Amantadine STADA Dosage/Direction for Use

The dose of amantadine hydrochloride tablets may need reduction in patients with congestive heart failure, peripheral edema, orthostatic hypotension, or impaired renal function (see Dosage for Impaired Renal Function as follows).
Dosage for Parkinsonism: Adult: The usual dose of amantadine hydrochloride tablets is 100 mg twice a day when used alone. Amantadine hydrochloride tablets have an onset of action usually within 48 hours.
The initial dose of amantadine hydrochloride tablets is 100 mg daily for patients with serious associated medical illnesses or who are receiving high doses of other antiparkinson drugs. After one to several weeks at 100 mg once daily, the dose may be increased to 100 mg twice daily, if necessary. Occasionally, patients whose responses are not optimal with amantadine hydrochloride tablets at 200 mg daily may benefit from an increase up to 400 mg daily in divided doses. However, such patients should be supervised closely by their physicians.
Patients initially deriving benefit from amantadine hydrochloride tablets not uncommonly experience a fall-off of effectiveness after a few months. Benefit may be regained by increasing the dose to 300 mg daily. Alternatively, temporary discontinuation of amantadine hydrochloride tablets for several weeks, followed by reinitiation of the drug, may result in regaining benefit in some patients. A decision to use other antiparkinson drugs may be necessary.
Dosage for Concomitant Therapy: Some patients who do not respond to anticholinergic antiparkinson drugs may respond to amantadine hydrochloride tablets. When amantadine hydrochloride tablets or anticholinergic antiparkinson drugs are each used with marginal benefit, concomitant use may produce additional benefit.
When amantadine hydrochloride tablets and levodopa are initiated concurrently, the patient can exhibit rapid therapeutic benefits. Amantadine hydrochloride tablets should be held constant at 100 mg daily or twice daily while the daily dose of levodopa is gradually increased to optimal benefit.
When amantadine hydrochloride tablets are added to optimal well-tolerated doses of levodopa, additional benefit may result, including smoothing out the fluctuations in improvement which sometimes occur in patients on levodopa alone. Patients who require a reduction in their usual dose of levodopa because of development of side effects may possibly regain lost benefit with the addition of amantadine hydrochloride tablets.
Dosage for Impaired Renal Function: Depending upon creatinine clearance, the following dosage adjustments are recommended: See table.

Click on icon to see table/diagram/image

The recommended dosage for patients on hemodialysis is 200 mg every 7 days.