The Incessant Myth of Brand Names

[GodisanAtheist]

some people swear by brand-name seizure meds and refuse to take the generics

i've never noticed a difference though except that the generics don't cost me 200$ a month

-Seizure meds have a very high variance by manufacturer, even if it's the same (generic) drug.

Ask me how I know...

 

[DigDog]

Say you buy 10 per year.

.. that's a bit of a wide estimate. we'd normally do, 1-2 per year.

 

[nakedfrog]

When fitness trackers first started coming out, everyone had to have the the fitbit (which the battery lasted barely a week) but my garmin vivo had watch batteries that lasted over a year and also had an actual display and when even when I explained this to others (coworkers and friends), they still bought the fitbit because everyone had one...

I got a Garmin tracker as a gift, my partner got a Fitbit as a gift, when we were comparing notes was when I found out that in order to get all the details my Garmin gives me, she'd have to pay a monthly subscription fee (which I don't). But it was easier to take part in "challenges" or whatever with her siblings with them all being in the Fitbit system.

 

[brianmanahan]

-Seizure meds have a very high variance by manufacturer, even if it's the same (generic) drug.

Ask me how I know...

how do you know?

 

[Pohemi]

Electronics. Shoes. (Some) clothing. Pharmaceuticals.

There are definitely certain product categories where brand names have better build quality and better materials, or are simply more durable and reliable, or more effective.

 

[Captante]

how do you know?

He DID say to ask him!

 

[nakedfrog]

He DID say to ask him!

Good ol' brianmanahan seizing the opportunity.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

how do you know?

-I have epilepsy and I definitely have more auras on some brands of generic Keppra than I do on others.

 

[brianmanahan]

-I have epilepsy and I definitely have more auras on some brands of generic Keppra than I do on others.

interesting, i just switched keppra manufacturer at the beginning of the year. dunno who makes them, but the pills used to be orange-ish and now they're a light yellow-ish.

haven't had any seizure or auras yet either way, but they got me amped up to basically max dose on both that and trileptal so it better darn well better work

 

[brianmanahan]

Good ol' brianmanahan seizing the opportunity.

 

[manly]

I got a Garmin tracker as a gift, my partner got a Fitbit as a gift, when we were comparing notes was when I found out that in order to get all the details my Garmin gives me, she'd have to pay a monthly subscription fee (which I don't). But it was easier to take part in "challenges" or whatever with her siblings with them all being in the Fitbit system.

Social features was one of the attractions of Fitbit, but Google recently killed a bunch of it. Because that's what Google does.

 

[nakedfrog]

Social features was one of the attractions of Fitbit, but Google recently killed a bunch of it. Because that's what Google does.

Yes, it is

 

[Captante]

-I have epilepsy and I definitely have more auras on some brands of generic Keppra than I do on others.

Sorry to hear that mate.... I have a couple friends in the same boat. (weed was very helpful for 1 of them btw)

Unfortunately that's far from the only medication (RX or OTC) to suffer from poor quality-control and/or deliberate "shorting" of the dose contained in a tablet.

 

[BoomerD]

how do you know?

Easy...on the generics, he tries to write pomes...on the good name brand stuff, he's mich more lucid. Maybe you should find out what he takes.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Sorry to hear that mate.... I have a couple friends in the same boat. (weed was very helpful for 1 them btw)

Unfortunately that's far from the only medication (RX or OTC) to suffer from poor quality-control and/or deliberate "shorting" of the dose contained in a tablet.

-Luckily mine is quite well controlled on a relatively low dose of meds.

Worst side effect at this point is a bit of flattening in my emotional affect but that's a small price to pay compared to the hell other people live through.

 

[Captante]

-Luckily mine is quite well controlled on a relatively low dose of meds.

Worst side effect at this point is a bit of flattening in my emotional affect but that's a small price to pay compared to the hell other people live through.

My friend who weed didn't help really can't find any medication that works for her consistently.

 

[brianmanahan]

Worst side effect at this point is a bit of flattening in my emotional affect but that's a small price to pay compared to the hell other people live through.

yeah some of them can be pretty bad! zonegram's alternative name "zombiegran" is accurate.

oddly people seem to have big problems with keppra but i've never found it to be a problem, even at 3000mg. other than feeling "meh" most of the time, but i've felt that way for 25 years so i don't really remember what normal is.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have paranoid schitzo and anxiety, and recently, some chronic pain, so I started taking Zentropia teas with 50mg CBD in them.

As far as the pain goes, it goes away when I start drinking (*CBD, not booze), but I'm not sure that it is strong enough to hold the schitzo back, I was on some heavy pharmecutials.

They are expensive ($59.99 for a 12-pack) direct, but if they will work for me, it will be a God-send. Maybe I could get off of the pharmas, finally. They do have side effects. (The pharmas.)

Already, though, they're keeping me off of the 1500mg of Tylenol / day, which I was doing for a week and a half so far, so not so great for my Liver. CBD is metabolized by various parts of the liver as well.

 

[Captante]

I have paranoid schitzo and anxiety, and recently, some chronic pain, so I started taking Zentropia teas with 50mg CBD in them.

As far as the pain goes, it goes away when I start drinking (*CBD, not booze), but I'm not sure that it is strong enough to hold the schitzo back, I was on some heavy pharmecutials.

They are expensive ($59.99 for a 12-pack) direct, but if they will work for me, it will be a God-send. Maybe I could get off of the pharmas, finally. They do have side effects. (The pharmas.)

Already, though, they're keeping me off of the 1500mg of Tylenol / day, which I was doing for a week and a half so far, so not so great for my Liver. CBD is metabolized by various parts of the liver as well.

1500mg is about 33% more Tylenol then you should ever take in one dose mate.

And if taking consecutive doses it's best to take less than 750 mg not even one gram!

 

[BoomerD]

1500mg is about 33% more Tylenol then you should ever take in one dose mate.

And if taking consecutive doses it's best to take less than 750 mg not even one gram!

he DID say 1500mg per day...not per dose. 3000mg/daily is the MAXIMUM recommended dosage...and that's getting too close to liver damage for my liking. Thanks to Uncle Sam and the jet-gun injectors, I have Hepatitis B with C antibodies. (can't explain it, my hepatologists can't explain it...usually Hep B kills the patient...I've had active virus for over 50 years)
I take excedrin for "migraine" headaches...either brand name or the walmart generic. Each pill has 250mg of acetaminophen. I take 3 at a time...almost never more than one dose daily, worst case, twice per day.
Because I KNOW I have liver disease, I monitor my acetaminophen intake carefully.

 

[Captante]

Wow sorry to hear that Boomer .... glad I got the vaccine! I found out a couple years ago an old GF had hep C but luckily I never caught it.

And taken in two doses 750 mg of Tylenol is fine actually.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

IMO my go to NSAID cocktail is 2 baby aspirins and 1 extra strength Ibuprofen (Vitamin I).

Take before bed and I sleep like a dead baby (cause the alive ones absolutely do not sleep well in my experience).

 

[darkswordsman17]

I figured this was gonna be about all the movies/documentaries/etc for brands, and the mythmaking like that. Shit like the Flamin Hot Cheetos movie, etc.

Most times, if I buy something that has a good brand name, I’ll take care of it better as it costs more. Like my ray ban sunglasses or Jordan’s. I still wear the same ray bans for almost a decade. I know people that will buy those 10 dollar sunglasses, trash em and buy new ones. Say you buy 10 per year. In 2 years, you’ll have paid for a pair of ray bans. I have 5 Lacoste polos that I rotate. I hand wash em. Bought em when the colors I want go on sale. Just my 2 cent.

You could've bought sunglasses that probably looked as good or better than the Ray Bans for cheaper and then you could both do what you do but also save a bunch of money. Luxottica makes most of the branded/designer sunglasses, and that's why branded Sunglass prices are the way they are, not because of quality of the product. Also, those people buy the cheap ones because they're probably prone to breaking/losing them, not for any supposedly quality, wherein they would've lost/broken the Ray Bans as well, and be out the $200 instead of $10.

Yeah. People are super reluctant to go with the not-so-popular option, even when it's far superior.

I feel like a frickin' snake oil salesman when I tell people how AMD gives you 16 threads in the same price that Intel gives 8 threads. They look at me like, what's he getting out of this???

Look up the story of snake oil, most people don't know that the originating snake oil actually did work.

Also, what if I told you, Intel offers more threads for the same price now? Well in some product segments. Actually, that makes me want to create a CPU company in Egypt, bragging about my thread count. Maybe name the CPUs "Cotton".

The one that humored me the most were the Beats headphones...everyone wanted them but they sounded like complete shit and you could easily get better sounding headphones for 1/2 the price....

When fitness trackers first started coming out, everyone had to have the the fitbit (which the battery lasted barely a week) but my garmin vivo had watch batteries that lasted over a year and also had an actual display and when even when I explained this to others (coworkers and friends), they still bought the fitbit because everyone had one...

Meh, that's not even the first of that in headphones. Beats was smart in that they picked features that made them easy to market to people such that many wouldn't even bother comparing them to other headphones just because of the features, plus they targeted sound that would have mass appeal (bass emphasis), and thus make comparisons to say cheap Airpod earbuds would easily make it seem like they sounded better. And with them focusing on flashy colors (and targeting sports) also managed to basically capture similar cultural vein that Starter jackets did in the 90s.

I feel like you're ignoring stuff like integration of apps, which alone was a big part of why Fitbit did well. Also, a lot of people got those because their work/health insurance partnered to give them away for free (or even discounts on your health care if you bought one). I also think you ignore that the lack of a display likely worked to its benefit, people didn't want something that felt like a watch to them.

 

[igor_kavinski]

IMO my go to NSAID cocktail is 2 baby aspirins and 1 extra strength Ibuprofen (Vitamin I).

Dude, get your liver enzymes checked. Those drugs are not kind to the liver.

 

[WilliamM2]

Dude, get your liver enzymes checked. Those drugs are not kind to the liver.

Knock it off. He didn't say he takes it all day like a supplement. Ibuprofen is about the safest NSAID for the liver. And baby aspirin....wow.