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View full discussion thread on HealthBoards.com: 2nd March 2005 I wonder if anyone has had blood pressure increases when switching from Norvask to the generic Cartia. My BP was reasonable at 130/80 or so. I've been at 154/100 or so since January when my doctor prescribed the generic! Since I have reverse whitecoat, my doctor is not concerned. I'm worried! 2nd March 2005 Biogirl,
These are quite different drugs. Among the BP meds the calcium channel blockes have probably the largest differences among them. Norvasc is amlodipine and Cartia is diltiazem. You may do very differently on one or the other. Stay with the one that has the best combination of price, results, and side effects for you. Since the Norvasc is NOT available generically, it's at least twice as expensive as diltiazem. 2nd March 2005 Yes, Cartia is significantly different than Norvasc. They are both CCB's. But, that's about where the similarities end. Plendil (available as generic felodipine) is probably the closest substitution for Norvasc available.
Pal 5th March 2005 What about generic diltiazem (such as Cartia) vs. Tiazac (which is very expensive)?
Are the the same? 5th March 2005 pal7778,
Yep, Tiazac is diltiazem hydrochloride. You are referring to Cartia as the generic for diltiazem; it's not, it's the brand name product. Here's the prices I found on 30 tabs of the 24 hour one-a day variety: diltiazen hydrochloride: $28.99 Cartia: $38.99 Tiazac $45.74 All the same thing! 6th March 2005 FWIW, at one point I was prescribed Cardizem CD. The pharmacy gave me Cartia XT. And, this was a generic drug by my health insurance - very cheap copay. Looking at the formulary for a couple other health insurance companies, it appears that Cartia seems to be considered a generic by all of them. However, Cardizem and Tiazac both are classified as brand names.
Pal 8th March 2005 Cassie, In the U.S. basically these are the ways that you can buy diltiazem (generic name):
Cardizem Cardizem CD Cardizem SR Cartia XT Dilacor XR Diltia XT Diltiazem CD Diltiazem HCl Diltiazem HCl CR Tiazac Differences: The Tiazac and any of the others with initials after them are 24 hour dosing (once a day) and the pills are BIG because they are giving you a day's worth. The two choices: Cardizem and diltiazem hydrochloride are available in doses as low as 30 mg., thus small pills but then you must remember to take them as scheduled several times a day. Since the 24 hour variants must add a melange of other fillers for slow dissolution, I can see how it's possible that the "plain vanilla" Cardizem might treat you better headache-wise than one of the alphabet soup varieties. (My sister got terrible headaches from Cardizem but I don't remember which version she was on.) 8th March 2005 I got headaches on Cartia XT. On my first day, I had a headache that started about 1 hour after taking it in the morning. It lasted the entire day (over 12 hours). And, I seldom get headaches. When I do, a simple acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) usually does the trick. But, not on this headache. Since that one pill actually seemed to control my BP for that day, I decided to give it one more try. Yep, another day of a solid headache. Enough of that. Maybe this would have gone away over time. I don't know. But, I wouldn't be able to tolerate it long enough to find out.
I was sort of hoping it would have worked because it was very cheap out of pocket. Pal |
