Changing the subject slightly to something
Sildenafil:
It is an oft-repeated mantra on here that, whatever the brand, the active ingredient is the same (eg viagra, kamagra, etc, all variations of sildenafil). This is very true. But it also occurs to me that there are some potentially important differences.
As 100mg tablets are mg for £ cheaper, many people split them. Pill sizes however vary in size (according to the amount of excipient) and shape. The NHS has access to a massive list so there’s no saying what you’ll end up with. Often the GP won’t know and it’ll just be what’s in stock at the chemist when you buy them — though you could of course shop around. Oblong ones are often easier to break. Sandox ones (which are quite large) have an extra strong scoring for breaking either into two or into four.
The amount (and type) of excipient may or may not have an effect on absorption (there’s not an awful lot of info on this for sildenafil that I know of). So the differences are slight, but perhaps not always unimportant. Unfortunately although lab tests can determine absorption and bioavailability — which historically is not all that great anyway — individual subjective reports are too subject to variation and other factors to be that helpful. There will be photos of the various brands somewhere (I can’t offhand remember the name of the publication), though if anyone’s feeling geeky enough it could be useful.
