Hi all,
can anybody give me some advice on what treatment I should be trying to get on ?
I’m not on any at moment but really feel like I need some.
neoro says its fatigue and gave me amantadine
.which
I was once given amantadine for fatigue. it made me even more constipated than usual, so i gave it up.
pollxx
Amantadine is the only one I know of, for fatigue.
There used to be another one, called Modafinil, which some (many?) MSers found better, but this is increasingly hard to get hold of - especially for new users - as there’s been a change in prescribing guidelines, which effectively say it should no longer be prescribed for MS fatigue.
In some cases, repeat prescriptions have been honoured, for people who’ve been on it years, but they won’t do new ones from scratch.
I was told Amantadine is contraindicated for me - because I’m an anxiety sufferer. Hence should not be taking stimulants, as they may aggravate it (any med for fatigue is likely to be some kind of stimulant). So nothing for me except sleeping my days away.
I’m not clear whether you are really asking whether you should be on a DMD. Maybe (I’m not). If your neuro is right that the problem is fatigue, that is a symptom, and there is no proof or promise that any of the DMDs have any direct effect on symptoms. So Amantadine would probably be your first (and only) choice for this particular problem. Unlike me, at least you’re allowed to have it!
Tina
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Amantadine does work for fatigue in most people. As Tina said, Modafinil is actually a more effective drug, but in recent years doctors have been reluctant to prescribe it due to potential side effects involving the heart. It’s worth asking for it still.
Apart from drug treatments, the best thing for MS fatigue is to manage your fatigue versus activity better. Ie to do things slowly, break jobs up into small chunks, to rest properly, sleep as well as possible, eat healthily and reduce stress as much as possible.
Sue
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