Help me understand! | Arthritis Information

 

I'm new to all of this RA stuff. 

In a very short time after starting Plaquenil, my aches and pains for the most part, vanished, and it has been that way for several weeks.

Today I woke up and many of the pre-medication pain is back.  The same places that bothered me before.

So, is that how RA medication works?  It helps on certain days but doesn't do a thing on others?  What's been your experience?  Anyone here go into a total remission while on medication or just temporary remissions?  I'm confused - and I'm already taking 400 mg and don't want to up the dosage or add anything to the mix if I don't have to.

Thanks! 

The more experienced will be able to help you better than I.

For me the medication has stopped the real painful flares but not totally.
I will be traveling along feeling OK for anything up to three weeks, nothing painful or even the stiffness that is associated with RA.

Then for no reason I start to feel the stiffness creeping back in which then turns to the aches (not pain, just aches). This might last a week or just a few days before subsiding again.
The meds seem to hold the RA from developing into major flare.
My biggest problem is still the depression, anxiety, fatigue, and I get the jitters if I overdo things.


If you are getting the full blown pain back then you may need a combination of drugs to control the RA that you have creeping back in.

The way it has been explained to me is that if you are feeling the pain the RA is active and damage is being done.
The drugs that are prescribed are to minimize this damage and allow us to try and leed a normal life, well as normal as can be expected.

Others will chime in (the vets) with more detail.
I think there are some people on here who have had alot of success with their medication, whether it is just one or a mix of several. If you feel the Plaquenil is no longer having the desired effect you should contact your dr and see what they say. It could be it's an enviornmental cause, something you ate or the weather, it could be the drug isn't helping as much as it was and something else has to be added. I would think your dr would want more time to determine if and what should happen. Hopefully it will be something easy to figure out. You are lucky in that you were dx'd at a time when there are many options to dealing with RA. Hoping you get some good help.Temporary remissions or what feel like temp remissions do occur when put on certain meds for certain people. The majority of people with RA are on a mix of medications and they often change until the right medication "cocktail" for them has been found. Some medications will work for a while but then just seem to stop. This is what I've experienced the whole time I've had RA. Adding another medication is very common when one such as your plaquenil just can't cut it on it's own anymore. Your rheumatologist will be able to give you a lot more in depth info on all the meds and how they interact and do different things. Your doc may want to put you on an anti-inflammatory such as Indocin to see if your pain is being caused more so from inflammation than previously when your plaquenil would work. Ginger, it is just so variable.

It sounds to me though like you are having a small flare. What that means is the pain is breaking through your medication. That is good you have had some pain relief already but Plaq take three months to have it's full effect so I wouldn't despair and give up on it yet.

Do let your regular doctors know what is going on through. Whether this flare settles and continues on remains to be seen but yes, this is very common.

Ginger they have just managed to find a medication for me that work nearly three years after my dx. It's all trial and error and then if you flare, which you probably will then that adds another variable into the mix.

Hope this kind of explains it fairly simply.
Hi Ginger, it's different for each individual.  I was diagnosed 10 years ago, on meds, went into what I thought was remission but wasn't because I had quite a lot of damage done in those years, and it's taken almost 3 years to find the right combo of meds.  I'm now tapered down to 8mg. of Pred after being on it for over 3 years.  My current cocktail of Humira, MXT, Sufalsalazine seems to be working.  It's not full remission but I'm better than I've been in many years.  I'm not sure that full remission is a possibility for me.  It may be for you.  LindyBodak, what is your definition of the "jitters".  Is it a form of anxiety, restlessness or what.  I get something, but I do not have a name for it. Hey Ginger.  I was asking my RD that very question just last month.  That's because my meds had been working pretty well, but then I started having flares every couple of weeks.  I asked my doc why would this happen?  Why would my meds work and work and work, and then for a week or so stop working, then work again.  he said he didn't know, I think he said something like "that is the question of the century".  We've had to play with doses and for the last almost month I've been well.  Hope it lasts.  But don't get too down about it.  Your doc will fix it.

Thanks for the replies, sounds like flares are common even with medication -- I'm just trying to stay positive and remember how bad it might be if I didn't have the medication to help tone it down. 

Bodak, I'm so glad you mentioned the jitters when overdoing it.  I've noticed the same thing.  I know Plaquenil has restored a lot of my energy, but sometimes it feels like a "false" energy.  Moving around a lot physically but sort of in a fog, mentally.  

I have admittedly been overdoing it lately, with my daughter's b-day, husband's b-day, and Christmas, but thankfully a vacation is just days away. 

Anyway, thanks again everyone for all the information. 

For those that might be interested in my explanation of the Jitters, I'll try to explain in a separate thread when I return from the hospital.

Just a visitor to the hospital..
Howdy Ginger...

I started out on plaquenil alone and they had to add mtx. they are still slowly increasing it as it is not working so well thus far. But do not worry, the way my Rd explained it to me is plaquenil is the mildest of the meds and that they gradually increase the types of meds until they find one or more that work for you. I hope they find one that works for you really soon. Blessed39430.9753819444
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