A More Affordable Birth Control

[CVSLN]

Christina wrote:

CVSLN...I am sure that having worked in a pharmacy you noticed that Tri-Nessa (gen for Ortho Tri Cyclen)has an entirely different package? Not the case here because Bayer still manufactures it.
Also, the overcharging by Caremark was a computer error that they figured out as people called to figure out what was going on. It's another reason to call the insurance if there's a drastic price change. Pharmacies don't control the third party prices and too often we are blamed for it.:) Hope that helps.
Oh, and for the record because I have heard it several times before, I don't get paid more whether a patient gets generic or brand. ;)

Yep, yep. All so true!

[NIcole]

I have been on Yas for 2 months now, and have experienced weight gain, and exteme irritability as well. My fiance was worried I didn't love him anymore. I really felt like a totally different person! I am about to start Ocella.... but I am afraid after all these reviews!

Lily wrote:

<quoted text>
Last year when I started taking Yasmin my doctor had originall prescribed Yaz but during the three months I was on Yaz I never got my period and my mood swings were so out of control that I couldn't even put up with my self not to mention I went from having a perfectly normal, happy relationship to arguing all the time about the most ridiculous things. I was a different person and he got traumatized...still brings it up quite a bit.:( I have obviously switched pills since then, I am now on Yasmin and have no complaints.

[Sarah]

I'm taking the generic brand now too. I also started feeling sick to my stomach and I got a little dizzy. However, today I'm not feeling any side effects yet. I think because the materials are a little different it just takes a little bit of time to get used to.
Good luck ladies, and I hope everyone experiencing bad side effects feel better.

[Daphne]

I have been on Yasmin for 5 years now also. I no longer have insurance and I was paying almost $70 for it. I called to refill it and they said Ocella is only $37. Im not doing so good financially so Im willing to try it out. If I dont like it, I'll switch back. But I'll keep a look out for any side affects.

[teppi]

Ajai wrote:

oh and a side note.....at least you all saved money! Walgreens said I have to pay the same $50 for the generic as I paid for Yasmin for a couple months until my insurance company approves the generic price or some bullshit like that.

they shouldn't be charging you the same copay for a generic as they did for the brand. Go back with your receipt, insurance card, etc. tell them to reverse the claim to your insurance and that you want to pay cash... the cash cost should be between $30-35 which is less than the copay the quoted you. Also, if your insurance contracts with a mail order pharmacy it is usuall a lot cheaper that way.

[TAM]

I have been on Yasmin forever as well. Started Ocella yesterday. I have not had any nausea, but I have had a severe headache all day, and I don't get those. I hope it is unrelated.

[TAM]

BTW- they tried to charge me $57 for it and said that my insurance company did not cover it yet. I refused and they called my insurance company and had it approved. I paid $13.

[Tig]

So do the Yasmin and Ocella pills look exactly the same?

[Sarah]

Tig wrote:

So do the Yasmin and Ocella pills look exactly the same?

Yeah, they do, but I still think that the ocella might have a different coating on it or something, because way too many of us aren't feeling well. I switched back to yasmin last night, so I am going to see if I start feeling better over the next few days. If not, then I know I must have some other issues.

[Krys]

CVSLN wrote:

Hate to break it to you people, but Ocella is the EXACT same drug, formulation, pills as Yasmin. It is made in the same factory by the same people and packaged by the same people. That is why it is called an authorized generic. No different ingredients were used, you can even look at the Ocella pills and the Yasmin pills and see the pills have the same markings. Since Bayer manufactures the pill and provides it to Barr (a company that makes literally a hundred other birth control pills) they get a portion of the sales. There is NO WAY they would change the formulation of their best-selling OC, especially with their name attached to it.
This is some sort of fixation people have on the brand name is better than a generic.... its not. It had to go through the same rigorous testing that the brand name had to go thru to be approved by the FDA. Something else must be causing these "side effects" that you people are experiencing.

if that's true then why did i experience these symptoms without even knowing of the side effects other people were experiencing? I've taken Yasmin for 5 years and I started taking Ocella a week ago andI have never felt so dizzy and have never vomited so much in my life. I called my doctor and he said that many women were feeling these side effects. So stop acting like we're making these symptoms up in our heads.

[Heather]

Wes wrote:

I too just received the new generic, Ocella, and this is my 3rd day (7/8/08) on this stuff and I'm having extreme nausea as well. I searched online and I'm finding other similar cases. I don't usually get this sort of nausea from the pill. The pharmacist told me that the Ocella is the EXACT formula of yasmin and is even being manufactured by the same company. I'm convinced its the pill but I am unsure whether I would want to switch back so quickly since it may be something else. I'll give it one more day.

Ocella only has to have the exact active formula of Yasmin but it does NOT have to have the same inactive ingredients (therefore can cause different side effects). Go to www.fda.gov and search generic medicine it explains the definition of generic drugs.

[Lisa from Orlando]

I just picked up my Ocella today and am now nervous from all that i've read. I haven't been on the pill in years, but if i start to feel sick, I guess I'll know why. I start taking it tomorrow, so wish me luck! I'll be back to comment...

[Concerned Husband]

My wife was taking JASMIN not YASMIN and I was offered this generic in place of her normal pill when I picked it up last week. Now my wife has a horrible, itchy rash on her arms and legs, swollen eyes, nausea, and headaches. This all started within a day or 2 of taking this generic pill.

[Erin]

I have been taking the Ocella pills for one week now. I was also switched from Yasmine after two years of using it. I didn't really mind at first because it was the same price for me ($20) and I figured they wouldn't give it to me if it wasn't comparable. Now, one week later I'm spotting! This has never happened to me before and I'm annoyed. It didn't even occur to me at first, but then I remembered that I had switched. If it's exactly the same, why am I experiencing different symptoms?

[Robin]

Oh great-- i have BCBS insurance and I do the 3- mo mail order perscriptions...my insurance went up to $100 every 3 month supply! At that amount, it'd be around $400/yr...so i was skeptical about keeping the Yasmine. I sucked it up and renewed-- low and behold I just got my refil in the mail and it was Ocella-- after reading these posts I'm nervous to start taking Ocella! Thankfully i still have a few more Yasmines left, but !! Yikes!! Feel better fellow Yasmine lovers!

[Jessica]

I was also just switched to Ocella. After the pharmacist handed it to me I was a little shocked at first that the price had been cut in half, then saw that the box was different and asked if I had been given the correct prescription. After hearing that it was a new generic, I was pleased that I could finally spend less on my birth control.

Anyway, the pills do look EXACTLY the same. I'm not a pharmacist, but I do agree that a lot of these people are having a placebo effect. I don't think that the pharmacy is out to screw you over by giving you a prescription that's completely different than the one you have been prescribed originally. I do agree that a little information beforehand that a generic was being substituted would have been nice, but I'm definitely not complaining.

[Jessica]

Also, I would like to point out that if you go on a message board for the brand name Yasmin you can find page after page of complaints about the drug. I've been taking it for over 2 years and disregarded those posts after seeing that my experience was different. If you go into anything with a negative attitude the liklihood of everything being positive is lowered.

[Miami Girl]

Is anyone else spotting since they started taking this pill? I am supposed to start taking it next month and I am terrified of irregular cycles!! Had many issues in the past with this.

[kristy]

I've been taking Ocella for 2 weeks (last night started the third) I've had the horrible nausea, headaches, moodiness, etc. Last night I started spotting! I'm one for exactly regular periods. I can usually narrow it down to 12 hours of knowing exactly when I'll start. This has been horrible, and I'll tell you it's not the placebo effect for me. I started researching AFTER my side effects started. I honestly feel pregnant. it started about 2 days after I started Ocella in the place of yasmin.

[Keri-Ann]

Well, i received a letter from the online pharmacy I go through (provided through insurance) that they are informorming me there is now a generic form of my BC (Yasmin) called Ocella. I do some reasearch and found this board (and a few others). Thankfully, the letter states "If you wish to continue to receive the brand medication, YASMIN, please contact us before your next refill.

I'm going to do just that.

First off, though - why is it that SO many people REFUSE to believe that a generic medication CAN AND WILL affect a woman differently then the brand name? If these women who've come on to this board have been having such horrible side effects such as vomiting and what-not EACH ONE only after taking this new pill - WHY are so many other women on here REFUSING to believe them? Unless you've been in the lab where the generic pill and the original are made and you have a chemistry degree and you know for a 100% fact yourself that they are the "exact same" then shut up.

I know - from experience with other birth control pills - generic forms DO AND WILL have a different affect on you than their brand name counterpart.

I was on Mircette for 2 years a couple years back. Liked it - had NO issues WHATsoever...then the generic brand came out and I was excited cuz it was cheaper. It was the WORST thing I ever did! Kariva, the generic for Mircette screwed with my emotions like I can't begin to tell you...I wanted to cry at the smallest things...I lost 60 pounds doing weight watchers (and while on mircette)...I started taking Kariva - still eating right and exercising and i GAINED BACK 40 POUNDS!

I know from personal experience just because a generic is cheaper I will be sticking with the brand name because, FOR ME, from personal experience, generics and I do not mesh.

I was so happy when the doc changed me to Yasmin from Kariva (the generic...)I have had absolutely NO issues with Yasmin and have been able to lose 20 of those 40 pounds I gained back...I REFUSE to go back down the generic road just to save a few bucks.