Generic Vs. Name Brand

I'm not a fan of popping pills. If I'm taking an analgesic it's because I hurt like hell and can't take the pain any longer. Yesterday, my back hurt so badly that I had to take something, or I felt like my spine was going to burst out my skin (bulging disks are so much fun. Really). Unfortunately, I couldn't find my trusty tylenol anywhere. I did find my roommate's generic Aleve, and since he had offered one to me previously, I didn't feel terribly guilty about taking one. I've taken Aleve before, and while I don't love it (it usually wreaks havoc on my stomach), I decided that any reduction of pain would be worth it.

I wasn't expecting that about half an hour after taking the medicine that I would become exceedingly drowsy (it was about 8:45PM - not exactly bed time). I got up to go to bed and staggered around like I had been drinking, unable to walk in a straight line. I also began talking to myself. Mostly I was just narrating what was happening. "I'm walking down the hall. I'm talking to myself. There's my cat, " etc. When I climbed into bed, I started singing nonsense. I remember singing tunelessly, "I am a monkey. I'm wearing a purple hat." My cat jumped into bed with me, and I thought that I had figured out the key to getting my cat to do what I wanted! I just had to sing that little ditty, and she was mine to command. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. Then my left arm started to feel like it was moving through wet clay. I couldn't get it to do what I wanted it to do, but my right arm worked just fine. Eventually I drifted into a strange state of semi-consciousness. I was fully aware when my roommate came home, but I wasn't able to say hi. I finally fell asleep and woke up with a bit of a headache.

I've had this sort of reaction to medicine twice before - both were generic versions of OTC medicine that I have taken without any problems at all (and both were designed to treat very different ailments). Although I have taken plenty of generic pills without incident, it's clear that there is an inactive ingredient that is used in some generic pills that makes me lose my mind. The last time this happened was several years ago, so I don't have a list of ingredients to compare. I'll admit, though, I'm pretty wary of generic pills at the moment. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop buying ones I haven't had any problems with, but I'll certainly be exercising caution and probably spending a little more for peace of mind that if I take the medicine, I won't go insane.