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Fatigue and Amphetamines

I'm curious to know if anyone has been prescribed amphetamines to combat the symptoms of fatigue.

Thanks
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Avatar universal
hurry up and git over here I need someone to talk with, no I'm just joking at a time when I'm scarred to death I'll be back at icu if I try to take something to put me down, scarred if I don't I'll be back at icu. I am just plain scarred man but quit the pills whatever else you do, you must be the the person when I was asking in my prayers to be able to help one person before it gets me I lived just a short time my life trying to find a fix,just breath the air and drink the water, anything else is at your own risk, I speak from the heart
Helpful - 0
86075 tn?1238115091
but I agree with severance...when I was in my 20's and thought I was invincible, as many people do in their 20's, we'd call Ritalin "the poor man's cocaine" and crush it up and snort it...I didn't do this that many times, because I'd speed myself up and do so much and get totally exhausted and sleep 24 hours afterward...

that's why I stopped taking it, though many of friend's continued...I'm no doc and I know this is prescribed, but I would think that your filtering organs would take a hit, like your liver, etc etc...and I think when something speeds you up, you end up paying on the back end somehow, someway...from all that I know and have read...I hope I'm not insulting anyone, just expressing my opinion on something, realizing I could be wrong, but I intuitively don't think this is great stuff, there's no free lunch, to me anyway, you always end up paying for it...

To me, many highly recommended Westernized Medical docs are of a "prescription culture"...not just because of how they are taught, but because people in the US expect to get a "pill for every ill"...no matter what it is, give me a med prescription for it....that's just our culture....when sometimes you need other things besides a med prescription...

I have a younger sister who has advanced alcoholic cirrhosis, thank God she quit drinking 5 years ago when her liver and kidneys shut down, but she still has a highly addictive mindset and she wants to take pills for anything...she does this with decompensated cirrhosis and obvious acites....her stomach is very big with acites, she needs to go on a transplant list and she won't because she's in so much denial...

Anyway, she goes to a couple of docs, and these docs are highly respected docs too, board certified, what have you....and she gets a cornucopia of things, they give her sleeping pills, pain pills, tranquilizers...she's on Seroquil, God knows how many pills...when she takes all the pills that are prescribed to her from just one doctor, everything starts acting up - her bum pancreas and her liver...,so she stops taking the pills on her own and feels better...till she starts taking them again, she's an addict for crimany sakes...

I think to myself, don't these doctors see how bad off she is, why on earth would they prescribe her all these pills? Because she asks for them, and they do it.

As much as the medical profession does for us, where would we be without them? And I do believe that medical prescriptions are very much needed by many people, some people would die or be very much worse without medical prescriptions....and there are reputable physicians out there who *do* think of the patient's overall welfare and would be more cautious, obviously, than my sis's docs...there are good docs out there...

But sometimes I can see what my 100 year old dad has in mind when he always says, "I don't go to docs if I can help it, they'll kill ya...."
Helpful - 0
441951 tn?1275762988
Isn't Ritalin a synthetic form of cocaine?
Even though a kick start would be fabby, I think if I took a stimulant; in the times it was keeping me going, I'd try to do too much. Probably not stop for that tea break and inevitably end up overdoing it without realising. I'd be too caught up in the freedom of moving and egged on further by the drug.
There's so many things you have to lay aside to complete a day, I'm certain I'd suffer delusions of catching up.
Helpful - 0
100019 tn?1335919717
Hey, she's not alone.  While I was on TX my hep dr asked me if I wanted some Ritalin to help combat the fatigue - at that time I was being SuperTXWoman and wasn't going to take any "rescue" drugs.  Was going to get along just fine all by myself.  

ROFLMAO

Anyway, 2½ years after ending TX I have an apt today with my Hep dr and I'm going to ask him if the offer is still available.  Just absolutely cannot deal with the utter extreme fatigue anymore.

For some strange reason Ritalin in children is supposed to calm them down, but in adults it revs them up.  Go figure.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Man, talk about brain fog. I had not noticed that you cited the study earlier.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The PC at my hepatologist's office had mentioned Provigil as a possibility to alleviate fatigue. In my case, we discovered elevated ammonia, and adding lactulose helped somewhat.  I'm holding off on the provigil, but may revisit that discussion with the doc    ( a highly competent NY hepatologist).  

Also, a summary of recommendations by a group of researchers  at New York-Presbyterian Hospital  discusses the use of stimulants for treatment related fatigue in HCV/HIV coinfected patients:

Fighting fatigue

Based on the results of their study, the researchers suggest the following course of action for doctors encountering severe HCV-therapy-related fatigue in their patients:

Assess levels of the thyroid hormones TSH and T4, as well as hemoglobin and the hormone testosterone, and take appropriate steps as needed (such as prescribing thyroid or testosterone supplements).

If hormone and other measurements are within normal ranges, the research team suggests that doctors consider the temporary use of stimulants such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) 10 mg twice daily.

Because Ritalin is "chemically related" to amphetamine, some doctors may not wish to prescribe it. As an alternative, the research team suggested another stimulant that is not a member of the amphetamine group-modenafil (ProVigil).

These findings and suggestions may help doctors caring for co-infected PHAs to reduce the distress that sometimes occurs when patients are treated for HCV infection.

REFERENCE
Jones K, Talal A, Ferrando S, et al. High prevalence of fatigue and depression in HIV/Hepatitis C co-infected patients treated with pegylated interferon/ribavirin. XV International AIDS Conference, July 11-16, Bangkok, 2004. Abstract MoPeB3345.

Helpful - 0
408795 tn?1324935675
Well, thanks for the article hyperlink, I'll have to check it out.  Seems like I learn something new every day I'm on this forum.  Also, your talking about fatique from treatment, I thought it was fatigue like I have, which I'm sure is not as drastic, as what you have.  later
Helpful - 0
86075 tn?1238115091
From the University of Maryland's Medical Site

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/amphetamines.asp

Amphetamine's Effects on the Brain

When amphetamines are used, the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine are released from nerve endings in the brain and their reuptake is inhibited. This a buildup of these neurotransmitters at synapses in the brain. When nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are activated by amphetamine, the mental focus, the ability to stay awake, and the ability to concentrate is improved, which is helpful for those with hyperactivity disorders or narcolepsy. Although the physiological experience of using amphetamines and cocaine is almost identical, the effects of amphetamines can last several hours whereas the effects of cocaine generally last less than one hour.15 When mixed with alcohol or other drugs, the effects of prescription amphetamines are enhanced.16 The onset of effects from injecting methamphetamines occurs immediately. When this drug is snorted, effects occur within 3 to 5 minutes; when ingested orally, effects occur within 15 to 20 minutes.17
Back to Top

Disorders Medically Treated With Amphetamines

    * Obesity
    * Parkinson's disease
    * Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
    * Narcolepsy (uncontrolled episodes of sleep)18

Short-Term Effects

    * High body temperature
    * Cardiovascular system failure
    * Hostility or paranoia
    * Irregular or increased heart rate/heart beat19
    * Increased diastolic/systolic blood pressure
    * Increased activity/talkativeness
    * Euphoria
    * Heightened sense of well-being
    * Decreased fatigue/drowsiness
    * Decreased appetite20
    * Dry mouth
    * Dilated pupils
    * Increased respiration
    * Heightened alertness/energy21
    * Nausea
    * Headache
    * Palpitations
    * Altered sexual behavior
    * Tremor/twitching of small muscles22
    * Release of social inhibitions
    * Unrealistic feelings of cleverness, great competence, and power23

Back to Top

Long-Term Effects

Prolonged amphetamine abuse or abuse in high doses can cause a number of other problems including:

    * Toxic psychosis
    * Physiological and behavioral disorders24
    * Dizziness
    * Pounding heartbeat
    * Difficulty breathing
    * Mood or mental changes
    * Unusual tiredness or weakness25
    * Cardiac arrhythmias
    * Repetitive motor activity
    * Convulsions, coma, and death26
    * Ulcers
    * Malnutrition
    * Mental illness
    * Skin disorders
    * Vitamin deficiency
    * Flush or pale skin
    * Loss of coordination and physical collapse27
Helpful - 0
86075 tn?1238115091
nothing will deplete your health (and when I say health, I mean liver, organs, glands, whatever is in there) more than any kind of speed...and amphetamines are speed alright, the Nazi's invented that so that's all you have to know right there...lol....best of luck...try some veggies, amino acids and some flak seed, etc...healthy things to help...
Helpful - 0
372366 tn?1284403873
your hemo's low, they reduced my ribvarin by one pill a day when mine got that low and it helped a lot. after treatment undetectable, waitin for the six month test.

Harry
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i can not point you to a specific study. in general everything you put in your body goes through the liver and that is what i meant by my comment. there are pleanty of people on these forums that have had rough treatments with terrible fatigue, etc and i have never heard of one being prescribed ritalin or  amphetamines. this includes many that have seen top hepatologists in the USA if not the world!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Copyman:
I couldn't find evidence that small doses of amphetamine cause any harm to the liver.
Can you kindly refer me any sources that lead you to believe otherwise.

Fretboard:
I have Hep C and the fatigue associated with the treatment.

I ran across this article which recommends using Ritalin as possible treatment for fatigue:

http://www.catie.ca/catienews.nsf/9d6a0a99ab2787c985256b9c005b053b/951ef230c048982c85256efc006c4351!OpenDocument

"Fighting fatigue
Based on the results of their study, the researchers suggest the following course of action for doctors encountering severe HCV-therapy-related fatigue in their patients:

Assess levels of the thyroid hormones TSH and T4, as well as hemoglobin and the hormone testosterone, and take appropriate steps as needed (such as prescribing thyroid or testosterone supplements).
If hormone and other measurements are within normal ranges, the research team suggests that doctors consider the temporary use of stimulants such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) 10 mg twice daily. Because Ritalin is “chemically related” to amphetamine, some doctors may not wish to prescribe it. As an alternative, the research team suggested another stimulant that is not a member of the amphetamine group—modenafil (ProVigil)."
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have fairly severe fatigue due to low hemoglobin and I was prescribed methylphenidate (Ritalin) by a psychiatrist, who is part of the hep group that treats me. These people are not quacks or foolish. Unfortunately, there is nothing in my experience that actually fixes the problem. Ritalin can keep me going longer, but it does not really fix the fatigue. I haven't continued with it. Epoetin (Procrit) is the best help, but only somewhat in my experience. I am on 60,000 units a week and my Hg is at 9.8.

Modafinil another drug that is sometimes used to combat fatigue in people undergoing hcv treatment. I have been offered it, but have decided to just minimize adjunct drugs and suffer through the treatment.

Helpful - 0
350279 tn?1208013545
First, I would get a real Dr. and report this quack. Exactly what are you referring to as Amphetamines?
Helpful - 0
408795 tn?1324935675
Do you have AD/HD or some other disorder or are you really getting this speed to help you with your fatigue?  Amphetamines can be very dangerous, also I don't think they are "liver friendly" at all.  I suggest you take some Amino Acids, there's a truckload available that you can Google.  God Bless
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
if you have hepatitis then you would be foolish to take these meds that may harm your liver. there are natural supplements that can help with the fatigue. good luck
Helpful - 0
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