Glass adds roughage to high fat diets...

The FDA needs to go away and a qualified body of private sector scientists should take their place. Judging by most federal agency performance, they would do a better job at roughly one fourth the cost.

obviously, more regulation is needed. /s

The FDA has no jurisdiction over foreign made products, just like the FAA has none over foreign made parts for airplanes. The Federal government is very cozy with big pharma, and big everything else.

The people taking these generic medications may die, but they´ll be saving lots of money and thwarting big evil pharma.

FDA exercises ridiculous clout over domestic drug manufacturers, doing costly investigations at its whim. (They do exercise "discretion" in allowing companies free rein, such as J&J as mentioned in the article.)

Capricious regulation domestically and only cursory inspections overseas naturally drives drug manufacturing out of the USA, to the detriment of consumers.

The guy who ground-up an entire automobile and ate it over a period of time says, not to worry.

I find this hard to swallow (pun intended). One night at a restaurant, my husband was served his dinner with broken glass in it. Big pieces -- not finely ground glass. He went to the emergency room, and the doctor said to just wait and let it pass.

The doctor said, "You know those magicians that eat pick up trucks? They really do it. The alimentary canal has an amazing capacity to disipense of foreign materials. For me to try to remove the glass will cause you a lot more pain than the glass."

He waited. It passed. He was fine.

From the NYT:

"Viva the benefits of Øbamacare! The percentage of the U.S. population with high cholesterol is showing a marked decrease."

wasn´t there another generic from India that had contamination and was in the Press? I don´t recall the name. anyone else recall the name?

This is scary! I started this drug just before Labor Day Weekend and got so sick I stopped taking it within three days. I felt for a rare time in my life that I was gong to die. I think that stopping it when I did saved life.

You started Ranbaxy generic Lipitor, #11, or you started regular Pfizer Lipitor? My husband has taken 40 mg daily of real, not generic, Lipitor for many many years with no problem.

#11 - I took "real" Pfizer Lipitor for a few months and thought I was going to die. I could barely walk.

#7 - that´s called "the statin shuffle" and stopping when you did saved you a boatload of trouble.

DH took statin for cholesterol for about 14 months and the side effects turned him into an Alzheimer´s zombie. After almost two years off the drug he is still like a recovering amnesia patient with only ´a little´ permanent brain damage.

sorry - that was meant for #13

I have had a LOT of trouble with generic Synthroid and generic ZOCOR.
It was so bad my Dr. went through hoops with my insurance to insist I get the brand.
Generics are NOT identical.
If China is making generic drugs, I expect to see a new use for all that sheet rock filler they can´t use in sheet rock anymore.
s/

I can´t take statins in any form and my doc made me try most of them. My cholesterol is a little high but I´ll just have to roll the dice. The statins were killing me.

My moderately elevated (slightly above the new markers) cholesterol seems to be managed nicely now with red yeast rice, and only (1) 600 mg/day capsule rather than the recommended (2). Also (1) Omega 3 fish oil 1200IU caplet. Take both of these at night, as that is when statins are recommended to be taken.

DH is on simvastatin 40MG - Teva, which is made by an Israeli company. The generic made by Lupin, a Goa company, had side effects that were not optimal, so a restriction to Teva brand was set up with the pharmacy.

Speaking of establishment medicine making our bodies into toxic waste disposal sites - dentists are still putting mercury filling in peoples teeth - and doing root canals which always become a source of infection.

Don´t remember that bill Clinton forced the FDA to fast track lots of new drugs?
Well the result is all these generic and other dangerous drugs.
Cholesterol perfect following diabetic exchange diet for many years and refusing any unnecessary drugs taking none except original recombined insulin. I´m About as healthy and complication free as an older diabetic can be.
Don´t over drug yourselves because the pill can cure anything concept isn´t all it´s deemed to be.

So Is the average joe supposed to do who is taking the generic? Do we call the FDA, our prescription provider, or the doctor?. Where is the consumer guidance?Half of America is on Lipitor or the generic.

Re #21, the generic Lipitor is being made by more than one company.

The only company that had the problem is the one described in this article. Ranbaxy. The others are OK.

Check with your pharmacist. (Our generic meds have an abbreviation on the label that identifies the manufacturer.) You can request that you receive a certain manufacturer´s brand of the generic Lipitor.