<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi,

I used to be a pharmacy technician and asked a friend of mine who is an
excellent pharmacist whether he thought we should ask doctors or pharmacists if
a drug is gluten-free.  Here's what he said:

"I agree with you that it is best to check with the pharmacist whether a med is
gluten free.  Since generics may have different inactive ingredients then the
brand product; only the pharmacist will know for sure.  The physician could
look in the PDR [Physician's Desk Reference] and see the ingredients, but the
pharmacist might dispense a generic because of insurance regs or on the
patients request; and the inactive ingredients could be different.  The best
thing to do is ask for the package insert and check the ingredients yourself.
Ingredients can also vary from one generic to another.  Products can also be
reformulated or a contract mfr [manufacturer] might be used so the "branded
generic" still may be from the same distributor but the manufacturer could be
different.  The safest thing to do is always ask for the package insert with
the bottle and look at the list of ingredients.

I usually get ingredient questions about dyes, if the liquids contains sugar or
alcohol,  or type of flavoring (in children's liquid dosage forms).  I have
found the dyes differ from brand to generic and amoung generics."

Hope that's useful,
Diane

* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *