I got mine filled on the 18th of this month from Walmart. It's horrible! I am not convinced that it is even close to being a replacement for the name brand Adderall. I can't stay awake, feel cranky/moody, headaches that won't go away, shaky, I can't find barely anything on the internet about this medicine either.. Its a white stop sign shaped pill marked m in a box on one side and a 20 on the other.. Anyone else have any issues??
Has anyone else received a new 20mg generic Adderall from Mallinckrodt lately?
Question posted by lalaland22 on 23 March 2014
Last updated on 22 February 2023
91 Answers
I just got them today never tried them. I looked them up because I actually felt tired and weird. I ended up talking my daily allotted dose at once to see if it was just a weak generic. Nope something definitely is wrong with these. I might have to switch pharmacies only reason I got these is because my local Walgreens closed. Not cool. I might just take a nap I can only imagine the pain this would be if you have narcolepsy, it’s very dangerous. Be safe everyone!
It's terrible. How on earth can drugs be out of stock when half the world is dependent on them. Teva is on a shortage as well as several other brands.
Absolutely the worst ever generic version of Adderall with both over stimulation to complete drowsiness. I found no consistency with Mallincroft. Besides not addressing issues for ADHD, violent headaches and extreme nausea. One way to avoid similar generics is the tablet starts to dissolve in your hand; also gritty salty taste on your tongue. Better generics have an almost sweet taste to them.
Yeah dude . I now have 90 of them for the month , better off not taking them I feel so tired.
Thank you for every who has shared their experiences. I normally take the Teva brand, but recently got Mallinckrodt and started experiencing some pretty nasty aches all over my body. I have to get regular covid testing for work and got a negative test this weekend no aches then, before meds started(will prob. do another just to be sure). In the past I have had reactions to sulfonamides as well as CT contrast (iodine?). I was wondering if any other people who have have gotten aches from the Mallinckrodt have any known allergies. I have been told by multiple professionals that the dextroamphetamine sulfate part of Adderall is different from sulfonamides, and the Teva brand has never caused any issues. I found the list of inactive ingredients that Mallinckrodt provides, and nothing jumps out at me, but I not sure how much confidence one should have in that list.
Perhaps I have an undiagnosed allergy to one of the ingredients? Many seem to complain that the brand doesn't work, but there are also a number that complain of nasty side effects as well. I am just curious to see if there is a common thread for those who have severe aches/stomach issues from the meds. Another thought I have is that perhaps it is just withdrawal symptoms because the active ingredients are not concentrated enough or actually present. Thank you.
I like the Mallinckrodt Adderall and not the generic Teva (the ones with the b on them are the Barr brand sativa bud out and I don’t know if Teva made their own recipe but I think so)
They must have a lot of fillers and I heard they have saccharine in them and a sugar coating because you’re very sweet tasting.
But I’m having a bad effect from them. I get very tired and wanna lay down immediately after taking them, nauseated and dizzy.
And my nurse practitioner that I see for ADHD will not give me a theraputic refill even though I was told that I could get another refill because I can’t take these.
I’m just so disappointed and just hoping I make it through the month.
As a Registered Nurse, a generic medications by the FDA are legally allowed to produce any of thier prescriptions anywhere from 25% up to 33% less pure as the true brand name itself. Some generics are better in potency than others. This is a fact that blew my mine when researching pharmacology related to this same problem. In my opinion, this is a very dangerous range. Since the full formula of a medication does not have to be released to it's competition, only a certain amount of the active ingredient is all the original company needs to disclose. This means the rest of the inactive ingredients don't. This leaders to inconsistencies in generic meds lack of effectiveness. By the way, is your pill Imprinted "A-80"? It is the first generic Adderall I have received with with imprint.
No, I have not. I received other brands before from CVS or Rite Aid and learned the hard way to always go with TEVA!! I get the 20 mg and always get TEVA. From Walgreen’s. I have never had a problem. Walmart is known (as well as CVS ) for horrible generics. I am so sorry you had to go through this. Also, Adderall sometimes makes my headaches worse or gives me headaches, but I am prone to migraines and stress headaches (physical and mental). It might not be the generic causing the headaches, just the Adderall itself, but what do I know, YOU and only you know your body and generics effect everyone differently. I hope you are able to switch pharmacies or get a better generic in the future. You shouldn’t have to go through this! Good luck!
OMG! I honestly thought it was just me and that I was no longer reacting to this medication! I have so far had two prescriptions of this same generic with absolutely no affect. I get my refills at Rite Aid, because I am military retired, and for the record I have never had this issue with the PINK generic!! It did run across my mind that something was wrong with this particular manufacturer, but, the pharmacist assured me that this was not the case!
Yes!!! Why? It’s terrible. Someone please explain?!
I’ll start by saying that I have never created an account on a site solely to review a product. I’m not the kind of person that has to leave a detailed yelp review after every trip to the mall or fast food meal. If I buy a product and it doesn’t work for me, I assume that it’s still a decent product that works for most people and that I’m the exception. I also assumed that all generic medications are essentially the same as the name brand and must contain the same amount of active ingredients and only the fillers can vary. In fact, I usually buy the generic version of OTC medications when they’re available and have never had an issue.
So, when I filled my most recent script of generic Adderall 15 mg IR and opened the bottle to notice the pills inside were a different color and shape than my usual peach colored Teva pills, I simply checked the bottle to make sure it was the same active ingredient and swallowed it with no hesitation or second thought. That is, until over an hour and a half had passed and I was still sitting in bed with my morning coffee in a catatonic-like state when I should’ve been up and dressed and moving on with my day being productive. I mentioned to my boyfriend how I think I must’ve been given a lower dose by accident and then looked up what the Mallinckrodt 15mg pills should look like, and sure enough the photo showed a small white stop sign shaped pill. I just chalked it up to “maybe I didn’t sleep well last night” or “maybe I didn’t make my coffee strong enough and should drink more caffeine” so that’s what I did. Then, a few hours later (about 4-5 hours after my initial dose) I got the WORST adderall crash I have ever experienced in my life. Worse than taking 30 mg at a time of Teva adderall. I realize that it’s normal to crash from adderall at this point, however a)I have been on Adderall at multiple higher doses for most of my adult life and have never experienced the anxiety/nervousness/restlessness/irritability/twitching/muscle tension/headache/nervous stomach/heartburn/shortness of breath/teeth grinding/insomnia etc etc that this brand causes and b) it NEVER even had a therapeutic/stimulant effect!
I didn’t take my second dose that day because I couldn’t handle the above symptoms getting worse. STILL though, I thought “maybe I drank too much caffeine with it” or “maybe I should take it with food” and tried taking it again the following day except this time being sure to not consume too much caffeine or take it on an empty stomach. I had the exact same experience/symptoms! It’s been four weeks now and I am only taking 1/3 of my usual/prescribed dose because I can’t handle the side effects and it doesn’t work anyway no matter how much I take! It’s like they found a way to remove all of the benefits of adderall from a pill and instead include every possible negative side effect multiplied! Do they think that we don’t really “need” this medication so we won’t notice? Or we will start feeling bad and just decide to stop taking it?! After only a month my life has started to fall apart from a complete lack of productivity, being irritable to everyone around me, not sleeping, and so forth. I’ve had to start taking anxiety and sleeping meds again that I haven’t had to take in years and am having panic attacks almost daily when I haven’t had one in a decade. I live in Alabama and pharmacies will not tell you over the phone what brand of Adderall they have in stock so I have literally spent hours driving around with my new script trying to find Teva generic Adderall and no one has it stock and they all say it’s on backorder and they have Mallinckrodt! I called my doctor and told him and since my insurance will not cover brand name Adderall, I’ve switched to Vyvanse. I like the convenience of different dosing options with Adderall (if I sleep late one day and need less or stay up late and need more, I can adjust) BUT, I cannot handle this anymore! I feel like it’s literally POISONING my body! How did this get FDA approval!!! I am sooo glad I found this site/thread while doing a google search for this brand Adderall because I was starting to think I either had something very wrong physically or mentally because I had NO IDEA a generic medication could be this far from the original. I don’t know what’s in this crap, but I’m not putting it in my body again.
I have read other blogs in which the Mallinckrodt manufacturer was sited as being inferior, causing a relapse in symptoms. Please report that to the FDA. They have a place for that kind of thing online. It could be helpful down the road, and thank you for letting us know of your bad experience. Do some research and hopefully you'll find a good generic. I have recently read from moms who had their childrens ADHD symptoms return, one was kicked out of school until his behavior changed and it was all because of a change in the manufacturer. It's unbelieveable!
Yes I agree they are terrible, pretty much worthless! And dangerous too because it is very easy to mistake for this pill for something else due to the huge difference in appearance to the orange Adderall. I have several meds that are almost identical in size and color and you can barely see the 6 or is it 8 sides of it. Mostly they just don't seem to work! Glad to find out it wasn't just me! Luvly57
I saw the first part of this and thought I posted it because at the same time as when this was posted, I received Mallinckrodt generic Adderall when I usually get the generic. I didn't even realize the switch at first but I had a loose Adderall generic pill in my top drawer and I looked at it closely and it was Teva from the last script. I was really mad and called my doctor's office and said what was going on, especially because I'm a student in college so I can't stick it out for the remaining 30 days. I disposed of the Mallinckrodt at the pharmacy because it's garbage to me.
This wasn't my first time that I had issues with Mallinckrodt. I was in a car accident and I had 14 fractures and 5 broken bones, and when I received Mallinckrodt Oxymorphone it was garbage. I wish I would have known to use a non corporate pharmacy because they carry better brands typically, and they are more accomodating in dealing auto insurance no fault coverage (MI has medical coverage by the auto ins. for medical conditions caused by an accident related).
It has to be something with the binder/filler ingredients that Mallinckrodt uses, because the active ingredient is the same potency unless the testing they do it rigged. Mallinckrodt is having issues with their generic Concerta as well, with the FDA telling them they need to fix the efficacy or they'll have to pull the medication from the market. I didn't check the date when I read the report, so the Concerta thing might be old information.
I have taken generic adderall since 2000, never ever had any adverse symptoms/reactions with the Teva/Barr combo. HOWEVER, since Barr is no longer a manufacturer for Teva, and I've been FORCED to use foreign produced brands, I have been totally right back to that point BEFORE taking the 1st prescribed dosage that changed my life around from unorganized existence to everything in its place and routinely tasked accomplishments.
The foreign 20 mgs make my tongue swell, so had to double up on 10 mgs. The 15 & 30 mgs have made my knees scream in pain bec they're swollen twice and more the normal size, including added edema/bloating in my legs, thighs, and stomach, that make it quite difficult to bend down and pick something up, like there's an obstructing substance that gets in the way.
I have never experienced anything like these physical changes before. And bec the efficacy and substance of foreign manufactured generic adderall is suspected to be non comparable to Barr composition, there's no way for the public to know the exact "ingredients" in these par substitutions.
I do know, bec I did check out the foreign labs, that one was cited for very poor safety compliance and another one was fined for same dirty environment. What is the makeup of these foreign substitutes? Would the FDA let us know after testing these so-called generic adderall products, the exact amount of each particle?
Since people have already reported problems with these "meds" to the FDA, have they tested any of the available dosages?
It's like being an unorganized misfit struggling to gain that daily stability using the former Teva/Barr 135 mg management of ADHD, but now with narcolepsy, which I never, ever experienced in my life before.
Update:
I had 2 generic Adderall prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy I customarily use. There is an alert in my file, "NO MALLINCKDROT" ever since the bad reactions with their 20mg pill, especially the distressing tongue swelling. Since no Teva/Barr is and hasn't been available for some time, the pharmacy has issued the Aurobindo manufacturer.
I get home and both meds are the forbidden MALLINCKDROT! which I had to pay $51.00, way way over the copay of $7.50 for both! I did balk at the price with the pharmacist saying my insurance won't cover the cost and didn't know why.
But just to change manufacturers without informing their customers is just plain bad business to place an unsuspecting person in dangerous situation!
This is NOT Adderall!
I don't know what we're being sold but I want my money back and my real medicine!
Hopefully my Dr can get it replaced for me.
I don't have a headache but I feel a lawsuit coming on!
I have never posted on a forum like this before in my life, so the fact that I feel the need to do so is really saying something. This is a warning to all people who rely on Adderall to live a normal/adhd-free life. DO NOT TAKE the Mallinckrodt generic (white Octagon shaped pill with an M on it). I took this poison for 2 weeks. The first week I thought I had the flu and made myself believe that this was possibly the reason I didn’t notice the medication working. I eventually realized it was the pill itself causing these flulike symptoms. Not only did it make me sick to the point of puking, the following week I experienced the most crippling anxiety/depression of my life. I was unable to control my thoughts, my mind would just race all day long and I was unable to control my impulsiveness. I became terribly sad/down/depressed and I am generally an extremely positive person with an extremely positive outlook on life. ALL of my thoughts were negative. I couldn’t sit still.
It was affecting my relationship (I could not stop questioning my girlfriend about her loyalty which is something I never questioned previous to taking this medication nor did she give me a reason to do so). I was unable to do my work (thankfully, I was blessed with a boss who took my situation seriously and was very understanding). This poison seriously messes with your neurological-system and will leave you feeling like you are in a battle against your own mind. I knew that my thoughts were irrational, but I was unable to control my thought process nor did I have the ability to restrain myself from acting on these negative thoughts. If I had to describe the feeling to someone, I would say It felt as if I was a live puppet under hypnosis. I have been prescribed Adderall for over a year now. I am not here to promote any generic so I will not mention the generics I have tried that worked, but this one magnified my adhd symptoms tenfold and caused depression which I never experienced in my life previous to taking it. I won’t even bother mentioning the other negative side-effects I experienced. Please, I warn everyone and anyone to report this medication. It’s bad enough that this medication doesn't work in treating the disorder it was created to treat, but it is also downright dangerous. I’m a 6 foot 1, 205 lb athlete who fears next to nothing, but this little/white/ octagon-shaped pill had me fearing for my very own life. I literally thought I was going insane.
Related topics
adderall, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), generic, walmart, brand
Further information
- Adderall uses and safety info
- Adderall information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side effects of Adderall (detailed)
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