Total Exhaustion

[Tammy-Rose]

I have never felt such exhaustion as i have been feeling. I read somewhere about people taking amantidine for it. Does anyone take it and have benefited from it. Please let me know if it has helped you.

[MSer102]

Amantadine didn't do anything for me except make my vision blurry and make me feel weird. My doctor said that it doesn't work for about half the people who take it. I took Provigil and it worked very nicely for me. My doctor said that Provigil also doesn't work for about half the people who take it. There are other medicines out there for when amantadine and Provigil/Nuvagil don't work so there are other things to try if amantadine doesn't work for you.

[lstrl]

I'm on Amantadine, and I can say it does absolutely nothing for my fatigue. It did seem like, right as I started taking it, my walking improved though, so I won't stop it, but I'm also only on one pill a day. I may start taking 2 a day (the actual recommended dose) to see if it helps.

[AMJ]

Amantadine does work for me. My prescription said to take 1 tablet, twice daily. I found that if I took two a day, I had trouble sleeping at night.
I find that taking B12 regularly helps with my fatigue. I now only take the Amantadine if I am going out somewhere for the night.
I was also told that Amantadine only works for 50% of the people taking it. Give it a try and hopefully you are in the group that benefits from it. Good luck.

[newbie but goodie]

I take it but it really only takes the edge off. Sometimes that's all one needs but there are other meds when that's not enough.

[lorib]

I've never tried amantadine. I took Provigil for about 5 years and at first I think it helped. It stopped working so I switched to Adderall and that seems to help.

[MSer102]

My fatigue got much better when I got my vitamin D level up to about 70. After that I didn't need the Provigil anymore.

[seal]

I was on Amatadine for a few months. After a while, it did nothing for me. Neuro switched to Ritalin which I've been getting good results.

[mgoerke]

I have tried nuvigil, adderall, ampyra and b12 shots all for fatigue. Only nuvigil actually helps but I am unable to take it everyday. I end up more exhausted after day two and it does awful things to both my anxiety disorder and my spasticity.

I may try amantadine at some point, but my neuro and I just aren't sure that my fatigue is going to be treatable. It is just a fact of my existence.

Here are the things that I know help me maintain a life where I have 5-8 functional hours a day:

Exercise. Every day. I workout for at least 45 mins a day either on my elliptical or swimming. It is great physically, mentally and emotionally. If I skip a few days I actually get more fatigued.

Meditation. It totally helps me to regulate my stress levels, and stress will suck my limited batteries dry!

I eat a low carb diet. Kind of like a diabetic diet. I find if I keep my blood sugar from fluctuating too much I can maintain a more steady energy level. A post hit fudge Sunday sugar crash is like a million times worse for me than it was pre-ms fatigue.

Take my vitamins. Multivitamin drink that is made with all natural green food. It's called Perfect Food. It's like drinking a ton of veggies.

Finally, I have to make carefully considered decisions about what activities I choose. If I need to be at a family event tomorrow, today needs to be pretty chill. I usually have to turn down evening events because forcing myself to be active at night, even assisted by nuvigil will knock me in my behind for a couple of days.

My house is a mess, I had to retire from working and I cut off all my hair. All so that I can save my limited energy to be with my daughter and my hubby :-)

Honestly, and this is after about two years of meditating and emotional exploration, I've never been happier.

I hope that you find somethings that work for you. Just know that less hours doesn't necessarily mean less life :-)

[sallylou]

I am on modiffinil I think it is called. Totally saved me.

[pennstater]

I tried Amantadine with no success. I am on Provigil. However, now my insurance co. won't cover it since it is not FDA approved specifically for MS Fatigue.


My doctor doubles the dosage I take, then I cut the pill so at least I only have to fill it twice a year. I may look into ordering from Canada next.