Experiences with Amantadine
Experiences with Amantadine
Has anyone taken Amantadine for fatigue? It was originally used to treat the flu, but it's supposed to be efficacious with fighting fatigue as a side effect of the drug. My neurologist prescribed it for me, but it seems to make it worse! It makes me dizzy and "loopy" when I've taken it. I figured I can be like that all by myself sans drug! I'd greatly appreciate your experiences, good or bad.
Christine
I started Amantadine in March of this year for fatigue and yes, it made me dizzy & loopy too, but it also made me less stiff and less fatigued.
However, I was noticing most of the time my heart was racing & I was freezing...I spent alot of time wearing fleece in the summer & socks to bed. I was also on Copaxone at the same time, so that may have been part of the problem too.
My neuro took me off both drugs 2 weeks ago & I am stiffer than I was before I started & dizzier to boot:( I also went through a battery of heart tests /monitoring & my gp believes it was the Amantadine/Copaxone that was causing my issues. No more tachycardia, although I still get the chills sometimes. Fatigue is still there, but I feel that Amantadine did not really help that issue for me for very long, hindsight being 20/20.
With every drug, docs weigh the pros & cons and if you can live with the side effects, stay on it, if not, don't compromise your health. I realized the benefit was not as great as I thought it would be, I guess I just have to stretch more

I hope this has helped & good luck.
Re: Experiences with Amantadine
I haven't taken Amantadine before. I looked it up and I could not find any thing that would indicate that it was efective for fatigue. Fatigue was never mentioned.
I took Provigil for fatigue until insurance co stopped covering it, it was excellant for fatigue. They stopped covering it so I changed to Nuvigil which works pretty well, not as good as Provigil, and the insurance co covers it. Both of these drugs are expensive but they are effective for fatigue and no side effects. I also take Copaxone.
Jim
Re: Experiences with Amantadine
MsJae, I hope you are feeling better. I'm taking Rebif and did not have any negative interactions with the Amantadine. It just wasn't helping me, so I stopped taking it.
Jim, I will keep Provigil in mind. I'm seeing a new neurologist in November and will discuss that with her. Overall, however, I'm feeling really good these days. I moved about six weeks ago to Cincinnati from Western North Carolina, which has made a huge difference in my overall health and well being. I try to walk my dog twice a day, which seems to be helping with my stamina. I even went to Oktoberfest yesterday and was able to walk quite a bit without feeling like I was going to keel over. Now that's progress!
Christine
Re: Experiences with Amantadine
It sounds like you don't need that.
I have found a dietary supplement "B-12 Energy Now!" , which is packets of B-12 that can be mixed in a drink or just taken. They do work well, my better half uses them. They are cheeap, box of 75 is $ 8-9 at whole foods.
Jim
Re: Experiences with Amantadine
Christine
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Re: Experiences with Amantadine
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