I've been taking medication to regulate my blood-pressure for over 10 years now.
The time arrived a while ago when I began to deplete my supply of UK presecription meds.
For some years now my prescription has been filled with 'generics' rather than "brand-name" meds
Both my UK Doctor and Pharmacist told me that the so-called generics pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of their brand-name counterparts.
When I first bought my Amlodipine here I went to a local branch of a chain called "The Generics Pharmacy"
The 5mg tabs were priced between P1 - P3 each depending on the manufacturer.
The P3 tabs were made by a company called Sandoz, same as the UK brand I'd been supplied with years. They came in the same packaging and looked the same.
My strategy was this, I'd start taking locally available generic meds before my UK supply had gone so I always had a fallback position before spending more on branded tabs if something wasn't right. I'd monitor myself for any side-effects and monitor my blood pressure every day.
My logic being that if these meds were not quite the same or indeed if they were fake I should be able to notice significant changes in my blood-pressure readings over say a couple of months. Obviously it's easier in my case as I can easy spot any issues.
Be warned, not all medical conditions can be monitored quite as easily. I'm only talking about my blood-pressure.
So far, I've not found any side effects at all nor have I recorded any significant changes in the daily trends of my blood-pressure.
Looks like I'll be a regular customer at The Generics Pharmacy.
It's a very clean and well organised Pharmacy and staffed with qualified helpful people.
And now to an interesting point.
I'm buying the most expensive at P3 per tab. That's P90 per 30 day pack.
Now, being over 60 years of age I had my prescription free of charge in UK. Those who are not eligible for free-of-charge prescriptions must pay £8.20 per each medicine. So a 30 day pack of Amlodipine (1 item) would be charged at £8.20.
Means P574 at current RoE which is far above the P90 I've been paying for exactly the same generic medicine and exactly the same supplier.
I haven't bothered to research the why and wherefore. Just sharing.
I'm not really bothered to try out the P1 tabs as I'm just glad to have seemingly settled down with my first choice.
But I may do at some time just for the heck of it.
This is not meant to be advice or recommendation of any kind. I'm solely sharing my own research, experience and end-result.
Hopefully it might be of interest to others in similar circumstances
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