Stiefel vs Triax questions

[Steven]

Hello,
 
I've been on Minocin for a few years and recently my insurance company decided that they weren't going to pay for the brand name anymore. So instead of trying the generic that they would pay for, I took Maz's advice here (thanks Maz!) and ordered the Stiefel brand Minocin (pellet-filled capsules) from buylowdrugs in Canada. I switched brands this past October and I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but my RA symptoms have been noticeably worse these past few months. I guess my question is, has anybody had any negative responses to the Stiefel brand?

Also, I was thinking I would try the Triax brand for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference or not. Does anybody know of any cheap(er) places to buy Triax Minocin?
 
Thanks,
 
Steven

[Maz]

[user=667]Steven[/user] wrote:

I guess my question is, has anybody had any negative responses to the Stiefel brand? 

 Does anybody know of any cheap(er) places to buy Triax Minocin?
 

 

Hi Steven,

Sorry to hear you've been experiencing worsening in the last few months. Have you had any labs done lately? If so, any clues from that or does your physican have any ideas what may be going on?

I've been on both – started with Triax Minocin and moved to Stiefel Minocin. Can't say I personally noticed any difference. Wyeth owns the patent for Minocin (bought from Lederle) and gave manufacturing rights to Triax in the US and Stiefel in Canada, so “presumably” it's exactly a match for the Triax brand. Legally speaking, therefore, a brand name has to be exact in composition, no matter the distributor.

I spoke with an AP old timer today and asked her if she'd had any past experience of this or could remember anyone who may have asked the same question. Her response was that she is only aware of one filler in brand name Minocin and that is “methyl-cellulose.” You might like to call them up and ask or check around online to confirm this. Other than this, however, she said it could be possible that the differing capsules (in other words, the outer shell) may be having some effect. If some people are sensitive to fillers in generics, it's possible they are also sensitive to the constituents of the actual capsules (dyes, gelatin, etc). The outer shell of the capsule is different between the two – Triax is a two-toned pea green capsule with one translucent end and Stiefel is a two-toned capsule with one indigo and one orange end.  

That's about all we could come up with between us for you other than ruling out other possibilities that may be causing worsening. Here is a link that offers some suggestions for similar scenarios:

Things to Check if You are not Seeing Improvement on Antibiotic Therapy

https://www.roadback.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/education.display/display_id/89.html

If you suspect it might be the Canadian brand that is causing your worsening, it might not be a bad idea to trial back on the Triax for a couple months to see if things settle again. I'm afraid I haven't heard of anywhere to purchase the Triax brand any cheaper, but you might give your local Costco pharmacy a call and ask what they charge…they tend to offer reasonable prices for prescription drugs.

Others here may be able to chime in further. Richie has done quite a bit of research, I believe, on brand and generic mino, so he might be able to offer some helpful insight here.

Let us know what you discover, Steven, and hope you find your answers soon.

Peace, Maz

[Steven]

Maz,
 
Thank you so much for your detailed response.
 
I'm seronegative so my labs don't show a whole hell of a lot and the last blood work I had done was fine.
 
I'll try your suggestions and If I can come up with any explanation, I'll post my results.
 
Thanks again,
 
Steven

[Maz]

Steven, thanks…I'll be interested to know what you come up with. Seems that any small, slight change can knock some people off kilter for a while.

I can't remember the dosing you were on, but sometimes hypersensitivity can build up over time, too, and working with an experienced physician to dial your dose might help.

The other thing that came to mind is that after some years some people will do a rotation to a different tetracycline for a time and then go back to mino to give their body a rest.

Another thing that sometimes happens is that once the overwhelming infection is controlled on one antibiotic, like minocycline, sometimes other opportunistic strains try to get the upper hand. So, adding/pulsing in a second complimentary antibiotic might help to boost the protocol. This is all descibed in the link pasted in above, though.

All the best figuring this out, Steven. Let us know how you get on!

Peace, Maz

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