NancyD Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I have been reading some old posts re Amantadine and I was wondering if anyone has tried this anti-viral. Has it helped social anxiety or OCD? I know Trg Girl mentioned it helping with focus. If you have any first-hand experience with Amantadine, please post. Thanks. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG10 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Nancy- my dd13 is starting this in a couple weeks. I'll keep you posted. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyD Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks Jill, I would appreciate that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trggirl Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yes Nancy, for us it was a focus help only. My dd does not have social anxiety and I have not noticed any change in OCD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyD Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks Trg girl. Have you seen any side effects? How long has DD been on it now? Yes Nancy, for us it was a focus help only. My dd does not have social anxiety and I have not noticed any change in OCD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3boysmom Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 (edited) I would like to hear feedback on this as well! Dr is looking at having DS 13 try this as well. It is so facinating to me that these topics "pop up" on this forum the very day I need them! Came back to edit because I saw your reply - Jag ( my " oldie" ). Seems like our 13 year olds keep crossing paths.... Can you keep me posted on how well this works? Our dr wants to look at DS Cunningham tests results and see how his high Dopamine levels may come into play with this medicine. This antiviral was found to unexpectedly help people with Parkensons. So he wants to help his focus but not increase tics ... NOT that he has any reason to think that it would, just that DS dopamine was VERY high on the Cunningham test and this doctor wants to research this issue a bit more first. Edited February 15, 2013 by 3boysmom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNN Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 I thought the Cunningham test measured dopamine receptor antibodies, not dopamine levels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNN Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Nancy/JAG, what are you guys trying to treat with the amantadine? Just curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG10 Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 As far as I can tell, it is no longer effective as an antiviral. It is used to treat ADD, more for attention than hyperactivity, MS and Parkinson's. since my dh's family tree bares all three of these conditions, it seemed like a good one to try. It is a weaker version of Namenda blocking NMDA-type glutamate receptors. I'm guessing that will be more diagnostic/meaningful to the docs if it is effective. Oxytocin was suggested for social anxiety down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3boysmom Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 ADD for us as well and I know we don't have the same doctor. He does not want to give any ADD meds as he says that they can increase tics. I actually see kids at school on certain ADD meds that are only ticcers when on their meds for attention. This doctor does a lot of research and thinks outside of the box, so not sure what made him think of this. DS is improving since the Coxsackie virus was treated with Valtrex. But even though he improves after episodes, his attention is the one thing that seems to never have improved at all in 3 years! He has horrible attention and slow to do anything! Everything else is slowly improving again.... Knock on wood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG10 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 ADD for us as well and I know we don't have the same doctor. He does not want to give any ADD meds as he says that they can increase tics. I actually see kids at school on certain ADD meds that are only ticcers when on their meds for attention. This doctor does a lot of research and thinks outside of the box, so not sure what made him think of this. DS is improving since the Coxsackie virus was treated with Valtrex. But even though he improves after episodes, his attention is the one thing that seems to never have improved at all in 3 years! He has horrible attention and slow to do anything! Everything else is slowly improving again.... Knock on wood! Amantadine is very, very off label for ADD. My girl saw psych for years and tried many stimulant and non-stimulant ADD drugs and I never heard Amantadine mentioned until we saw a biomed doc. It is not a stimulant nor anti-depressant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG10 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I would like to hear feedback on this as well! Dr is looking at having DS 13 try this as well. It is so facinating to me that these topics "pop up" on this forum the very day I need them! Came back to edit because I saw your reply - Jag ( my " oldie" ). Seems like our 13 year olds keep crossing paths.... Can you keep me posted on how well this works? Our dr wants to look at DS Cunningham tests results and see how his high Dopamine levels may come into play with this medicine. This antiviral was found to unexpectedly help people with Parkensons. So he wants to help his focus but not increase tics ... NOT that he has any reason to think that it would, just that DS dopamine was VERY high on the Cunningham test and this doctor wants to research this issue a bit more first. I will keep you posted! Hopefully they will cross paths and cross the finish line in this crazy rat race!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trggirl Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) We have not had any side effects when we take one cap in the morning. I recently added an evening dose and I thought tics might be increasing, but I can't swear it was the medication. I'm just not sure. I did back down to one a day. I do want to point out that we tried traditional ADD medications Ritalin, Focalin, and Intuniv. We had different, but terrible side effects with all of them. So far, Amantidine is the only thing that helps with the focus. It's not perfect but it helps noticeably. Edited February 16, 2013 by Trg girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3boysmom Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 We have not had any side effects when we take 1 cap in the morning. Did you see any improvement with your child's attention? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trggirl Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I absolutely saw improvement with the attention! The more I am thinking about it though, the more I feel I need to describe my daughter. I really don't think her ADD is true ADD. I think it is probably OCD that causes the ADD. For example, when she is sitting down to start homework, it takes forever to get the right pencil or pen. Then if it is a pencil she finally decides on, she has to peel the outer layer because she doesn't like how it feels. Then we think we have the pencil/pen situation settled and some other issue pops up. At this point, we are 30-45 minutes into trying to start homework. All the while this is going on, her mind is bouncing to a hundred other things. It's just one thing after another and it makes getting work done very hard. Amantadine helps her follow through. Again, it's not perfect. She still has very slow starts. But we get patches of time where she is able to buckle down and accomplish something. I said before that I did not notice a difference with OCD, but when I think about her homework in this light, I guess it is helping OCD if her attention issue is OCD like I think it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now