December 29, 2006
Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.
Question
My doctor has prescribed 500 mg of metformin twice daily to treat my type 2 diabetes. However, the first prescription I had filled at the pharmacy contained caplets with the number 48 stamped on one side and the number 93 on the opposite side. The prescription label identified the medication as METFORMIN HCL 500 MG TABLET TEV.Recently I refill the prescription, and this time the tablets had the number 397 stamped on one side and nothing stamped on the opposite side. The label for the prescription read, "METFORMIN HCL 500 MG TABLET CAR".
What is the difference between the two prescriptions? Why are the identification marks different if the medications are supposedly the same?
Answer
Many companies make generic forms of metformin. I suspect your physician authorized their use. What you got the first time was probably made by one company and your refill manufactured by another. Your pharmacist should be able to confirm or refute my theory.
