“The pink Adderall doesn’t work as well for me. Do you carry the orange kind?”
No time for bullshitting. No desire to be bullshat.
The lady behind the counter contemplated me. Then she gave me the standard response we get from all pharmacists these days; a generic answer about generic drugs.
“All generic pills are identical to their brand name counterparts, and to each other.”
Um, first of all, that wasn’t my question.
She continued. “The only thing different about generics is the price. We carry generics in order to save the customer money.”
I assumed that would be her position—that whatever differences I perceive between generic pink Adderall (CorePharma, ‘cor 135′) and the generic orange Adderall (Barr Laboratories, ) are entirely in my head. She seemed paranoid; as if she knew I was going to challenge the efficacy of her bullshit pamphlets and wanted to delegitimize my concerns before I could voice them. Then she tried to land the familiar knockout punch I’d taken on the chin earlier.
“Actually, this is the first I’ve heard of anyone noticing a difference. I’m not suggesting differences don’t exist, just that I can’t recall any other folks voicing your concerns.”
Why do they always say that? Are my concerns less valid if the world doesn’t voice them with me unanimously and in unison?
And what the fuck should I care what other people think, anyway? It’s as if I’m expected to piss my pants and retract my statement, rather than trouble myself with the prospect that my body is indeed unusual. Even if 0% of people taking pink Adderall are aware of its inferiority, I still am! Should I second-guess my body’s signals? Do they think I’ll be embarrassed that my already unique A.D.D. brain responds unconventionally to some external stimulus? If so, think again, lady. I have A.D.D.—that’s what my brain DOES. It behaves unlike other peoples’. I’m over that part.
Besides, just because she “can’t recall” anyone reporting differences doesn’t mean people aren’t noticing them. I waited two years, because I thought I was imagining things. Even then, I had to write about it in my blog and discover others felt the same way before I felt confident enough to talk to a pharmacist about it. Yet here they were, two separate pharmacies on two consecutive days, jerking me around because corporate alliances are more valuable than trust and integrity these days.
It was clear, no matter what I said, that she would continue to insist the two generic brands were identical.
Okay, let’s go with that: I’m imagining disparities that don’t exist. Can I still have the orange kind, just for chuckles? No? Why not?
As I suspected, Walgreen’s does not carry the orange generic Adderall. Like my university health center, they’ve signed a long-term contract with CorePharma, the company that makes the shitty pink shit.
Once again I walked out without filling the prescription. I felt defiant & independent, almost triumphant, though I’m certain the pharmacist couldn’t have cared less about my plight or about losing my business.
I’ve decided to boycott Walgreen’s until they discontinue these exclusive alliances they have with drug companies that cut corners on their products. If more of us refused to settle for crappy products, companies would stop making them and start listening to consumer needs again. Until then, we can expect that prices will keep rising and quality will continue to plummet.
Tomorrow it’s on to CVS, where I know they still carry the orange Barr Laboratories brand.
You’re right on. Taking the pink generic Adderall is like swallowing 10 cups of black coffee and the, bam,!@#$ pazow, crash and burn an hour later. Horrible, really.
You are right on, my friend … The generic orange capsule is superbly higher in quality than those wuss pink tablets.
I too had the same shit happen to me once upon a Wallgreens pharma outing,…
In turn, I marched out of that joint and into Costco and never looked back again.
Brava to your plight. I salute your efforts to fight the good fight.