I always check before I leave the pharmacy. I have to have the real thyroid meds, not the synthetic and once in a while the doc forgets to check the box that says don't substitute. Well, once you leave the pharmacy with it, they are yours. I had to pay for my next one because as far as the insurance was concerned they'd already paid. Now i can always tell because generic is 5 and the real thing is up to 20, but if the generic doesn't work there's no since in paying for it. My bottles tell me the color, size and how to take so I always check it out.