Sunday, January 17, 2010
Amantadine Holiday Not So Good This Time
Once a month, Caroline is supposed to have a 48 hour "holiday" from taking the Amantadine. The last couple of times went without a hitch, no real behavioral differences. This time, we noticed a definite increase in negativity, defiance, and impulsivity. We started her back on the Amantadine after Day 1 of the break. Perhaps she can go longer without the break, like maybe six weeks instead of four. The reason the doc gave us for the "holiday" was that her dopamine producers would become overly taxed. We will ask the psychiatrist at the next appointment this week. All we know is that we want her to stay as stable as she has been since her return home from the RTC in August.
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3 comments:
Megan, is there a reason you did not try Caroline on the intuniv? She has ADHD too, right? And what is the Amantadine for? Kenzie is right back to the same she was before the 3 mg intuniv seem to be working-not as bad as this fall but still not great. I think it is so hard when you have a glimpse of what they could be like and then it is snatched away again. We had about four days of a different Kenz-calmer and happier and not so irritable. But all of that is back. I just wished we had somebody that knew what to do. Hopefully this head of Phoenix Children's Hospital will be good. Please Feb. 8th come soon.
The amantadine is an old Parkinsons drug that is being used more frequently in BP kids nowadays. Not every psych will be up on its use. The Meridell doc felt that after seeing Carolines QEEG results that the emotional part of her brain (frontal) was not communicating with the reasoning part of her brain electrically and chemically. The amant. Supposedly fixes this and we must say it has been a miracle drug! She has been almost like a normal acting teen since being on it. We have not tried intuniv with her yet but we might. Her main issues are less the adhd and more the explosive irritability. We may try intuniv after this trial of the natural stuff.
I've never heard of the 48 hour break. Our son has been on Amantadine for over a year. Did you know Amantadine is also an antiviral? Not that our son got sick very often anyway. He says he thinks that's why he didn't get H1N1 even after kissing a girl who had it. (*argh* on the kissing!)
Mary in TX
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