I've been struggling with the question whether it is better to buy brand name (and excessively expensive) Cialis or Viagra over the generic versions available in places like Thailand (usually imported from India). As I value my kidneys and liver, etc., my question is whether there is a significantly greater risk of dangerous impurities in the cheaper generic versions, since their origin is really not known.

I am leaning towards coughing up the extra bucks and sticking with the brand names. However, there potentially is a lot of money in bootleg Viagra and Cialis (in packages that make them look like the real thing), and therefore I suppose there is the possibility the expensive stuff may sometimes (oftentimes?) really be the cheaper generic manufactured stuff "prettied up" in what appears to be original packaging.

So, does anyone have any reliable information on how all this plays out? If you pay the $15 per pill or whatever for genuine Cialis or Viagra in places like Thailand, Indonesia, or South America, are you likely getting the real stuff? And, how about the generics? How much lead do they put in the paint they put on the outside? Seriously, have there been any studies of how safe the generics are, and how variable their quality?

By the way, if you know Zoltar (who thankfully seems to have disappeared from this site), don't tell him I posted this. Otherwise he will likely take leave of which ever ladyboy he is hanging with presently to hurl a stream of insults at me for using these drugs (as though I am the only one here who uses this stuff).

I have used the generics from India for several years. The reason is the generic companies like ciplo manufacture a lot of the generic drugs sold in the states. They are multi billion dollar companies with many corporate customers in the US.

Many Countries do not recognizze patent rights on esential products like western countries, such as medicine.

The reason it took so long for generic Viagra to become availiable in the US is because Pfizer paid the generic manufacturers to keep it out so they could continue to reap large profits.

If you do your research and don't go buying shit off the street, you will get a good generic product.

Personnaly I prefer the generic viagre more than the generic Cialis. The generic Viagra puts a pipe in my shorts and the Cialis works but not as well.

Hope this helps

Trek

Generic Viagra still isn't legally available in the US since Pfizer still has a valid patent on the real deal. Viagra certainly didn't pay generics to stay out, the US Patent and Trademark Office and the US legal system have.

As far as countries like India ignoring US patents, I'm sure that if Roxbury or any of the India drug manufacturers ever actually produce a drug on their own, the Indian government will suddenly believe that patents should indeed be honored worldwide. To me, India ignoring patent laws is no different than shit-quality Chinese companies ripping off electronics or mechanical designs. It really just hurts the world economy since it gives legitimate companies that are spending the billions developing and testing products disincentive to do so.

Viagra lost its patent protection.

There was an article about pzizer and other large drug companies on MSN about how they keep the generics out after the patent protection has run its course.

Also the way the american drug companies rip off the consumer, I have little sympathy for them.

The reason most of the world outside the western counties don't recognize patent protection on medecine is because they can't afford to pay what the drug companies are charging and niether can I.

(Message edited by Treker on November 14, 2010)

Don't know where you got your info but Pfizer's patent on Viagra does not expire until March of 2012.

Generic versions of Viagra started becoming avaiable in Brazilian pharmacies. since June....Personally I have had excellent experiences with the Indian generic versions (such alldaychemist.com)....just make sure to create a specific Viagra order e-mail address, because as soon as you order from any of these sites you will get bombarded with spam.

The pharmacist at Walgreens told me that Sildenifil Citrate (generic viagra) would be available in the USA this year. Khun_mor's assertion that the patent has another 16 months suggest otherwise.

Indian KAMAGRA oral jelly 100mg (generic viagra) from Ajanta Pharma gives good results. Mix it in a half bottle of water for fast effect.

Indian Megalis 20 tadalifil (cialis) from Macleods Pharma was just about useless.

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(Message edited by Hot4ass2 on November 14, 2010)

Thanks for the responses so far, but I am still trying to figure this out.

The problem for me (and the reason for asking the question) is I have usually bought generic viagra in Bangkok but given how often I am there (and how often I therefore ingest the stuff) I am a bit concerned about where the generic stuff they sell there actually is from (i.e., a counterfeiter or a real pharmaceutical manufacturer, whether in India or elsewhere). Every now and then I read on the board someone saying something along the lines of a particular generic version (often defined by color) gets them buzzed whereas another doesn't. If true, this suggests at least some of the generics are not made of the same pure substance as brand-name Viagra or Cialis, which raises the question of safety.

To the extent there is a safety issue with the generics (and I'm talking about the situation where you buy them from a pharmacy in Bangkok or perhaps Jakarta, not when you buy them from a reputable online pharmacy you have trust in), I lean towards spending the extra money to buy the brand-name stuff. This is also so because there have been a few instances where I felt I may have had some "bad" generic Viagra, although a host of other factors could have contributed to this feeling (e.g., maybe I had some bad food after ingesting the generic Viagra).

OTOH, I remember being in Argentina recently where there were newspaper reports about fairly extensive brand-name drug counterfeiting; I don't remember exact percentage of brand-name drugs that were counterfeited (according to one study), but I do remember it was shocking. So counterfeiting of brand name drugs does happen although I have been unable to get a good read on how often (except in Argentina). And if ever there were a drug that would attract the counterfeiters, it would seem Viagra/Cialis would be it, given its very high price, and super profits that could accrue to a successful counterfeiter.

So, what I really am trying to figure out is whether I am buying added drug safety by paying high prices for brand name versions of Viagra or Cialis (when the drug is purchased in Bangkok or Jakarta), or am I simply pissing my money away on drugs that may well be counterfeit, thereby offering no safety advantage over the generics.

Drug safety is one thing to be worried about. Another giant thing is you pop your favorite vitamin, plunk down your cash for a session, and find out the hard way that you bought a sugar pill. That waste of time and money - and frustration - cancels out any savings from the generic stuff.

That said, I plan on sampling the new generic stuff in Brasil this weekend. I believe that most generics sold in Brasil are manufactured there, and I've had no issues with generic antibiotics I've purchased in Brasil. But, I'm going to also buy a batch of real Pfizer Viagra at the ready in case the generics don't do the trick.

At least in Brasil, just the presence of generics has caused the price of real Viagra to drop 50% That's not bad at all, if the generic stuff doesn't work as well.

I suppose. Then again, many of us use the stuff as a performance enhancer, not because without it we would always have limp dicks. Please so inform our good friend Zoltar.

So, my main concern is safety, with the secondary concern being whether the stuff I get helps or not.

I prefer the Indian stuff. At least their is no pretenses what it is. Genuine Pfizer Viagra, unless you bought it from Walmart, how can you ever know if it is counterfeit or not? And if it is counterfeit, it was most likely produced on the dirty floor of some back alley Shenzhen workshop.

What did we do before Viagra? Do you think maybe we overuse the stuff?

Yes, we probably overuse the stuff. But back before Viagra, most of us hadn't discovered how easy it is to have (with a few bucks) two or three or four sex partners a day on a regular basis, assuming of course you had some help from a blue, yellow, or, if you go generic, green pill.

Well, I held off from using it until two years ago, and I'm a convert. I like getting a boner just from kissing, I'm back to nutting 2 times with ease in a 40 minute session, then doing another session a couple of hours later with no problems. I like not wasting sessions on the last day in town, when I would generally just get hummers since I was tired and sexed out from 7-10 days of going at it plus thinking about the hassle of the trip to the airport and the long plane ride home. I like staying hard for 5 minutes after a nut, I like that even if I'm tired at 2:00 AM if I see something I like or a garota calls/texts saying she's just left work and would love a hundred Reals for a throw, I can wake up get to action with no effort.

They advertise Viagra for erectile disfunction. For some it means not being able to get it up the one time a week or twice a month that their middle age crone of a wife decides to open her legs. For others, it means being able to come that 3rd time in an hour, being able to do that 3rd girl of the day, having the confidence to hit the 3rd hole on your 3rd nut on the 3rd girl of the day.

Probably the worst experience one can have with Cialis or Viagra is to pop one (in my case a brand-name Cialis) and then find out it is some sort of weird holiday in Indonesia that seems to have shut down the P4P places, from all appearances for two days (i.e., the effective duration of a Cialis).

Gee, this is almost as much fun as when I was here during Ramadan.

GCL asks 'What did we do before Viagra? Do you think maybe we overuse the stuff?'

The answer can be found by googling 'cockring'. Although I've never used one, I'm told they were all the rage back in the day. For some reason they just scare me though, especially given my penchant for passing out after I climax. Which means I likely have lastihophobia.

As for quality of generics, I've used some V's that I got in Dominican Republic and had terrible side effects like ringing ears and unbearable acid reflux, while using other generics from the DR with no problemma whatsoever. I suspect that confirms what Laguy fears - that some pills are manufactured to higher standards than others.

The best alternative is to stop in at the Farmacia on the first day of your trip and buy one of each brand of generic med and record your results. When you have a good experience with one brand, then stock up on that brand.

I buyz me boner pillz from Costco. I have good confidence that they are not counterfeit.

For Viagra, it's now up to $18/pill for 100mg pills.

I cut them in half so $9 a day. So on a three week trip it is less than $200. A VERY SMALL PART (less than 5%) of my budget for a trip. My TIME, HEALTH and PEACE OF MIND are just WAY TOO VALUABLE to risk for a mere $200.

If you are buying "Genuine Pfizer Viagra" for anything less than what you would pay at Walmart or Costco, you are buying criminally manufactured counterfeit drugs of unknown quality, provenance, efficacy and safety.

IAS has a point about buying from the Indians that DO NOT pretend to be anything other than knock-offs. But Cats point about respecting Patent holder rights is valid too, but if the drug companies pull any shenanigans about the terms and duration of their patents, then fuck them.

(Message edited by smitopher on November 22, 2010)

>>If you are buying "Genuine Pfizer Viagra" for anything less than what you would pay at Walmart or Costco, you are buying criminally manufactured counterfeit drugs of unknown quality, provenance, efficacy and safety.<<

Well, more or less. I would agree if you are paying less than (let's say) around $12 or $13 per pill, it is not genuine no matter where you buy it. But just as brand-name drugs are cheaper in Canada than the U.S. (owing to both marketing, and possibly differences in product liability exposure), it would not be unrealistic to find genuine Viagra and Cialis for a few bucks less overseas.

But my concern is even if you spend $15 to $20 per pill (I'm talking overseas, not at Costco in the U.S., for example), what assurances do we have it is not counterfeit? I suppose the answer would be to only buy in the U.S., but that presupposes a doctor's appointment to get a prescription, and so forth (I haven't seen a U.S. based doctor in a few years as I have nearly all my medical work done at Bumrungrad, Bangkok).

(Message edited by laguy on November 22, 2010)

Maybe I've stumbled on a new "niche" profession: Official Club Hombre Viagra/Cialis Prescription Writing Doctor.

Any takers?

Next time you're in Brazil, stock up on the generic version of Viagra. The Pfizer patent expired in Brazil, so there are several companies producing generics. Reviews are positive, and prices are a fraction of what they are in the US.

Cialis patent should expire in Brazil within the next year.

I've used the generics the last two days and they seem to have the same effectiveness. The pills are round and a little bigger, so they're easier to cut into 2-4 pieces. I didn't have any time to really hunt around on Sunday, so I paid R$42 for a 4-pack of 50mgs.

Regular Pfizer Viagra was R$60 for a 4-pack, which is about R$40-50 less than before the patent expired.

I'm going over to the little pharmacy next to the KFC tomorrow to search out some 100mgs, which are reportedly about the same price as the 50s.