Just need an ear | Arthritis Information

hi klynn sorry your feeling so bad.. thats a lot of water intake..apart from
the meds causing this thirst there is a illness that may cause this but i just
cant think what it is Diabetes can cause those symptoms; medrol can mess with blood sugar levels, bringing on symptoms of diabetes (or uncovering latent diabetes) jasmin thats it diabetes duh

Boney
thanks guys. my boss (who's a nurse) just said the same thing to me... (signs of low blood sugar) I hope the dr. calls soon. It's funny, i work at a medical insurance company with lots of nurses, so atleaset i know if something happens i'm in good hands!If your doctor doesn't call you back soon, be persistent.....call until you get some results. If you can't get in go to emergency. You have symptoms that need to be checked sooner than later. Lindy LinB2008-06-11 09:08:35I agree you should go tot the ER or see a Dr asap for those symptoms. Definitely sounds like a blood sugar/diabetic problem.

Well now i'm even more frustrated! The nurse relayed the info to the dr. The dr . told her to tell me to STOP the plaquenil totally?!!! WHAT?! I've been on this for 4 months along with celebrex. My pain has gone down so much...now with the increase of plaquenil he says to completelty stop?! i am so frustrated. she is going to once again relay everything to him and get back to me! Why does this have to be so difficult. My PCP's office when i called told me to talk to the RA dr.

It sounds pretty scary. But I'm a little confused...sorry don't mean to hijack the thread here...I thought excess thirst mean high blood sugar, not low? Or maybe it can mean either one? Medrol can increase blood sugar and plaquenil can decrease blood sugar.

If the plaquenil was working for you at a lower dosage without any blood sugar problems, I hope they can just lower your dose. But if it wasn't working then or if you were having blood sugar issues then, they might need to find you a different med completely.

I'm so sorry you're going through this...and I think the doc should be calling you personally. Even if you stop the med, you need to get the blood sugar issues addressed asap.

Plaquenil was working at lower dose, but I still was drinking water more than I had before I started the RA meds, just not like this. when i feel nausiated, i have to drink water to feel better which is weird? Going through the nurse is frustrating, i dont get the answers i need to hear. I think I will make an appt with my PCP and just explain what's happening. When the RA doctor's nurse called me back AGAIN, she now said go back to the lower dose of plaquenil and see if you feel better by next week. I dont think i can wait till then, i feel awful.

Thanks for letting me know about the blood sugar thing with the meds, I had no idea. I will bring this up with my PCP.

For anyone who is concerned about possible blood sugar issues, you can get a blood glucose meter for free (can't remember which company is giving them away) or for very low cost. The test strips are a bit pricey, but for occasional use it's not too bad. Jas, that's a great idea. I have occasionally used my father's for a spot check. With diabetes being so prevalent these days, you're likely to know someone who has a meter and wouldn't mind if you used it once in awhile.Montitoring your blood sugar levels is a good idea, but remember, if you are concerned about your levels or eventually developing diabetes a doctors screening is best. Home testing is not always as accurate, but a good start. I beleive safe levels should be between 90 and 100, but varies from person to person. This is what i was told by my md.Did you eat before taking your meds or did you take them without food? Maybe that's why you're sick.Klynn, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time. And a pox on your RD (better yet, shingles) for not talking to you directly. This is not some whiny call, this is important and it demands better attention than you're getting. You're wise to follow up with the PCP. Maybe seeing him face to face will give you some answers. At the very least he can do some blood work. Let us know how you make out. Hi guys,

Thanks for your comments

My PCP relayed through her nurses in her own words, "she doesn't want to contradict what my RA dr. is telling me and should go through him for this. She could do some lab work but that's all she could really do".

My RA dr. has told me to go through my PCP with issues that may not be related to RA. I've read that your PCP/RA dr. and any other dr. you see are supposed to work as a team together when you have RA. How is someone with RA supposed to KNOW when they aren't a dr. whether their symptoms are RA related or not? So the RA dr. told me to just stop part of the Plaquenil and to see how I feel this next week....Neither one addressed the excess water I'm drinking or as to why I'm supposed to stop the Plaquenil or if my symptoms were due to something else possibly.

Today I'm a little better , stopped the plaquenil yesterday, but still really, really drained and very tired, a little nausiated still. I wonder if the "perfect" dr. is really out there.

Kelly

It does sound frustrating! I am lucky that my 2 doctors will work together. Are both of yours resistant or just one? I am all for searching until a good fit is found.

Hi wanttobe:

I know what you mean about finding the right dr. I actually stopped going to my first RA doctor and now am with this one. He's actually a really good one from what I hear, but think he's SO busy, that he just doesn't have time to get on the phone. He did say if i needed to talk he'd squeeze me in that day but didnt think he could do anything more then to tell me to stop the meds. (per the nurse) I left my normal PCP to find a "better one" and ended up with this one who now says, see your RA dr. UGH!! Oh well, just have to keep trying I guess till I get it right. If I dont feel better by this weekend, I'll find ANOTHER PCP to start with and explain what's going on. Maybe I'll have better luck with the new one.