Do Generic inhalers Work As Well As Brand named inhalers?

Your question. Do generic inhalers work as well as brand name inhalers.

A pharmacists answer. I am a pharmacist with asthma. The rescue inhalers generic name Albuterol don't work the same for all asthmatics. Brand name Ventolin and Proventil works best for me. However Qvar now has a generic and it does not work for me. If my prescription says 1 to 2 puffs every 6 hours prn. On Qvar I would have to do 2 to 4 puffs for relief. Generally we are taught in school that the generic drug works the same and in this case these branded albuterols work the same but they don't in all patients.

It's very important to monitor yourself when switching to a different product due to formulary changes to make sure it works for you specifically.Most people that had asthma for years know when and inhaler opens them up or not.

My answer. T It's neat to get a pharmacists take on this subject. I have always wondered about this, as many of my asthma friends have said that some generics don't work as well for them. I personally haven't noticed a difference in the different albuterol inhalers (other than taste). But i do know that some ICS/ LABA combination inhalers work better than others. I think most of us asthmatics find a rescue-controller brand that works best for us, only having to switch due to what our Insurance companies will pay for.

Sometimes my doctor prescribes one medicine and my insurance company wants to pay for another. This happened with me a few years back with Advair. My insurance company wanted me to switch to Symbicort. I did not want to. So, my doctor wrote a letter to my insurance company stating that Advair works for me (and that I tried Symbicort and it had too strong side effects for me). I have since made the switch, but so long as my doctors wrote those letters I was able to get the medicine of my choice.