Amantadine

My doctor wants me to take amantadine but I reluctant because of side affects. Anyone else taking this medication and what have your experiences been? Thanks

[Gymsack]

I noticed that you did not get an answer . Yes I take Amantadine . One capsule 100 mgs each x 3 times a day. 7am , 11 am, and 3pm, You will need to start to use it very slowly and get used to it before any increase as it is a very powerful medication. you really need to get used to it.

Every one will tell you that you will only take it for a few years because it is said that the affect wears and it eventually stops working. I have been taking it approx 15 years.

The books say it is used in conjunction with Levodopa to reduce the Diskinsea caused by the Levadopao . It is sometimes difficult to actually know if what you are experiencing is caused by the Levodopa or the PD.

I had an incident with it last year. My wife made up the weeks daily pill boxes and realized that we were out of Amantadine but then forgot about it and left it out of the doses to fill in the next day. I did not notice until the third dose, thats when she called the drug store to find nothing in stock. I went two days of being a shaking, vibrating wreck proving that it is working but I would not have called it Dyskinesia. ( we since made some changes)

When I started taking it I had some reaction side effects , all the hair on my body (except my face and the top of my head ) fell out.

My skin became very dry except my face and head which became oily. There were other side effects but you can look them up.

If you are well enough that you can just say no to it and still function than maybe you don't need it quite yet. In my case I jumped at the opportunity and no one will take my Amantadine away. I don't know how old you are or when you were diagnosed and I make no recommendations but your doctor may have decided that you will soon need it and like I said it takes time to get used to it. Yes it has side effects and they can be serious but it has helped keep me alive and I am now playing the end game.

Talk to your doctor and understand his reasoning.

Good luck

One more thing

all PD medication Levodopa, Amantadine, requip and others must be started slowly but more importantly if you are discontinuing a med it must be done under a doctors guidance very very, slowly . One of the effects of ignoring this is death ( NO joke)

[Zella23]

My husband has been taking 2 x 100 mgms a day to help with dyskinesia that began after 4 years of taking Madopar. He still takes a low dose of Madopar but not noticed any side effects from taking Amantadine. It does help with dyskinesia.

[Cbgs]

I’m sure I have some side effects of the amantadine like ankle and foot swelling but I don’t care it’s better than dyskinesia Also in the middle of the night if I wake up and I want to take some medicine I’ll take just an amantadine I hope this helps… Be well

[jocelyng]

I took it for a few months before the side effects kicked in. I lived with them (swelling, skin marbling and another one I can’t remember) for a while. When colder weather came and I had to wear socks with my shoes, I realized that my feet were really swollen. I switched to 1/2 tablet Artane 2x/day. No side effects.

[Intrepid200]

Hello I have written about Amantadine search my posting. Why not try Rytary instead you will have a chance to choose from three dosages levels .Rytary is the same drugs Good Luck

[Jebbie12]

I have been taking amantadine for about 2 years for dyskinesia. No side effects. Some improvement with dyskinesia.

[EnterTheDragon]

About 2 hours after taking my first dose of amantidine, I experienced chest pain, a racing /pounding heart beat. I collapsed on the kitchen floor. The effects subsided in a couple of minutes.Never touched it again

[richardo123]

Just weened off them / was taking 4 per day

[Blake0488]

Hi. I take amantadine three times a day as well and I have no side affects. I am 61 diagnosed 9 years ago.

[janers]

I take one a day. I like the fact that it is an antiviral. I guess it helps with things overall because I’m really not suffering side effects or dyskinesia and feel like I’m doing pretty well overall. I suggest you experiment and see what works for you. Good luck!

[Horseriding4]

Yes my husband is taking it and has had no side affects at all…we think it is helping quite a lot with his gait freezing which is his only main symptom of Parkinsons…..he is also on dopamine…Thanks and good luck. Anita