AboutBarbara Judge Expertise Outpatient pharmacy and general health. I have recently completed a Pharmceutical Care Certificate Program offered by Purdue University (Spring 1999 completion). I have personal experience dealing with terminally ill persons and their needs, as well as their families` needs. I graduated in 1984 from Pharmacy School and have been a Licensed Pharmacist since then. I have 18 years retail pharmacy experience. Prior to my pharmacy training I have 3 years hospital experience as a Nurse`s Aide.
Question Hi, I have been taking paroxetine (Paxil)20mg for several years now, with good results. My Sister, who is an RN working in an OB/GYN office, is able to get samples of a new "form" of paroxetine made by Synthon. The brand name is Pexeva. Also 20mg. It is described as paroxetine (as mesylate)
Obviously, free is better than $50 per month out of pocket. Is this medication the same chemical, just arrived at differently? The bottle says "Each tablet contains paroxetine mesylate equivilant to 20mg paroxetine base."
The website is big on the fact that there is no generic for Pexeva. Sounds to me like they have made themselves a market, so long as they can get doctors to write scripts for thier drug rather than Paxil.
I haven't taken any of the Pexeva yet. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
mark
Answer Paxil is paroxetine hydrochloride (Hcl). Pexeva is paroxetine mesylate. This you already knew. What this means is the inactive portion of the drugs, hydrochloride for Paxil or mesylate for Pexeva, are different. This should have no significant difference in the long term net effectiveness of the drug. Occasionally there may be short term side effects due to slightly different rates of absorption into the blood stream between different chemical salt forms of drugs. I would recommend that you discuss the availability of these samples with your own doctor and make sure that he/she is aware and approves of their use for you before you begin using them.
