Generic vs. brand name flomax

[Tapdancer]

I am a female user of flomax. I took the brand name version years ago with no side effects. It really helped me to empty bladder. A few days ago my uro prescribed generic version. Side effects have been very unpleasant. Has anyone else experienced this difference? One note: at the time I took the brand version, I was not taking BP medicine nor baclofen.
I think these are a bad mix. Have a call into my doctor and am waiting to hear. Just curious about your experiences with this, if any.

[BigA]

Since no one answered, I thought I'd comment.

1) Is it really generic flomax, or a similar generic? There are older medications that are similar to flomax and someone might call them "generic flomax" when it's just an older drug.

2) When generics come out, to my understanding, they only need demonstrate the active ingredient is the same, but the delivery mechanism can be different. That means you might have different amounts of the active drug in your blood than with the name brand.

3) Sometimes the brand name is long-acting and the generic is not. This would make you have higher and then lower concentrations of the active drug.

These are questions you can ask your doctor.

[Tapdancer]

Hi BigA,

Thanks for answering. I am sure it's the same drug: tamsulosin. I took it years ago with no side effects and it really helped me to empty my bladder. Four years later, I managed it for a total of four days. Felt dreadful. Finally talked to my doctor and it seems that flomax and blood pressure meds don't mix well. Both are alpha blockers. So if one is determined to take flomax, it is necessary to cut back with the blood pressure meds, or possibly eliminate it all together. I am asking the pharmacist about the timed release aspect.