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Hope you are aware of his thread as well - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...es-thread.html

Thanks Mate, had forgotten about this. Really helpful the thread is.

Just curious.

Has anybody ever switched from a branded medicine to a unbranded generic, sold at PM Jan Aushadalaya or Medplus kind of pharma retailers, for any medicine that you regular take (BP, Diabetes etc)? Any disadvantages?

I have hypertension which is well controlled with medication. I take Telma AM manufactured by Glenmark. A few days back the guy at the local MedPlus store nearby suggested their own generic which is less than 50% of Glenmark's Telma AM price.



The above strip is the Medplus generic, the below is the Glenmark branded Telma AM.

The question is of academic interest only as the wife would never allow me to switch based on a forum recommendation :).

Had switched to the generic insulin that PM Jan Aushadhi sells for Lantus (long acting insulin). It was good and did not feel any difference. Price was considerably low. It was about Rs 250 odd against Rs 800+ for a single catridge.

Need advice, I took the lipid profile test on 15-Jan and the results are alarming. I was in Ayyappa deeksha from November 6 to Dec 22 which meant consumption of only vegetarian food. I avoided ghee as much as possible during this period. I work out on a daily basis but during that period I couldn't. However, I was physically active due to the chores and daily temple visits which are part of the our daily routine. But, I have to admit that red meat consumption after my return from sabarimala till jan 15 was high. Post the tests, I have stopped consuming chicken and red meat.

Haven't consulted a doctor yet but I am trying to understand as what could be the potential reasons for the spike and am I at risk of a heart attack ?

I work out 5 days in a week (strength training mostly) and have a balanced diet which is one meal a day at lunch time and fruits/vegetables around 7 pm for dinner.

Request the forum doctors and members to advise. Here are the test results of both the periods :

June-24


January-25

Dear sir,

Please mention your age. Otherwise, your cholesterol levels are elevated, but, do not get so stressed with regards to heart attack and so. Work out a diet plan after consultation with a good cardiologist and take medicines if prescribed.

You could start with mentioning your age.

Cheers

Its like switching from OEM parts to aftermarket parts. Quality control is doubtful especially because its Made in India. You may or may not have any benefits. Sometimes the drug doses may be inadequate or may have more dosing in them.

If you are alright using aftermarket parts in your cars, then you are good to go with generic medicines.

You can take a chance if the price difference is significant.

To all Doctors and experts on this forum, I have a rather strange query. Is there a syrup for cough for children which comes in a tasteless and colourless form ? Something like the Risperidone syrup ?

Context: My 4 year old daughter refuses to take any kind of medicine and whenever she is infected with cough as a symptom she suffers a lot. She wakes up in the middle of the night while coughing and it takes a while for her to go back to sleep. We have tried 20-30 cough syrups and everyone of them is bitter.
We have tried telling her in all ways possible but she simply refuses. If we pour into her mouth forcefully she ensures that she spits it out or vomits if she has swallowed it.
All doctors say that we have to make extra efforts, we have tried but we are unable.
Antibiotics is another story by itself where they all come in powder + liquid to be mixed and given which is impossible in this scenario.
We are aiming to atleast supress the cough so that she can sleep peacefully and let the underlying infection heal itself.
Any recommendations would be of great help :)

My apologies for missing this and delayed response. I am 43 years old, 5 feet 7 inches with a body weight of 82 Kgs.

There is an understandable pushback against many "natural" remedies in this thread, and rightly so, But I don't think that doctors object to honey and lemon to soothe a cough.

Honey and pepper would be the next level, but she might object to that.


edit: added the quote as my post no longer follows yours.

Since your query is of academic interest only, this late response should not matter. So here is my learning and experience:

1. I have learnt to mind the actual manufacturers of the medicines (takes a magnifying glass). Very often big brand names source their medicines from generic manufacturers themselves. I found out that one Cipla-branded medicine prescribed to me was actually manufactured by the same company at the same plant as that for the corresponding Med+ branded generic version. The packaging also looks identical. I, ofcourse, have switched over to the much cheaper Med+ version after discussing with my doctor who did not object to my taking generics.

2. I currently take another variant of the Telmisartan composition (like Telma) for my BP control. I had started years back with a big name brand version which was rather expensive. Soon I changed over to the much cheaper Mankind Pharma version. It had worked fine for years. For the last year or so, I changed again to the even cheaper Med+ version (manufactured by the same generic company as yours), with no discernible change in my controlled BP level. So I stuck with it. I have since found out that the same composition manufactured by the same generic supplier is sold even cheaper by a Surat based generic medicine chain, DavaIndia!

3. Med+ was recommended to me by two doctors in the family who had themselves switched over to Med+ generics for more than a year, and were happy with it. Med+, of course, also sells brand name medicines (if one so wants) at 20% discount.

4. I was told by one of my uncles (who had spent his career as a medical representative of several big name MNCs) that big pharmas typically source their medicines from generic manufacturers themselves, and after supplying their orders, the leftover production runs are sold as cheaper generics by the actual manufacturers. The same uncle now often sources his medicines from Jan Aushadhi himself (his argument is, the generic suppliers wouldn't dare to antagonize the PM by supplying sub-standard medicines to his pet project)! :-)

It is, of course, the patients' call, but minding the actual manufacturers could save some real money. It would be informative to hear from the doctors in the forum in this regard.
.

Sugar being a sweetener also masks unpleasant taste which other artificial sweeteners doesn't have. In fact they all have a characteristic after taste.

What you can try try is you can make a 30-40% sugar solution by boiling sugar with water and cool it down. Dont keep it in fridge, it will crystallize.

You can try mixing 5ml to 7.5ml of this sugar solution with each dose cough syrup and taste yourself, don't swallow, swirl in your mouth, observe the taste and throw out. If required you can increase the sugar syrup.

Thank you Thad. Unfortunately Honey would fail the rest of both taste and colour and she would reject it anyway. We will still try by diluting it in warm water

@archat68 - Thanks for your suggestion. It might help to eliminate atleast one problem of taste. We will try it out.

I go on long road trips and eat whatever I find. Oily foods, local village foods, everything. This habit has led to very poor gut health. Over the last 2-3 years, even though I don't eat outside food nowadays, I am facing flatulence, and gas issues. Moreover, I don't feel good at any given time. Either too full or, just lack the urge to eat.

I am at good levels of fitness. Do cardio, but recently stopped exercise. Any help is appreciated as to how to address this as it is severely affecting quality of life. I consulted the gastro doctor, who gave a bunch of diagnosis which didn't help the situation.

As an infant I was totally averse to eating food or medicine, so I was fed with nasogastric tubes, that’s what elders say.

Then at later stage, the doctors advised my parents to feed food/medicine while I was sleeping and damn that worked wonders. Later I came to know that during sleeping all our five senses remains unconscious, including the taste buds, so you might give it a try to feed the kid during her sleep. Since it’s coughing, you might have to find a window when she’s sleeping calmly to feed her medicine, which might be a task in itself.

At times, they even tried to feed the medicine with medical syringe, deep in mouth, as there are minimal taste buds at the back of the tongue, but that was a hit and miss, sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t.