I am currently on a prescription for Risperdal to prevent Manic episodes that sometimes lead to Psychosis. Every time I have forgotten to take the drug in the past, I have been unable to sleep, waking up every half hour to hour until eventually I force myself to stay awake out of frustration. The sleep disturbances have been so bad that I made certain to religiously take the drug on time every night, whereas before Risperdal I had been less than diligent about taking my medication every day.
Now that the drug has gone generic, I am experiencing the same sleep disturbances as though I had not taken the drug. I did a little reading and apparently there have been a significant number of complaints about differences between generic and brand-name versions of psychiatric drugs.
The lack of effectiveness of generics has resulted, according to an ABC news report, in some patients’ return to a mental hospital. The article goes on to state that while the drug itself may come out from under Patent, the release mechanism is often times still Patented, forcing the generic drug manufacturer to develop its own release mechanism for the drug. This can result in different blood levels of the medication at different times.
I am fairly confident that, because of my inability to sleep, Risperdal in its generic form (risperidone) is not the same pill and is not having the same therapeutic effect upon me. I’m worried now that it may cause a recurrence of manic symptoms I experienced earlier when I switched to generic Wellbutrin. I’m feeling chipper and alert right now despite having only three hours of sleep. Normally I sleep 10 to 12.
I suppose my only alternative is to see if my insurance plan will cover brand-name drugs when a generic is available — I have a sneaking suspicion that it won’t. If that’s the case, I have no idea what will happen to me.