# Escitalopram Vs. Lexapro, the same?



## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

I've been doing some research on this topic and I've read that most people prefer the brand name of Lexapro vs. the generic medication (escitalopram).

Per FDA, generics need to be the same as brand name, so whats going on here?

Also any personal experiences?

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Added info: when the doctor writes prescriptions , it either reads Lexapro or Escitalopram (One is brand name the other is the main ingredient which mainly is considered generic)


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## jackbarrett (Oct 15, 2012)

They are the same. And branded is better in most cases.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

jackbarrett said:


> They are the same. And branded is better in most cases.


They are the same but the brand name is only better in a few rare cases. It's like generic foods. It rarely matters, only for a few things like coca cola or... I don't know but it doesn't matter for most thinks, like milk, bread. fruits, veggies, etc. it's all the same. It's just some people have weird brains that make them spend significantly more for a name. I don't get it.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

For certain meds (or for meds in general even) you'll find people claiming the brand version works better than the generic. I'd say it's all in their heads and not in the pills.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Is this a serious question? Google Lexapro and see what scientific name it is called. 100% of the time, it will say, escitalopram. You can't even look up brand names in a lot of psych. books.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> Is this a serious question? Google Lexapro and see what scientific name it is called. 100% of the time, it will say, escitalopram. You can't even look up brand names in a lot of psych. books.


so true, it s like asking the difference between robitussin cough only. and Dextromethorphan HBr cough only or the difference between cheddar cheese and Western Family Cheddar Cheese, or forger brand cheddar, or Safeway brand or Albertson's, etc.

What;s the difference between Benadryl and Diphenhydramine.


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## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> Is this a serious question? Google Lexapro and see what scientific name it is called. 100% of the time, it will say, escitalopram. You can't even look up brand names in a lot of psych. books.


he's asking because he didn't know. patronising him isn't helpful.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

I was surprised at the question. I gave an understandable and reasonable answer.


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## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

some people - i'd say most people, even - have no idea about the drugs found at the local super market, let alone the role the fda plays in the efficacy of branded vs. generic psychotropics.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

basuraeuropea said:


> he's asking because he didn't know. patronising him isn't helpful.


I don't think it was a patronizing comment. It seemed a very pertinent post to me, had you chose to quote the entire post. Metamorphisis made a good reply.



basuraeuropea said:


> some people - i'd say most people, even - have no idea about the drugs found at the local super market, let alone the role the fda plays in the efficacy of branded vs. generic psychotropics.


Such people need a bit of a kick to do some more learning. Those who are ignorant of the drugs that they are taking them, should not be taking those drugs. Trying to be nice to people by protecting their ignorance does far more harm than good. So chill out mr.europea


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## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

istayhome said:


> I don't think it was a patronizing comment. It seemed a very pertinent post to me, had you chose to quote the entire post. Metamorphisis made a good reply.
> 
> Such people need a bit of a kick to do some more learning. Those who are ignorant of the drugs that they are taking them, should not be taking those drugs. Trying to be nice to people by protecting their ignorance does far more harm than good. So chill out mr.europea


thanks, bro.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

jackbarrett said:


> They are the same. And branded is better in most cases.


Thanks Jack


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

istayhome said:


> They are the same but the brand name is only better in a few rare cases. It's like generic foods. It rarely matters, only for a few things like coca cola or... I don't know but it doesn't matter for most thinks, like milk, bread. fruits, veggies, etc. it's all the same. It's just some people have weird brains that make them spend significantly more for a name. I don't get it.


Thanks Istayhome


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

Inshallah said:


> For certain meds (or for meds in general even) you'll find people claiming the brand version works better than the generic. I'd say it's all in their heads and not in the pills.


Thanks Inshallah, that could be the case. I'll tell you something though. I use Clonazepam made by Mylan and once I changed pharmacies and the clonazepam I received was made by Teva. And after using the one by Teva for 3 days in a row, then going back to the one made by Mylan, I have to say: CLONAZEPAM MADE BY MYLAN WORKS! THE ONE BY TEVA WAS LIKE A SUGAR PILL.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> Is this a serious question? Google Lexapro and see what scientific name it is called. 100% of the time, it will say, escitalopram. You can't even look up brand names in a lot of psych. books.


I was referring to Lexapro brand name versus generic, I may have miscommunicated. That being said, I have used two generics of Klonopin, one manufactured by Mylan and the other by Teva. Mylan works excellent, the one by Teva did not work at all.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

basuraeuropea said:


> he's asking because he didn't know. patronising him isn't helpful.


Thanks Basureaurpea,

I did know Escitalopram is the main ingredient in Lexapro, I miscommunicated and wanted to know if people had a different reaction from brand name vs. generic.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

I just called Mylan, which is a generic manufacturing company for Lexapro and they told me that Forest Laboratories gave them the exact formula to make the medication. So basically Mylan manufactured Escitalopram is the same as the brand name.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

jmhfl7 said:


> I was referring to Lexapro brand name versus generic, I may have miscommunicated. That being said, I have used two generics of Klonopin, one manufactured by Mylan and the other by Teva. Mylan works excellent, the one by Teva did not work at all.





jmhfl7 said:


> Thanks Basureaurpea,
> 
> I did know Escitalopram is the main ingredient in Lexapro, I miscommunicated and wanted to know if people had a different reaction from brand name vs. generic.


Well, It's not that Escitalopram is the main ingredient in Lexapro, Escitalopram _*IS*_ Leaxapro. Fillers are added to all Escitalopram/Lexapro pills but they are all the same otherwise, it's not as if other drugs are added to any Escitalopram pills generic or otherwise.


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## wvpptzff (Mar 11, 2013)

I'd say it's all in their heads and not in the pills.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

wvpptzff said:


> I'd say it's all in their heads and not in the pills.


actually, some pills may differ, as i mentioned before. I used clonazepam from teva and mylan... Teva's did not work at ALL.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

istayhome said:


> Well, It's not that Escitalopram is the main ingredient in Lexapro, Escitalopram _*IS*_ Leaxapro. Fillers are added to all Escitalopram/Lexapro pills but they are all the same otherwise, it's not as if other drugs are added to any Escitalopram pills generic or otherwise.


You are right.... but still some generics may not work for some people. I did research online and all I read were complaints about it.


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## hoddesdon (Jul 28, 2011)

Yes, they are the same, but some generic brands are not exactly the same as the original. I have heard that a generic brand of an epilepsy medication is not as strong as the brand name version.


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## jmhfl7 (Feb 26, 2012)

hoddesdon said:


> Yes, they are the same, but some generic brands are not exactly the same as the original. I have heard that a generic brand of an epilepsy medication is not as strong as the brand name version.


I do not doubt it. But that being said, I spoke to Mylan which is the manufacturer of my generic Lexapro and they told me that Forest Laboratories hired them to make the generic version of Lexapro. This means, it should be the same exact medication


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

jmhfl7 said:


> You are right.... but still some generics may not work for some people. I did research online and all I read were complaints about it.





hoddesdon said:


> Yes, they are the same, but some generic brands are not exactly the same as the original. I have heard that a generic brand of an epilepsy medication is not as strong as the brand name version.


Hearing someone say something online is about as far from the truth as you can get, we all know that. Has anyone considered that perhaps their pills came from a bad batch. I like to think that when it comes to pharmaceuticals, they are controlled as tightly as people walking around the most secure wing of the Pentagon. But I've gotten bad batches or bottles of miscounted pills many times. Maybe sometimes it is not the whole brand but the due at the mixer or pill press messed up, or one of the many people who distributed the pills before they got to you and let them get to hot, etc. I've known college rads who were interning with pharmaceutical companies and it was their job to deliver pills. They let them sit in their back seat and trunk in a leather bag in Southern California heat while they partied it up for a few days.

People are in charge of pills and the pharmaceutical industry is boring, I know that mistakes are made much more off them than anyone admits. It's like getting stale bread at the grocery store because the stock wasn't rotated right. Or the wrong meal at a restaurant because your server is too busy texting, etc. The brand might not be bad because you got something wrong, it way be something further down the line. sometimes brands just suck and typically don't last long. But usually my first inclination when something is wrong is not to blame the entire brand but to first check and see if it might be someone else's mistake.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

istayhome said:


> Hearing someone say something online is about as far from the truth as you can get, we all know that. Has anyone considered that perhaps their pills came from a bad batch. I like to think that when it comes to pharmaceuticals, they are controlled as tightly as people walking around the most secure wing of the Pentagon. But I've gotten bad batches or bottles of miscounted pills many times. Maybe sometimes it is not the whole brand but the due at the mixer or pill press messed up, or one of the many people who distributed the pills before they got to you and let them get to hot, etc. I've known college rads who were interning with pharmaceutical companies and it was their job to deliver pills. They let them sit in their back seat and trunk in a leather bag in Southern California heat while they partied it up for a few days.
> 
> People are in charge of pills and the pharmaceutical industry is boring, I know that mistakes are made much more off them than anyone admits. It's like getting stale bread at the grocery store because the stock wasn't rotated right. Or the wrong meal at a restaurant because your server is too busy texting, etc. The brand might not be bad because you got something wrong, it way be something further down the line. sometimes brands just suck and typically don't last long. But usually my first inclination when something is wrong is not to blame the entire brand but to first check and see if it might be someone else's mistake.


^^^
Very true and very well said. I think Oroweat's bread kicks a** though!


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## dantwort (Dec 12, 2014)

*lexapro vs generic*

It seems to me most people that respond to this have never taken the generic, I was on Paxil and my insurance changed me to paroroxiten or something close to that spelling . Anyway my wife almost divorced me. I changed to lexapro worked well now my insurance has changed me to the escitalopram. I hope Christmas is not a repeat of last time I had to change !!!! By the way lexapro stated sex drive may decrease, escitalopram may produce a painfull erection. Does that sound like the same drug?


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## slap (Jul 15, 2017)

*Not true*



jmhfl7 said:


> I do not doubt it. But that being said, I spoke to Mylan which is the manufacturer of my generic Lexapro and they told me that Forest Laboratories hired them to make the generic version of Lexapro. This means, it should be the same exact medication


Sorry but first of all Mylan's rep is not giving you the correct information. Forest Labs definitely did not "hire" Mylan to manufacture the generic. Forest lost out to Mylan for exclusivity on the generic and hence, lost a ton of potential revenue. Nevertheless, while the generics are technically required to be equal in that they contain the same amount of the actual medication, the differences in process and fillers can and does make a very real difference in some circumstances, Lexapro generic being one of the most problematic. Many thousands of people have been switched to generic brand and suffered symptoms within days of the switch. More importantly, many were switched without their knowledge and did not realize the change until their symptoms (some of them serious) were so pronounced as to cause them to investigate. This disproves the theory that it is "all in their heads" or a placebo effect.

Bottom line is that even if the majority of people are fine with the generic, there are sometimes large swaths of a population that are having negative reactions. Reports to the FDA continue to go unanswered about these issues which is an even bigger problem. Without getting into tin hat territory, I think it's safe to question, gee, why? There is a lot of money at stake here. Just sayin'...


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