Mast Cell Disorders Forum

Mast Cell Disorders Forum
http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl General Mast Cell Disorders Discussion >> Medicines >> Can there be different fillers in the same medication? http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1399606431 Message started by brigitte on 05/08/14 at 16:33:51

Title: Can there be different fillers in the same medication?
Post by brigitte on 05/08/14 at 16:33:51

Hello all!
So I haven't been feeling well lately :'(. For about two weeks now I've had most of my mast cell symptoms, including vomiting intermittently throughout everyday, and when I'm not actually vomiting, I feel like I'm going to. The last time this happened (last Fall) I finally figured out after several months of being very sick that the face cream I was using contained a plant based paraffin versus a petroleum based paraffin (I am very salicylate sensitive) I had no idea paraffin could be plant based. Who knew!
Anyways, I'm back to asking myself what am I doing differently? I have made a few poor decisions with foods no doubt. And I cleaned with "99.9% plant derived" Clorox all purpose cleaner last week. I bought oxiclean last week and while I was putting it in the washing machine, I accidentally inhaled a heavy dose. I could actually taste it for like 2 days.
But to my main question.....I take the 60 mg Allegras because the 180's give me headaches. I was tired of paying $12 for 12 pills. So I bought a bunch on 30 mg's from a pharmacy in Canada.
I'm quite certain they are Allegra brand. Color wise they look the same, and they have the script "e" on them like the others, but the packaging and lettering is different. They also say that they are manufactured in India (I know a lot of pharmaceuticals are produced there). My locally purchased Allegra doesn't say where it is manufactured. So, after all my rambling on, is it possible that Allegra could be manufactured in different places and have different fillers, or different filler ratios?
It's the only big change that I have made.
I suppose it could be a reaction to seasonal changes too.
I went out tonight and bought my "old" Allegra. I will take it tomorrow.
Would love any feedback! I'm sure that being a name brand, the ingredients are regulated, but maybe not? :-?

Title: Re: Can there be different fillers in the same medication?
Post by Bruce Hart on 05/09/14 at 07:53:06

Yeah I think there could be differences. Benadryl works great for me, but I didn't tolerate Wal-Dryl, Walgreen's clone of Benadryl.

The liquid from capsules tasted mediciny from Benadryl, but from Wal-Dryl it tasted like a moldy house smells. I don't think the ingredient ratio was the problem in this case. Their source for these ingredients may be different or they do something different that causes contamination from something that's a trigger for me. But I only tried Wal-Dryl once, which was during the Benadryl shortage, so maybe it's not like that now.

A while back Neocate Junior, a special formula for the highly allergic, changed their package graphics and then a child whose only tolerated food was the Neocate, stopped tolerating it, so his parents contacted the company. The company said the formulation and ingredients remained the same though packaging graphics were redone, but they received 14 similar complaints and were looking into it.[1]

Even if ingredients are the same, with MCAD any little tiny difference in anything can be significant.

1. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/02/23/three-year-old-boy-who-cant-eat-anything-is-running-out-of-time-parents-say/

Title: Re: Can there be different fillers in the same medication?
Post by brigitte on 05/09/14 at 12:22:55

Interesting! Thanks Bruce!
I called the US number for Allegra and they wouldn't even talk to me because I purchased the drug through a Canadian website. So they connected me to their Canadian counterpart and they were weird too. I told them that I understood that they couldn't back up a product that I purchased online, but asked if they could given me the Canadian list of inactive ingredients in Allegra so that I could compare. They didn't know and had someone from the pharmaceutical side call me. He didn't know the inactive ingredients either! Unbelievable! (Apparently Canada is not required to list inactive ingredients and they're specialists are required to know! Crazy!)
He said that Allegra is made at different plants all over the world and that assuming I had purchased brand Allegra, the ingredients would be the same as is the US.
But like you said Bruce, these people have no idea just how sensitive us masties are! The slightest change or contamination can cause us a lot of trouble. I found out that the Allegra I bought online was manufactured on a little island off of Madagascar!!!! So who knows.
Regardless, I stopped taking it. I think I'm already feeling better :).Too bad I'm out $100 >:(