Cost. And insurance....mine won't cover the cost of brand name drugs if a generic exists in the market.

Is this a trick question? Lol

I compare prices and if there is a large difference in prices I go with the generic. A generic is the same (recipe) the branded ones use. I went to a Gessler drug store looking for tylenol, the pharmacist came to offer help. I told him what I was looking for and it was almost $10. He pointed to a generic that was $2 and something for a twin pack. Of course I chose the generic.

A generic drug has the same main ingredient but no drug company is going to hand out 'recipe" for their drug to another company, they paid for the research & development of drug to start with & they aren't handing out how to make it. The generic companies can often figure out about what is in it but not always all the ingredients. Just as there are lots of white cakes they don't all taste the same as eggs-1 or 2 or more, flour, brands are different,cake flour is different, vanilla or artificial vanilla,so you will get a white cake but may not taste at all like 1 you had before. Same with drugs & since we are made up of 96 or more elements if the formula doesn't agree with our chemistry we can get mighty sick. Armour thyroid works great on me & mom took it also, but they went to all generics at hospital & 3 different times they had switched her & I took 1 look & told nurse, you switched her, where is drugs I brought from home & you OK'd, they checked & sure enough they had crossed out Armour thyroid & given her the Sythyroid & she was a zombie, just laid there not moving while night before talking & laughing & sitting in a chair, 3 times of this & finally nurse said, I'll fix this so it doesn't happen again & Sythyroid went in her allergies list so next time she was in she did get the drug Armour thyroid that we brought from home. So if you get a generic that makes you sick, drugged or woozy then you need to get that drug on your allergy list &" Brand only" may have to be brought & approved by hospital.

Most doctor don't give you generic drugs and here is why. [kick back]
http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/

I agree with rhizo - cost. I am Cdn. Under our plan we have to take generic drugs if they exist - no choice. Husband's new office plan is the same - no exceptions, even with a doctor's note.

Also in many cases the brand name of the drug has ceased production - I am in that predicament right now. I can't take the generic due to allergies to the non medicinal ingredients but the brand name is no longer being manufactured. We have been trying to find a Plan B but so far have found nothing. I may have only one prescription, but not having it is going to be bad for me.

My husband can take either - but many people can't. There is a reason why many seniors are paying the difference in cost (and it is a lot) for name brand drugs - if available.

If you have a compounding pharmacy in town they may be able to make up your drug for you Eccentric! They can find out what was in it probably since it is discontinued. I had to do that with my prescription drug when they took it off market. Some think Armour thyroid was taken off market but it wasn't(FDA guys wives no doubt threw a fit & told hubbies, no way you're taking my meds off market!!) But I know some people that have it made up even tho you can get it at Cost Co(I used to get it there) but local pharmacy an Independent 1 mile away is handy. I pay for it tho. No point in having part D as 2 drugs I take they don't want me to use. Rather I take much more dangerous ones. No way!

Thanks, sunnyca - I will look into it!

Not all generic drugs are the same as their brand name.
Yes, you can buy Ibuprophen instead of Advil or acetaminophen instead of Tylenol but there can be other differences. Example: My mother was on Calan for years with no problem. One day when picking up her script and opening it I noticed it was a different pill. The pharmacist said it was generic and would be the same. Not so. Mom took the pill and within 20 minutes had a sick stomach. I called the pharmacist and he said the "binders" in the pill were different in the generic and dissolved faster giving Mom the sick stomach. I called the doctor and he ordered the brand name, check marking the box at the bottom of the script Brand Name Only. It wasn't a horrible side effect from the generic pill but an effect my Mom didn't need.

My mother has relatively-mild dementia, however, she doesn't take her pills unless someone watches her do so (we could put them out with labels for when to take them, or put them on her plate for that meal, but even so she ignored them). After my dad died, we moved Mom to the part of their retirement community which cares for folks who need more care (whether their problems are mobility, memory, or chronic medical conditions).

My father had been purchasing many of their prescription drugs from an online company (OptimRx or something like that). When we moved Mom, the management of that part of the retirement community would not accept her drugs because they lacked lot numbers.

Without lot numbers, when there's a recall, you have no way of knowing whether your pills were in the recall or not -- and the retirement community doesn't want to be sued....

Luckily the retirement community has a local vendor who will provide drugs with lot numbers. (And whether anyone gets kick-backs, I don't know.)