Advice on how to get the same citalopram brand each month

[Sparkle1984]

This is some advice for people who are concerned about getting different brands whenever they collect their prescription. I know that some people can be sensitive to changes in supplier. Earlier today I was speaking to my sister (who works for Boots the chemist) about my anxiety. One of the things I mentioned was that my local (independent) pharmacy keeps changing the citalopram brand every couple of months or so. Sometimes I find this unsettling as I worry about whether the new brand will be as good as the old one.

She said that at Boots they always stick to the same supplier (Almus) unless there is a shortage, and this applies to all their stores. So I may well switch to Boots when I get my new prescription and see how I get on with the Almus brand. She said it is mainly the independent pharmacies (like the one I usually go to) that keep changing suppliers every couple of months in order to get the best deal, but if you go to one of the larger chains you are more likely to get the same brand every time. This is because the larger chains have special deals with specific suppliers so they don't keep chopping and changing.
I'd assume the same would apply to any medication, not just citalopram.

[keithwms]

Perhaps you can get Celexa, rather than the generic citalopram?

[Sparkle1984]

We don't have Celexa here in the UK, I think that is only an American brand. I did ask my sister about the Lundbeck Cipramil brand (who held the original patent) but she said this is hardly ever used nowadays as its more expensive than the generic brands. I think that as the health service in the UK is publicly funded, doctors are always told to prescribe generic brands where possible, unless the medication in question is still under patent.

[Emphyrio]

Did you ever notice a difference when changing brands when you were on citalopram previously? Some people seem to be able to switch brands fairly easily, some are much more sensitive.

I have heard of people being given a prescription for sertraline and having generic versions in the past, but then getting the original Pfizer 'Lustral' brand at a different pharmacy. But I'd agree about the NHS trying to save money where possible - they prescribe citalopram more than any other SSRI apparently because its so cheap (around £1 for a month's supply!)

[Sparkle1984]

Yes, the first time I was on cit, I did notice a difference when changing brands. The first month, I was given one brand and I felt like I'd settled on that, but when I went to the same pharmacy to collect my second prescription a month later, they gave me a different brand. I'm not sure if this is psychological, but within a few days I noticed a slight deterioration in my anxiety. It was nothing too unbearable, but it did make me wonder whether the change in brand could've been the cause. For my 3rd month's prescription, they gave me the same brand I had the first time, which I was pleased about, and within a few days I felt better than I did during the second month. There is no way I can prove that the deterioration was to do with the change in brand - it could've been a slight blip or that I wasn't fully settled on the medication at that time.

After that, they did change the brands every couple of months, but I never really noticed any difference. Thankfully they never gave me the second month's brand again (the one I didn't like). It could just be that by this time, the cit had settled more into my system, so that the changes in brand didn't effect me so much.

When I restarted cit 2 and a half weeks ago, I was a bit concerned because they gave me a brand I'd never had before. It seemed to take longer for it to work this time round, so I started worrying that maybe this brand wasn't as good as the previous ones I'd had! But it was probably that I wasn't settled on it yet anyway.