Amantadine

[Stella]

I am interested in knowing if anyone is on Amantadine and if so, their experiences. Is it really worth it and makes a big difference? Also, if you are on it, is the occassional glass of wine a no no? I am not a drinker but it would be nice to know these things.

I was reading some of the side effects and some look scary. Nonetheless, my MS doctor thought it was safer than the Provigil.

[pawpaw]

fatigue options

Stella,
Amantidine is pretty safe and you are okay with an occasional glass of wine. I tried it with no appreciable effect. It is cheap and worth a try.
I had the best success with exercise, weight loss and a healty diet for the fatigue. Hopefully, when you heal, you can go this direction.
The provigil isn't without issues. I found it changed my personality and made me a real bitch.

Pell

[MSSpouse]

My spouse with MS has been taking Amantadine for a couple of months. It's helping with fatigue issues--not eliminating them but helping. We've noted no side effects at this point, but of course we'll keep monitoring. The odd glass of wine doesn't seem to be a problem, either! Still keeping with regular exercise, coffee, and more hours of sleep to also help with fatigue. Good luck!

[AMFADVENTURES]

I am interested in knowing if anyone is on Amantadine and if so, their experiences. Is it really worth it and makes a big difference? Also, if you are on it, is the occassional glass of wine a no no? I am not a drinker but it would be nice to know these things.

I was reading some of the side effects and some look scary. Nonetheless, my MS doctor thought it was safer than the Provigil.

Hey Stella,
I used Amantadine for several years. It didn't have a day or night effect on my fatigue but it was noticeable. The strangest side effect I had was a tendency to occasionally vocalize bizarre, unrelated thoughts in various social settings. I still keep some Amantadine on hand though.

Like Pell, I've had much better luck controlling fatigue with exercise.

[Stella]

Thanks Pell, MS Spouse, and Larry for your responses! I really appreciate your feedback on this. I wholeheartedly agree with the exercise and diet and am going to make a concerted effort to change my diet and get in there with the gym once I heal from the surgery. I inquired with my pharmacist how long can I keep the prescription for Amantadine before it is no longer valid and they said six months. So I have until the end of May to decide whether or when I want to start the Amantadine. I really want to start the Copaxone first and see how I get on with that.

Do you think the Amantadine would prove useful in kickstarting an exercise routine? While I work hard at changing my diet and exercise of course?

Thanks again and anyone else having any more information on Amantadine is really appreciated as well.

[Stella]

Hey Stella,
I used Amantadine for several years. It didn't have a day or night effect on my fatigue but it was noticeable. The strangest side effect I had was a tendency to occasionally vocalize bizarre, unrelated thoughts in various social settings. I still keep some Amantadine on hand though.

Like Pell, I've had much better luck controlling fatigue with exercise.

P.S. Larry, that vocalizing bizarre, unrelated thoughts in various social settings sounds pretty scary!

[AMFADVENTURES]

P.S. Larry, that vocalizing bizarre, unrelated thoughts in various social settings sounds pretty scary!

Hey Stella,
It is pretty weird when you hear something come out of your mouth that wasn't part of your train of thought. Once I figured out it was the Amantadine that was causing it though, I just had to be more conscious about vocalization. It happened a couple of times but I was able to control it after I figured it out.

Hope you're back on your feet again soon Stella,
Larry

[andersimp]

Fatique

Well, we all know that MS fatigue is NOT cured by naps ... I use 1/2 dose of Provigil or Nuvigil ...
and only notice when I DON'T take it ..
Hmm...

[Stella]

-bump-

This is the thread I was talking about, MS Spouse.

[MSSpouse]

Thanks, Stella! I actually posted in this thread a while ago. The amantadine was helping, but not enough at times so the neuro suggested and prescribed Provigil. It seems like a pretty big step up from the amantadine, at least with respect to all the warnings!

[Stella]

You're welcome MS Spouse. My neuro did not want to prescribe Provigil for me. He said he did not like the side effects. To date, I still haven't decided on the Amantadine (I have until May to decide). I wanted to see how I got on with the Copaxone. Although most days I feel okay, there are a few days I do get fatigued. But it is nothing like it was with the Rebif. With Rebif, I always felt run down and on the verge of catching something. With Copaxone, I feel a bit more energy and more normal. Good luck..