I am currently on metho and folic acid.. Yesterday my rhumy put me on plaquenil. Could anyone give me their input on this drug. I don't like the info I read about this drug. I couldn't take the oral metho do to it upsetting my stomach so I do the injections 1x a week. Now it says plaquenil may upset my stomach, hurt my eyes and make me tired (I stay tired all the time now). [QUOTE=Spelunker]Hi leenie, there are at least a few conversations
taking place at this time in the RA section regarding combination
therapy.
Plaquenil
was added to MTX to enhance the effects of the latter when single
therapy MTX proved not quite enough to bring full relief of my symptoms.
As
has been discussed elsewhere, Plaquenil (and its generic coherts) have
been extensively "field tested" in malaria infested areas of the world.
It is deemed to be "safe" in pregnancy.
One of the reasons we
all have regularly scheduled doctors appointments and laboratory assays
is to keep the negative side-effects of any of the drugs we take from
occurring. Plaquenil requires one additional safety-check---regular eye
examination.
How do I feel about Plaquenil? I am glad to have it in my arsenal.
Cheers, Shug
[/QUOTE]
I can only echo what Spelunker has stated.
When I was on the combo of Mtx and Plaquenil I was doing very well indeed.
Plaquenil was replaced by Humira because I was always tired.
I have more stamina now but also more aches and pains.
I'm thinking of asking to go back onto Plaquenil as when on that combo I was virtually free of any symptoms of RA, except for fatigue.
I was officially diagnosed with RA, celiac disease, and probable lupus in 04/09. Had lupus titers done again today so will see how that comes out. I have a chronic rash on my chest and neck that almost looks like sunburn. I am on prednisone, Vicodin, and Lexapro. I was on Plaquenil 200 mg/day for 1 month. Taken at night I had paralyzing nightmares and taken in the day time it made me feel really depressed so I stopped taking it. Rheumy told me to cut the dose in half to see if I still have these symptoms. mom of 2, your nightmare reaction to Plaquenil underscores the fact that we each react differently to therapy. I found the medication to be a nice adjunct to MTX and except for a brief period of 'upset stomach' when adding the drug to my combination therapy did not experience any negative side-effects. The one side-effect I relished was a reduction in the dry-eye, dry-mouth, and dry-nasal passages of secondary Sjogren's syndrome. I am sorry you did not experience the relief that I did with Plaquenil.
Welcome to the forum. I look forward to getting to know you.
Best wishes, Shug
I've been on the Plaq at 100 mg a day for 1-1/2 weeks now. I take it at night and am no longer having nightmares! I'm hoping this stuff will work with the Pred and I won't need the Vicodin so much any more. Crossing my fingersI was on Plaq for 5 years and unfortunately have partial blindness from bull's eye maculopathy. Neither of the two rheum I saw during those 5 years told me that I should see an ophthalmologist! I now have a NEW rheum. It has been 5 years since I stopped taking plaq and my eyesight has not gotten worse or better. Plaq. really helped me for several years, so I was afraid to stop using it. I had no side effects when I stopped taking it. I think if I had seen an ophthalmologist regularly the damage would have been caught soon enough to stop much of the damage. If you take plaq please make sure to see an ophthalmologist regularly. I wish I had known enough to have my eyes checked at the first sign of vision problems.
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com