I switched to IR adderall a couple of weeks agao, and most recently switched to brand (IR) Adderall. The Shire stuff works so much better than the generic (especially Barr and Eon)! Much less is needed, much less of a headache - it just seems cleaner.

I have long been a fan of generics and am beginning to re-think that position. I have never seen a generic drug that is so much not like its original.

Why do you think this is?

It certainly makes me wonder about all the generic drugs out there.

There are a lot of different ways that Adderall can be made, I would presume it's because of a different chemistry composition in the generics. My dad has noticed the same thing [he's on Adderall, and a generic at the same time] and has commented to me about it a number of different times. Different chemistries aren't always the case, though, when speaking in reference to other meds. Adderall is a rather ambiguous drug because of the class of drugs that it falls under, and that makes it really flexible for different chemistry compositions to exist of it. At least, that would be my educated guess. I'm nowhere near an expert.

Yeah, I've thought about whether they simply botched the salt mix, maybe too much amp sulfate and less amp aspartate or something, or maybe too much levoamphetamine and less dextromphetamine. The thing is, though, that this drug is regulated very heavily. Companies that produce it have to keep extensive records and are inspected regularly. Failure to comply results in losing their C-II license, which means they can't continue to manufacture it, which is an economic death sentence.

I've come to the conclusion that the more likely culprit is the makeup of the pills themselves. I found Eon to be pretty similar to Shire, while Mallinckrodt caused similar problems for me that barr caused for other people. Given that Eon's pills are virtually identical to Shire's, while Mall and barr are more crumbly, and Mall's would sometimes dissolve in my mouth before I could swallow it, I wouldn't be surprised if the pills were absoring too quickly.

Personally I never had a problem with the generic amphetamine salts, but of course everyone is different. I exclusively take Adderall XR now, but when I was on the IR, I tried both brand and generic. The generics were from Ranbaxy and the only real difference was the price. I have insurance but the price for Shire's Adderall was about two and a half times the price for the Ranbaxy. WOW!

I understand completly, but this has only happened to me with Adderall. Generic Adderall gave me the worst feelings and when it did work it was for only 1hr. I hate to say it like this, but the brand was much "smoother" when it came to treating my symptoms.

Hello...I WAS wondering if brand might be my problem as well, however after re-reading your posts perhaps I'm on the SHIRE Brand after all. For three days I've been on
Adderall 10 mgTablet SHI. That's what it says on the bottle. Dosage is one Tab in the AM. First 2 morns I fell back to sleep til noon! Today I had very little energy. I Was on Ritalin before, 10mg 2x's a day. I'm hoping it is dosage related. I started a thread but no one has replied. I'm new here. I just learned about You all last week. Should I be feeling a bigger difference? I may be a tad more clear, if you know what I mean, cuz I am here at the pc looking for help. That's big for me. Trouble starting and staying with chores is a major problem for me. Thank's for any input or advice you may have. Sincerely; Addeline

When I was researching Wellbutrin, I discovered lots of people posting that they had side effects with generic bupropion that they hadn't had with name brand. They have the same ingredients, but the formulations can be slightly different (one pharmacist mentioned something about "impurities" in generic brands when I specified I wanted name brand Wellbutrin). I imagine this is true of many drugs, though the degree to which it's noticeable must vary.

I've only ever taken the Shire Adderall, so I can't compare the two.