, technically the company does not exist they are owned by Teva another company that has had a lot of lawsuits and recalls Alprazolam made by Actavis is absolute garbage took 1mg couldn't go to sleep took 2mg still couldn't go to sleep instant withdrawal feelings within 3 hours I don't care what anybody says generics are not as good as the name brand and Actavis/Teva,mylan are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to generics. Greenstone is made by Pfizer definitely the best .I don't know what is happening with Actavis but it doesn't make me hungry actually makes me irritable with more anxiety can't even sleep when I take it, causes stomach problems. 1 mg greenstone pill is half the size of a half a milligram Actavis pill clearly there's a big difference these people should not be allowed to exist.
Actavis already had too many problems and had to sell out to Teva and they're both garbage companies. Personally I think it's a synthetic and it's not even real it has none of the effects that normal Xanax has
I think it is weaker my design since the plan is to do away with all benzos.
Normally Actavis makes a good product but the Alprazolam made by them doesn't seem to work well, seems weak? Brand name Xanax was always consistent and worked very well. When the generic was approved it was not the same? How ever Greenstone was very close to the Brand name product.
Yes they are very very weak, the company is having quality control problem, my dad works there
I have always used Walgreens and this last prescription I got is not working. I reached out to my doctor and have not heard back from him yet. The pharmacy said Actavis was the manufacturer. I suffer from anxiety and this month has been hard on me with the drug not being effective.
I was on Greenstone 1mg brand for years, and the same thing happened to me. Just last month my pharmacy sent me the Actavis brand and I didn't even realize it. I have felt sick since taking it. Dizzy, headache, stomach ache, nausea. I even had an optical migraine last week for the first time in my life. I called around to a bunch of different pharmacies in my city and found one still carries Greenstone, so I'm going to switch back to that. Hoping I start feeling better after the change. It might seem like I have the flu or something but I don't. I had 1 Greenstone pill left over that I took last week and I felt great the next day. Then I went back to Actavis and have felt sick since.
I was given Actavis this month for the first time in 20 years. Always used Greenstone accept 1 time
3 years ago was given Teva. The Teva made me itch so bad and didn't give any anxiety relief. The Actavis makes me feel sad, cranky, and extremely sleepy. I can't function. Pharmacist says the Greenstone is on manufacture backorder. These different manufactures definitely act differently. All these were .5mg.
All generics are different. They have a different percentage of Xanax in them & different fillers so they will affect people differently. Greenstone is the only generic that is exactly or 99% the same as the brand because it is made by the same company. I am going through this right now & went through it last year. The pharmacies are trying to save money by buying cheaper alternatives. My pharmacy just informed me they went from Greenstone to Breckenridge and they have bad reviews. Last year my insurance was paying for the brand but I'm not sure now because I was taking Greenstone all year. It's pure greed. Also, do not take Aurobindo, that company is in India & they have found carcinogens in some of their drugs. I had the 1 mg Alprazolam from them through CVS & I became very ill. That Rx went in the garbage. Also, they do put the manufacturers' names on each bottle but we have to hit them up before we take them our Rx.
Some pharmacies will order what you want, but not the big ones. They'll all order the brand, if your insurance will cover it.
I just got my prescription refilled from Sam's Club pharmacy and it is not working at all. I know they changed suppliers because the price decreased significantly. This is like a fake drug. It has bad side effects. I am going to try to taper off of it immediately. I have been taking this drug on and off for 30 years and have never had this kind of reaction. I have felt like the generic anti-anxiety part has gotten weaker over the decades. I have bought real name brand xanax in Mexico occasionally over the decades and am certain that the generic is not as good. But this generic does not work at all.
The generics are all different. The FDA requires the same amount of Xanax be included, but fillers and coloring can have a drastic effect. From what I’ve heard, Greenstone is the best as it’s made in the same place as Xanax. CVS ordered me Aurobindo generic and it felt really different. I had a talk with the pharmacist to put in my profile to only order generic from Greenstone. He said it’s up to distributor and what he carries. You may have to change pharmacies and shop around to get your preferred generic.
Talked to pharmacist today and he told me smaller pharmacies aren’t bound by the contracts of larger chains. He carries Par. Anyone had experience w Par? He said small pharmacies carry grade A-B generics, considered the best. Chains are governed by distributors and Big Pharma.
I sure do wish I could get Par. Took it for years. Now taking Actavis. Awful. Couldn’t take Breckenridge at all. I don’t know what is going on with the manufacturers. When I was searching for something other than Breckinridge, Walgreens refused to fill my prescription and said I was doctor shopping, wouldn’t fill. My previous pharmacy switched to Breckenridge and they couldn’t order anything else. Walgreens Pharmacist said I had to go back to my the Breckenridge pharmacy. I asked pharmacist to look at my other scripts, same doctor, she didn’t care. Very upsetting. I’m not young and was treated poorly. I guess that is how things are going nowadays with the opioid crisis. I have skeletal problems and am just trying to function without taking pain meds that knock me out,
Same here. Not feeling well with this brand. Preferred Par, used for years and knew how to take them to maximize my day.
Same - CVS just informed me Par was no longer making Alprazolam! So I contacted Par myself; & sure enough they said they stopped manufacturing it the beginning of October 2019:( Now I don't know what to replace it with; the other brand CVS uses (Breckenridge) does absolutely nothing for me!
Alprazolam you know is Xanax and prescribed for anxiety, which has been working for you. If you’re supposed to have 1mg daily and the new ones are 1mg you shouldn’t be having withdrawals so either the Actavis prescription you filled isn’t the right dosage/medication or the way they make it doesn’t work for you. I don’t know what it looks like but suggest you go to the ‘pill identifier’ on the home page on this site and check ‘agree’ on the terms scroll section. Put in the description of the pill. It will ask for color, shape, and imprint. Make sure it’s 1mg of alprazolam when it comes up. There should usually be a picture. If it comes up as 1mg of alprazolam, and it’s not working for you, do whatever you need to get one that does. Call your doctor and get a new prescription for what you were taking. Call the pharmacist where you got it and ask what the difference between the Greenstone and Actavis could be.
The doctors prescription shouldn’t state the name of the pharmaceutical company. It should just be a normal prescription. I’m suspicious and want you to use the pill identifier asap. Make sure you have 1mg of alprazolam. Any reduction/change can cause withdrawals so if that’s what’s happening, it sounds like you need a different pill, now. Don’t wait. The pharmacy may have made a mistake or maybe this brand is less expensive but find out what you have for sure and call the pharmacy. Make sure you talk to the Pharmicist and not a helper but right now look up the pill on “pill identifier” on this site. I hope you get this taken care of but act quickly.
I've checked it already. It's just the quality of the pill or something? The greenstone brand works great for me. But the Actavis brand just doesn't seem to be working for me. I've never had any problems until my pharmacist switched brands. I'm going to call him tomorrow and see if he can order the greenstone brand again.
It is my understanding that a pharmacist will order your preferred brand if doctor specifies it in the prescription but otherwise they will only give you the brand they have.
Pharmacists in big chains can only order what the company tells them to. They have no choice.
You are correct in saying that the Actavis brand alprazolam is not the same as the Greenstone brand and it could definitely be the source of your feeling "withdrawals". Greenstone is an AUTHORIZED GENERIC DRUG which means it has the exact same fillers, ingredients as the brand drug "Xanax". Greenstone makes many authorized generics. I take a Greenstone medicine and the doctor writes it and it's on the label so I know I'm getting the real thing. Other generics can react very differently. Ask for authorized generic drug. - Greenstone,
Not true at all,
Some brands differ by 20-30%, the FDA give makers of generics up to 20-30% depending on the medication. I've taken this brand that this guy is talking about and he is 100% correct. If you get a brand name medication that is let say 100mg of whatever it is the generic only has to be 70% so that would be 70mg and they can legally label them as 100mg. And any mediations or ingredients that a company orders from China could be fake or half the proper strength. A few people have died in hospitals because of this. You can Google this or read it in news papers, I know of 3 people in my state that have died because of this, the hospitals are being sued for major money.
Related topics
anxiety, panic disorder, alprazolam, pharmacist, disorder, actavis
Further information
- Alprazolam uses and safety info
- Alprazolam prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Alprazolam (detailed)
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