I had always been told that the active ingredients in generic medications had to be exactly the same as their brand name counterparts; that the only differences allowed were in the inactive ingredients, such as binders.  But as I began to hear from more and more people who insisted that the generic of a particular medication was not as effective for them as the brand name, I decided it was time to dig deeper. 

As it turns out, brand name and generic medications aren't necessarily exactly the...