Chronic fatigue
Question:
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ——=_NextPart_000_0047_01BF5A95.5D46A100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I have been meaning to send an e-mail into the list about Provigil. = After complaining to my neuro about 2 months ago for the millionth time = about my fatigue he did offer Provigil. I have tried amantadine and = cylert. They both worked fine in the beginning but then stopped. The = cylert really made me feel drugged which I hated. He told me that = Provigil wouldn’t make me feel as bad as cylert so I gave it a try. I = am very glad I did. The first few days I did feel a bit jumpy but after = that I felt fine. It just made me feel like I could actually sit down = without falling asleep. It is a narcotic and therefore there are side = effects to it so people have to decide if the risks are worth it. I = strongly feel they are. My neuro also told me that it was one of those = drugs that I could stop without any problem, if I wasn’t feeling so = fatigued and then start again when I started having the problem again. = Hope this information helps others. It was a life saver for me.=20 Sue Lemmon ——=_NextPart_000_0047_01BF5A95.5D46A100 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2722.2800" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#b8b8b8> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>I have been meaning to send an e-mail into the list = about=20 Provigil. After complaining to my neuro about 2 months ago for the = millionth time about my fatigue he did offer Provigil. I have = tried=20 amantadine and cylert. They both worked fine in the beginning but = then=20 stopped. The cylert really made me feel drugged which I = hated. He=20 told me that Provigil wouldn’t make me feel as bad as cylert so I gave = it a=20 try. I am very glad I did. The first few days I did feel a = bit jumpy=20 but after that I felt fine. It just made me feel like I could = actually sit=20 down without falling asleep. It is a narcotic and therefore there = are side=20 effects to it so people have to decide if the risks are worth it. = I=20 strongly feel they are. My neuro also told me that it was one of = those=20 drugs that I could stop without any problem, if I wasn’t feeling so = fatigued and=20 then start again when I started having the problem again. Hope = this=20 information helps others. It was a life saver for me. = </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Sue Lemmon</FONT></DIV><BR></BODY></HTML> ——=_NextPart_000_0047_01BF5A95.5D46A100–
Response:
From my personal experiences, I can recommend Prozac, I’ve been on it for nearly 3 months for fatique and also what my neuro believed could be causing the fatique (depression). After 4 days of 20mg of prozac, I found that the excercises that I do at home became easy, they were not before that. Also I could then do jobs around the house. It wasn’t until 4 weeks later that my mood actually felt better. I’m going to try my hardest to keep on Prozac as it’s the best thing I have ever taken for my MS. My GP says that the medication has done things for me that it’s not meant to have done. And I do not think that’s its a remission, I have not had a relaspe for over a year and my symptoms have been getting worse, which might point to S/P MS. Anyway that is my experience. Best Regards, Kevin. In article <84dn78$75…@nnrp1.deja.com>, rmyers8…@my-deja.com wrote: > A number of physicians prescribe Prozac for chronic fatigue with good > results. > In article <19991229105848.01153.00000…@ng-fs1.aol.com>, > dabri…@aol.com (Dabrinah) wrote:
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.
Response:
Dear Debbie, That is how fatigue is for me… my brain keeps going, but I can do nothing more than lay on the couch…. cannto even lift my arms without a huge effort! I take no meds for it, sinc eI only have occasional episodes of major fatigue… the BEST thing I have found is to rest when my body tells me to! (mind you, i have the luxury of doing so ebcause I make my own hours for work, and have no kids yet 
Pam – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Debbie wrote: > It sounds like fatigue means sleepiness to a lot of people. To me, fatigue > is weak, heavy feeling. I don’t get particularly sleepy, but I feel like I > want to melt into a puddle on the floor because I have nothing to hold me > up. Is there anything that will help with this?
Response:
In article <84frlb$gm…@gxsn.com>, "JP ‘Crusher’ Brass" <jpbr…@nospam.montagne.co.uk> writes: >Amantadine is what I use for my episodes of fatigue. It works extremely well >with me (no side effects etc.), yet I heard that with some people it was not >necessarily that good.
I take it for fatigue but don’t think it helps much. I take it mainly as an anti-viral. Kathi
Response:
In article <1e3l6wg.4tzo1a1ufrbo8N%skyema…@inforoute.net>, skyema…@inforoute.net (Ellie Presner) writes: >Also I seem to remember seeing posts quite a while back about amantadine >(sp.?) for fatigue. Can anyone confirm this?
Yeah but it doesn’t help much. Kahti
Response:
I took it for one year- it did nothing for me, Dianne-NY – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->In article <1e3l6wg.4tzo1a1ufrbo8N%skyema…@inforoute.net>, >skyema…@inforoute.net (Ellie Presner) writes: >>Also I seem to remember seeing posts quite a while back about amantadine >>(sp.?) for fatigue. Can anyone confirm this? >Yeah but it doesn’t help much. >Kahti
Response:
Me too, Debbie and Dory! Most mornings after a good nights sleep I get up and feel like a huge weight is on my shoulders. I feel not really dizzy but out of it. I could understand towards the end of the day feeling like this but in the morning? This lasts all day even if I don’t do alot. Sometimes I try rationalizing and telling myself it is inactivity making me feel so sluggish but then where do you get the energy to exercise? I also wonder if this contributes to my excessive weight loss. Yep I still am loosing by the month. My best to you, Carol (Rabid Granny)
Response:
Vic, I tried amantadine and a CNS stimulant. These are the drugs suggested by the MS Society for fatigue. The former was worthless; the latter left me a zombie after a few days. The MS Society has, by its own admission, stated that these drugs are only modestly successful. Since the Society had nothing further to offer, I was left to my own devices in my fight against fatigue. My research led me to modafil (Provigil) after it was approved for narcolepsy. It did not relieve my fatigue. My next hope is Reboxetine, which is a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. And I plan to continue my own clinical trials of every promising agent until I find an effective method of managing the fatigue. It would be nice to have some help from the MS Society, but in my opinion the Society is worthless in this area. I am disappointed by the desultory efforts of the medical community in general, and the MS Society in particular, in aggressively attacking fatigue. Fatigue, according to many sources, is the single greatest cause of disability in MS patients. However, a very small percentage (approx. 1% by my calculations) of National Multiple Sclerosis Society research funds are allocated to discovering the mechanism and an effective treatment for fatigue. I can only speculate that the Society deems fatigue either too inconsequential or too challenging. Either way, our interests are not being served. I suggest that those whose lives have been stolen by the crushing fatigue write letters to Stephen Reingold and Mr. Dugan at the National MS Society headquarters to urge them to give fatigue research a priority. Since the medical community does not seem enthusiastic about researching this area (not enough ’sex appeal’ ?), the Society may actually have to demonstrate some initiative and try to encourage research in this area commesurate with the toll it takes on its victims. Good luck, guys and gals. It looks like for now, you are on your own in coping with fatigue. The existing tools are less than dramatic in their effectiveness, and it doesn’t look like much is on the horizon. Mark Block
Response:
Mark thanks for raising this point. Fatigue is so bad for days on end and nothing to help.Hope that someone on the group has some ideas about this. Regards Duncan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Mark wrote in message >I tried amantadine and a CNS stimulant. These are the drugs suggested by >the MS Society for fatigue. The former was worthless; the latter left me a >zombie after a few days. The MS Society has, by its own admission, stated >that these drugs are only modestly successful. Since the Society had >>I am disappointed by the desultory efforts of the medical community in >general, and the MS Society in particular, in aggressively attacking >fatigue. Fatigue, according to many sources, is the single greatest cause >of disability in MS patients. >I suggest that those whose lives have been stolen by the crushing fatigue >write letters to Stephen Reingold and Mr. Dugan at the National MS Society >headquarters to urge them to give fatigue research a priority. Since the >medical community does not seem enthusiastic about researching this area >(not enough ’sex appeal’ ?), the Society may actually have to demonstrate >some initiative and try to encourage research in this area commesurate with >the toll it takes on its victims. >Good luck, guys and gals. It looks like for now, you are on your own in >coping with fatigue. The existing tools are less than dramatic in their >effectiveness, and it doesn’t look like much is on the horizon. >Mark Block
Response:
Yes, Ellie, you/re correct. Amantidine. It doesn’t work for everyone all of the time though. I hear. Mary in VA – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ——Original Message—– From: Ellie Presner <skyema…@INFOROUTE.NET> To: MSLIS…@TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL <MSLIS…@TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL> Date: Saturday, January 08, 2000 9:47 PM Subject: Re: Chronic fatigue ><rmyers8…@my-deja.com> wrote: >> A number of physicians prescribe Prozac for chronic fatigue with good >> results. >Also I seem to remember seeing posts quite a while back about amantadine >(sp.?) for fatigue. Can anyone confirm this? >(maybe someone already posted about this; if i’m being redundant… >never mind!;-)) >Ellie >– >"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I >only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments >that differentiate me from a doormat." >– Rebecca West, 1913
Response:
Fatigue is a very common component of MS. It can be associated with Clinical ("chemical") depression, in which case standard antidepressants help, otherwise stimulants such as ritalin, cylert, amphetamines may be useful. Amantadine has been useful, although I have found it effective only about 50% of the time, in my practice. A new drug recently released for hypersomnia, Modafinil (Provigil), may be useful. I haven’t heard anyone using it yet, for this purpose. I will probably give it to some of my folks with fatigue, see if it works. My personal approach: If Clinical Depression is a component, I like to start off with Wellbutrin, if there are no contra-indications (seizures, hypertension, heart disease), because it is stimulating as well as active in modulating the deficient Neurotransmitters in the nervous system responsible for depression. Many times, I am able to kill two birds with one stone (Depression & Fatigue). If fatigue remains, I usually try time release ritalin or amphetamines. A few years back, Cylert was found to cause liver dysfunction and failure in a few patients and therefore we were advised to check LFT’s frequently, making it a bit cumbersome to use. So I do not use it anymore. I may use Amantadine in those situations where there are contraindications to using the other drugs mentioned above or if the pt is afraid to take the drugs I mentioned. Understand, that this practice is a bit more than most Neurologists practice (I have had additional trainining in the use of medications to treat psychiatric diseases). Therefore most Neurologists, may not be as comfortable in treating depression by prescribing antidepressants as I do. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -mrobinso wrote: > I have been living with RR MS for 2 years now and I was wondering if there > are any meds to help with chronic fatigue. > Thanks for your help and Happy Holidays to all. > Reply to NG and to my email: mrobi…@megsinet.net > Mike
Response:
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ——=_NextPart_000_0008_01BF5242.18C2C500 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I recently went to my doctor and explained to him how extensive my = fatigue was, in reply he prescribed a new drug that has been approved = for MS fatigue, it is provigil, 200 mg, twice a day. This drug was hard = to find because it is so new. It took a little shopping around to get = it but wow am I glad I did. At first it really made me very hyper but = now it just keeps me awake. I took cylert in the past and hated the way = it made me feel. This drug doesn’t really alter me. It is expensive. = I pay $50 a month with insurance. Without insurance it is $285 per = month. It is worth trying. Hope this information helps. Sue Lemmon "mrobinso" <mrobi…@MEGSINET.NET> wrote in message news: =
<scga4.5988$M56.184…@news.corecomm.net>… > I have been living with RR MS for 2 years now and I was wondering if = there > are any meds to help with chronic fatigue. >=20 > Thanks for your help and Happy Holidays to all. >=20 > Reply to NG and to my email: mrobi…@megsinet.net >=20 > Mike
——=_NextPart_000_0008_01BF5242.18C2C500 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2722.2800" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#b8b8b8> <DIV>I recently went to my doctor and explained to him how extensive my = fatigue=20 was, in reply he prescribed a new drug that has been approved for MS = fatigue, it=20 is provigil, 200 mg, twice a day. This drug was hard to find = because it is=20 so new. It took a little shopping around to get it but wow am I = glad I=20 did. At first it really made me very hyper but now it just keeps = me=20 awake. I took cylert in the past and hated the way it made me = feel. =20 This drug doesn’t really alter me. It is expensive. I pay = $50 a=20 month with insurance. Without insurance it is $285 per = month. It is=20 worth trying. Hope this information helps.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sue Lemmon</DIV><BR><BR>"mrobinso" <<A=20 href=3D"mailto:mrobi…@MEGSINET.NET">mrobi…@MEGSINET.NET</A>> = wrote in=20 message news: <<A=20 href=3D"mailto:scga4.5988$M56.184…@news.corecomm.net">scga4.5988$M56.18= 4…@news.corecomm.net</A>>…<BR>>=20 I have been living with RR MS for 2 years now and I was wondering if=20 there<BR>> are any meds to help with chronic fatigue.<BR>> = <BR>> Thanks=20 for your help and Happy Holidays to all.<BR>> <BR>> Reply to NG = and to my=20 email: <A = href=3D"mailto:mrobi…@megsinet.net">mrobi…@megsinet.net</A><BR>>=20 <BR>> Mike<BR>></BODY></HTML> ——=_NextPart_000_0008_01BF5242.18C2C500–
Response:
It sounds like fatigue means sleepiness to a lot of people. To me, fatigue is weak, heavy feeling. I don’t get particularly sleepy, but I feel like I want to melt into a puddle on the floor because I have nothing to hold me up. Is there anything that will help with this? "mrobinso" <mrobi…@megsinet.net> wrote in message
news:scga4.5988$M56.184133@news.corecomm.net… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have been living with RR MS for 2 years now and I was wondering if there > are any meds to help with chronic fatigue. > Thanks for your help and Happy Holidays to all. > Reply to NG and to my email: mrobi…@megsinet.net > Mike
Response:
Hi Ellie & all, Amantadine is what I use for my episodes of fatigue. It works extremely well with me (no side effects etc.), yet I heard that with some people it was not necessarily that good. "Amantadine" is the name of the molecule, my drug is called "mantadix" (something sold in France but made by DuPont, I think). All my best (& best wishes to the Y2K bug!) Jean-Philippe ‘crusher’ Brass http://www.montagne.co.uk Ellie Presner <skyema…@inforoute.net> a
