Home Forums General Discussion Need Source for Brand Minocin Please Help

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  • #455100
    redrock
    Participant

    I’ve been taking brand Minocin for my anti-centromere pattern i.e. CREST for 5 years with great results, nearly normal labs. However insurance no longer covers the brand name Minocin I’ve been taking, so for the past few months I’ve been taking generic minocycline and my labs have gone back up to my pre-diagnosis numbers of 1:1280. I really need to get back on track because this high number was also accompanied by very scary pulmonary hypertension numbers several years ago. I need to get back to my improved numbers however the cost for brand Minocin is around $2940 a MONTH. Does anyone know of any overseas sources or anything at all I could try? Thanks so much.

    #455101
    PhilC
    Participant

    In cases like this, it would be helpful to know which generic is not working for you — other people may benefit from knowing which generic didn’t work for you.

    Phil

    "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
    - Albert Einstein

    #455103
    Lynne G.SD
    Participant

    Hi Redrock;
    We can’t get any name brand mino here in Canada.Teva works just fine for me.Stay away from anything made by Apotex(APO) it does not work.
    Lynne

    #455104
    redrock
    Participant

    Phil,

    I wan’t sure until I looked it up. It’s Dynacin.

    #455106
    PhilC
    Participant

    Other people have tried to get Dynacin and were told that it’s not even listed as being available. I did a little research on the matter and learned that the company that was selling Dynacin was purchased by Valeant Pharmaceuticals (the same company that bought Minocin), and yet Dynacin is not listed in Valeant’s portfolio of products. Since Dynacin competes with Minocin, it would make sense (from Valeant’s point of view) to discontinue sales of Dynacin.

    Perhaps what you are taking is generic Dynacin? What do the pills look like, and what is written on them?

    Phil

    "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
    - Albert Einstein

    #455107
    redrock
    Participant

    It’s a white oblong caplet with PAR on one side and 513 on the other.

    #455108
    jasregadoo
    Moderator

    So the PAR Dynacin is what you can now get through your insurance, when you used to get Minocin, is that correct? I was trying to get Dynacin recently, and neither my insurance nor my pharmacy had it listed as an option. I’m sorry to say that I have no good ideas on how to get brand Minocin if your insurance won’t pay for it (and at that price, I’m sure most will not.)

    #455111
    redrock
    Participant

    Yes my insurance company used to cover brand Minocin and now I am taking this Dynacin which is apparently useless.

    #455112
    PhilC
    Participant

    You’re taking generic Dynacin made by Par Pharmaceutical, the same drug company that made Dynacin tablets for Medicis Pharmaceutical. I take the 50 mg version of those tablets, and I know that Vinny has taken the same ones that you’re taking. They’re working for us. Unfortunately, what may be happening is that your immune system doesn’t like one of the “inert” ingredients in the Par tablets.

    Unless you’re willing to try some other minocycline generics, I think you should consider switching to doxycycline. That’s what Dr. Mercola recommended as an alternative, if people couldn’t get (or afford) Minocin. Dr. Mercola wrote that, unlike minocycline, there did not appear to be any differences in effectiveness between generic doxycycline and Vibramycin. I believe that info is no longer on his website, but it was at one time. Personally, I suspect that the actual problem is not differences in effectiveness, but differences in allergenicity. Either way, some minocycline generics don’t work well for some people, but apparently that is rarely the case for generic doxycycline.

    Phil

    "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
    - Albert Einstein

    #455118
    PhilC
    Participant

    In the past it was possible to order Minocin from Canada because a company there had the rights to make and sell it there. That is no longer the case. The “Minocin” that people have been buying from Canada lately is Aknemin (from Germany), Minocin MR (from the UK), and Minomycin (from NZ). None of those are the same thing as the Minocin that you were taking. I’ve seen good and bad reports about Aknemin and Minocin MR, and at least one good report about Minomycin.

    Switching to azithromycin is another option worth considering. I know of two people with scleroderma who are taking azithromycin and doing well on it.

    Phil

    "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
    - Albert Einstein

    #455120
    redrock
    Participant

    I just called my mail order pharmacy through my insurance company and they said that as of now they are stocking Aurobindo brand generic minocycline. Has anyone heard of this one or have any reports? The lady also said I can have my doctor write on the script: dispense with Teva or Watson or whatever. I guess I should try Teva?

    #455121
    jasregadoo
    Moderator

    I’ve never tried Teva, though I believe some have done well on it. I was on Aurobindo for a couple of months, and I felt as though my symptoms were coming back. I switched to Watson, which was my only other choice.

    #455135
    bonnielou
    Keymaster

    I would stay away from Aurobindo. There have been a lot of fraud/quality issues with this and other Indian manufacturers, as the quality control is quite different from what we see in other products. For awhile that was all I could get through my insurance company, and so I started ordering the British generic from Canada.

    Bonnie Lou
    RA 02/07,AP 10/07
    Minocycline 200mg MWF; Plaquenil 100mg 3 days/week
    Fish Oil, Ubiquinol, Turmeric, Vit C (2 grams) , MultiVit, Magnesium, Astaxanthin, D3 (5000), probiotics and a daily dose of yoga!

    #455288
    PhilC
    Participant

    Hi,

    I have a few more questions for you. Do you take your mino on an empty stomach or with food? Do you have low stomach acid, or take a drug that inhibits your stomach’s ability to produce hydrochloric acid?

    Phil

    "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
    - Albert Einstein

    #455289
    redrock
    Participant

    I take it with water and a cracker or some oatmeal. Nothing has changed except I am no longer on Brand Minocin. I just had my pharmacy fill a new script with Teva. I will be retested in 6 months and see what happens.

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