Generic hits from the bong are effective in treating many of these conditions, as well as providing a cheaper, natural alternative.

Of course, those of you with high LDL or diabetes may want to lock the fridge.

Prilosec OTC is not generic, it just no longer requires a prescription.

@ekthesy: haha, so true.

Either way, stop lining the pockets of big pharma. Go generic out of principal, or try OTC and lifestyle changes before you write a fat check to them for Prozac.

@ekthesy: Wow, you're hilarious.

There are cheaper ones for many of these conditions on the $4 drug lists.
IE: arthritis, meloxicam is $4

Oh boy. Here we go with Consumer Reports again. Don't you listen to @00solstice? He is quite adament that Consumer Reports is, uh, bad or something. I can't claim to understand why but he feels strongly about it so it must be true.

@Ben Popken: Actually, I know a few people with some of this crap, and it actually is. Helps with high blood pressure and stress, too.

@ekthesy:
haha, word! the ganj helps with my stress and anxiety but is terrible for my type one diabetes. damn munchies! although, I have found that when the munchies hit, a cup of tea with stevia or agave necter is much more forgiving to my pancreas than a whole damn bag o chips.

Whoever suggested lovastatin as the best generic for high cholesterol is stuck in 1995. Simvastatin (generic Zocor) is a more effective drug and is also generic.

There are also now many generic options for depression. (Again, someone's stuck in the past.) Fluoxetine is not right for some people and can actually make their condition worse (if they have anxiety, for example). Citalopram (Celexa) and paroxetine (Paxil) are also generic and may be better for many people.

If you want a generic option, it's usually better to ask your doctor for the best generic available for your condition than to ask for a specific drug.

Paxil is good for no one.

You can't just take the cheapest drug for mental health disorders. You have to find the one that benefits you and you can tolerate. If cost is an issue, try needymeds.org to find a financial assistance program for your drug. Most companies provide their drugs free (or for a small fee) if you prove hardship.

Also, look into prescription discount cards; I have a dental/vision card from my crappy Aetna plan, and a prescription card from AAA.

Perphenazine is actually much cheaper than that its actually more like 20 bucks a month. And it sure as hell did more with less side effects than Abilify, at least for me. Not schizophrenic, but bipolar here and it's been used off label for Mania for years. theres just no huge company to pay for studies in bipolar folks. Brand name Trilofon was gone ages ago. Shrinks just hate prescribing the older stuff.

But your milage may vary, and dont worry, Risperdal is about to go generic :)

Prilosex OTC isnt nearly as effective perscription strength Nexium. $26 for a 42 days supply for something that isnt always effective, vs. $25 for a 30 day perscription of something that works wonders. Tough.

good point, Nardo. Still trying to find the cocktail of my dreams :)

@mcjake: I was about to comment on the same thing. However you have great insurance to get the 30 days for $25. With my crap insurance I pay approx $120 for a month of Nexium, but nothing else works as well (especially Prilosec)...and typically I can only take 5/week instead of 7, so it lasts an extra week.

These prices are much too high. Lovastatin and Metformin I know you can get at Target or Wal-mart for $4 a month. Much cheaper than the prices listed.

Ibuprofen can cause migraines in a long run (unwanted secondary effect). Also known as ''advil'', ''motrin'' etc.

Allergies, hay fever, hives / loratadine / $13
This works.

High LDL / Lovastatin / $34
Why Lovastatin? Someone already mentioned that Simvastatin would in most cases be superior.

Insomnia / Zolpidem / $29
No real reason not to take generic Zolpidem over Ambien CR, Lunesta, Sonata, Rozerem (what a joke), etc. etc.

Heartburn, GERD / Prilosec OTC / $26
It's a proton pump inhibitor, and clinical evidence shows very little difference between omeprazole (Prilosec) and other PPIs, although most doctors I talk to have their favorites that they have seen distinctly better results with.

Diabetes, Type 2 / Metformin / $42
Uhm... Most diabetics are on metformin already. Besides, it is pretty much always the first line of therapy used to treat diabetes. This is what you start with when you have diabetes. This is kind of like telling an arthritic that ibuprofen is the answer... Oh wait.

Osteoarthirtis / Ibuprofen / $18
If only we lived in a perfect world where arthritis could be treated with ibuprofen and diabetes could be adequately controlled on metformin alone. The problem with these two suggestions is that they aren't substitutes for things that are already out there. They are significant downgrades. If you were diabetic and on a host of expensive medicines and switched to metformin alone, you would be in for a world of trouble. Same thing if you are taking other pain relievers and switched over to ibuprofen by itself.

ADHD / Metylphenidate / $40
Depression / Fluoxetine / $42
Schizophrenia / Perhenazine / $56

Again, you have a similar problem here as you have with metformin and ibuprofen. Most of these medicines are first line therapy, with the exception of "Perhenazine" [sic]. Here's the thing: if your depression or ADHD can be handled with fluoxetine or methylphenidate, respectively, consider yourself lucky. But if your doctor switched you from one of those to another medicine, he probably did so for a pretty good reason. Mental health related medicines are something that you don't play around with. It already takes long enough for them to have a significant effect, and I would not recommend switching to a different medicine just because you want to save a few bucks without extensively discussing the matter with your doctor.

The moral of this story is, generics are not some panacea that will magically whisk away all the costs of the pharmaceutical industry. Switching to a generic medicine just to stick it to the pharma industry without seriously considering the effects it will have on you is not a smart move. Before getting it in your head that you want to switch medicines, discuss the issue with your doctor. Let him give you his opinion; at the end of the day, he does this for a living, and you look at websites in your spare time.

Now, of course, on the other hand, all the medicine in the world won't do you a bit of good if you can't afford to pay for them. And there are some medicines that really don't need to exist at the price they do. But it's all about striking a proper balance. So again, discuss the issue with your doctor and your pharmacist. They will be able to give you advice on how to save money on your prescriptions that is tailored to YOU, rather than a one-size-fits all set of advice that really doesn't serve much of a useful purpose.

For those of you that don't want to read the great American novel, here's a quick summary: there are flaws with a lot of the suggestions in the Consumerist article. There is no one-size-fits-all set of advice for generic substitution. Only a medical professional who knows what medicines you are taking and how they are working for you can really make an educated assessment of what would be an acceptable switch. Generics are a great tool to cut your costs, but you have to use them intelligently.

IIRC, Loratadine is the same as Claritin. I tried it, but it wasn't taking care of my hay fever symptoms. My doctor ended up prescribing the generic version of Allegra. Now I get mail from my insurance company extolling the virtues of Loratadine. Seems simple enough to me -- they'd rather have me buy Loratadine OTC than pay for part of the Allegra, which is still prescription. But I wish they'd stop it already -- I know that Loratadine doesn't work for me, and my doctor knows it. I get really irritated when insurance companies second-guess doctors.

@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: I have the same problem with my med insurance...I use a medication that is not on their 'approved' list and is not a generic. So every time I buy it, I get this snotty letter in the mail detailing exactly how much money my insurance had to pay as opposed to what *I* could have saved *them* if I'd bought what they 'approved'. STFU already, argh!

/end rant :)

@mcjake:

Nexium and Prilosex are different isomers of the same drug. They're pharmacologically equivalent, but the manufacturer is pushing Nexium because the patent on Prilosec expired. Don't believe the hype.

@mcjake:

Nexium and Prilosec are different isomers of the same drug. They're pharmacologically equivalent, but the manufacturer is pushing Nexium because the patent on Prilosec expired. Don't believe the hype.

Please ignore the highly Freudian typo in the first of my two near-identical posts.

@velocipenguin: LOL I think I would buy the pill in the first post. Kills heartburn and gives you beer googles.

If you want to save even more money see if your pet pharmacy carries the drug(s).

90 Flagyl 500mg at Walgreens is $71, 100 Flagyl 500mg at the pet pharmacy I use is less than $35 with shipping. Same drug, same manufacturer, same quality.

Fluoxetine (generic Prozac) at Walmart/Sam's Club $4/month as are many generics. Sam's has a sign one the wall by the check out with a rotating list of common name-brand/generic drugs and their associated cost. I think they have over 300 common generics on their $4 plan.

@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS:

Happens alot. It's a pain for us at the pharmacy as well, because a good portion of the time, the insurance company will, rather than sending you a letter telling you how much you'd save if you used Claritin instead of Allegra, they will just reject the claim outright until they hear from the doctor. It's called a 'prior authorization', and they are the bane of retail pharmacies. The whole process takes two or three days to complete, requires a lot of paperwork, doctors hate them, patients hate them, we hate them... The only people who love them are insurance companies because 88% of scripts requiring a prior authorization are never picked.

flu / oscillococcinum / $9

@FezMan88: Oscillococcinum is water.

I feel like adding that while generics can amount to a significant savings for many people, they are all still manufactured by big pharma (in some cases medium pharma), so there is no "principle" in opting for generic, beyond preserving the contents of your wallet.

wow, i had no idea schizophrenia was a "common ailment".

Please, just take what your doctor prescribes if you have something as serious as Schizophrenia. Please.

Many of the generic medications listed here are actually on Target Pharmacies 4$ Generic List (www.Target.com/Pharmacy). Programs like this one are a great way to ensure that uninsured patients continue to take their medication if cost has caused these individuals to discontinue their medication... Also if you happen to be a patient on Medicare Part D you can have your pharmacist fill your generic prescriptions as Cash (as copays tend to be greater than 4$) so that you may remain within coverage and outside the doughnut hole as long as possible... Its true that medication therapy does need to be customized to the individual... however, why not start a 4$ generic like pravastatin and lovastatin which may be sufficient to help patients acheive HDL/LDL goals over simvistatin which is going to cost 34$ and may only be marginally more effective. Print the 4$ list broken down by category off the website and bring it with you to your next doctors office visit, there is no harm in talking with your doctor about potential alternatives that may save you some money... On another more personal pet peeve type of note... Celexa is on the 4$ list... It essentially is Lexapro... If you're on Lexapro and your doctor refuses to switch you to a dramatically cheaper generic celexa double check to see if has been taken out to dinner by a Forest Pharmaceutical Drug representative recently...

Reason I LOVE my Primary care doctor. Any time I get a prescription from him there's no sticker shock later. He almost always tries to prescribe something that has a generic. Or if it doesn't he'll give you a 30 days supply in free samples. He put me on Claritin before it went OTC and gave me a brown paper sack full of samples and I never had the prescription filled. (by the time the samples ran out Claritin became OTC).

If you have a younger doctor that is hip to all of big pharma's clever marketing, you're going to be in for a bit of a hassle trying to get on a cheaper alternative. I fired a psychiatrist once because he put me on an anti-depressant that was $90/mo. After I got a second opinion who said I could be on much cheaper Welbutrin.