Amantadine

[gertie]

Has anyone used this for the flu? I read that it does not have the side effects that Tamiflu does but dr's don't prescribe it as much because it's not as expensive. I did read the ing list of Tamiflu & it is pretty scarey especially if you have a lot of allergies as I do. thanks.

[futurehope]

I've taken it. It was a few years back. It could cause stomach upsets, but I had no problem with it and would take it again.

[Dawg Tired]

Before I developed NCS I was working in an Urgent care. One morning I felt really bad but I was "opening" that day so I dragged myself in, opened the place, then put an order for a chest x-ray in the computer. Then I went around the corner to Radiology and got the x-ray taken, got the film, and when the first doctor came through the door I handed him the film. I also had a 103.6 fever.

He swabbed my nose and sent it to the lab, gave me a week's worth of Tamiflu, and since Hubby hadn't had his flu shot he wrote him a prescription for Amantadine - and told me to take home a flu shot. So as soon as another nurse got there I went home. I came back to life 6 days later - my lab was + for Influenza B. Hubby got his flu shot as soon as I got home and he took care of me for the 6 days. He never caught the flu, which was the purpose of the Amantadine and I guess it worked.

[Sophia3]

I took it way back in 1995 when seeing a sleep specialist..>i think it was for side effects from Zoloft..but it's used for so many things.

The side effect was a sexual issue..and the amandatine HELPED but made my Heart race IIRC...been too long to member.

[gertie]

Thanks for your comments. It seems it might be better than Tamiflu. At least it has less fillers or additives.

[green]

Thanks for your comments. It seems it might be better than Tamiflu. At least it has less fillers or additives.

I just started amantadine last week. The pharmacy printed the wrong dosing instructions and I ODed by an order of magnitude (I took 1 gram instead of 100 mg).

I survived (although, I've read that 1 gram of amantadine can be a lethal dose). However, I was having heart palpitations the first few days I was on it. They would start in the middle of the night and keep me awake until dawn. So I started taking magnesium sulfate before bed. That was all I needed to stop the palpitations, and last night I didn't have any at all despite not taking any MgSu.

If it gives you palpitations, ask your doctor about mangesium sulfate.

[erik]

In regards to H1N1:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/recommendations.htm

Currently circulating 2009 H1N1 viruses are susceptible to oseltamivir and zanamivir, but resistant to amantadine and rimantadine; however, antiviral treatment regimens might change according to new antiviral resistance or viral surveillance information.

For regular flu, I found this from back in 2006:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/han011406.htm

On the basis of available antiviral testing results, CDC is providing an interim recommendation that neither amantadine nor rimantadine be used for the treatment or prophylaxis of influenza A in the United States for the remainder of the 2005?06 influenza season.

As for current non-H1N1 strains, I'm not sure of an authoritative source but for what it's worth, the Amantadine wikipedia entry currently claims the following (without offering direct source citation): "According to the CDC, 100 percent of seasonal h3n2 and 2009 pandemic flu samples tested have shown resistance to Adamantanes and it is no longer recommended to prescribe for treatment of the flu."

If you look at the 2006 CDC article in detail... they explain some technical reasons for amantadine and rimantadine to be less or non effective compared to the other options. They say use for Parkinsons or whatever is not affected by these flu issues.