Hi all - newbie here - so glad to find you guys. I've been seeing a rheumatologist for years - I have a couple of immune disorders and felt like I was waiting for the RA to arrive....sadly it's now here. So, I have a quick question about plaquenil - wondering about anyone's positive/negative experiences. Will I feel better soon? Will it hurt my eyes? I took my first dose yesterday and this whole thing is very scary.
TIA - Joy
Plaquenil is one of the mildest drugs you can take for auto-immune disorders. The eye problems are very rare at the dose taken for auto-immune diseases. You should have your eyes checked every 6 months while you are on it. My Mom has RA and has been on it for at least 15 years....no problems. I however, started it in January and it is the cause of hair loss for me (but that's rare too). I haven't come across another on these boards that it caused hair loss too...it really is rare.
It takes along time for it to work - a good 3 months in me. I wouldn't worry much on Plaquenil. It's safe compared to the others.
I agree. It's fairly mild compared to others....but I did have good results with it years ago in the early stages of the disease. At the time my RD promised me that the problems that can arrise from plaquinel including eye problems are rare and if you are keeping up with your labs and eye test like you are supposed to any problems can be caught early and quickly reversed once the medication is discontinued.
Try to relax. The stress will do you more harm than the medication is likely to at this point.
Good Luck.
BTW~It does take sometime to work. Don't give up on it too soon.
Joy.
I am currently taking Planqunil along with Enbril. I have had no side effects. I was pulled off the MTX in June and switched to Planquenil.
My RD refers to it as a "wimpy drug". I believe the side effects are rare. All I know is I didn't know how lousy I felt on the MTX until I was off of it. Good luck to you! It does take a long time to get into your blood. I take 400 mg a day.
Gena
I did not mind taking it except it gave me diarrhea. I didn't really see results. Definitely not right away but I was on a bunch of other meds too. Plaquenil was one of the few that did not scare me. I still have not heard of anyone that had eye problems from it. Follow the doctor's orders and go see eye specialist. RoxanneI have been on Plaquenil since early June and it has still had no affect on my RA. My Rheumy just started me on Methotrexate in combination with Plaquenil. I hope Plaquenil alone works for you!I was given plaquenil for psoriasis and it caused hair loss for me and a horrible headache. I found I just couldn't take the drug.No side effects here. It does take at least 6-8 weeks for the drug to take full effect. I started it about 2 months ago and I feel much better. My eye doc has never had a patient with eye problems from Plaquenil. Good look & feel better!I've been on plaquenil for 3 months and so far doesn't seem to be helping much. Everything I've read says it can take 4-6 months to start working. I'm also on mtx and my rheumy has lowered my plaquenil dosage. Unfortunately, I am suffering hair loss and both drugs can cause it. Look up the side effects. Hair loss is listed for both.Mine is getting so bad that I've been to the wig store looking at hairpieces. The human hair ones look really good. If this keeps up I'll be headed over there
I took plaquenil for nearly a year without any side effects, but my RA continued to worsen. I'm on methotrexate now.
I hope you are feeling better soon. love, Juliah
I saw this post and figured I should chime in a little. I am 29 years old and have been on Plaquenil for I don't know how many years. I may have been taking it as long as 20 years now. I have never had any rely noticable side effects from it and didn't even know about any side effects associated with it! I have had my eyes checked a few times and have always came back woth 20/20 vision. However, I do have a prett annoying case of male-pattern baldness going on. Although, I don't really think I can blame that on the plaquenil. It's most likely hereditary for me. Pretty much every guy on my mom's side of the family has hair like mine. It does suck though.
Take care,
Jesse
Hi Joy,
I have been on Plaquenil for about 15 years and I feel it has been a life saver. I have had no problems what so ever with it. I faithfully get my eye exams twice a year and have never had a problem with my eyes. I recently started MTX, but can't tell a big difference so my RA Dr. is now talking about adding a new medication and I am very upset about that. I feel I was very blessed to have had a Dr. that put me on Plaquenil almost from the beginning. I take Pred. and Naproxen only if I have a very bad flare up. Which is very seldom these days. My biggest problem is the swelling in the hand and very low energy. I will be asking some questions when I know which med. he is going to try me on. I'm researching Humira, Embrel and Remicade right now. Any input appreciated.
Be Blessed
Juliah67 - I think we might be the same age - if your 67 stands for 1967. I was born in 7/67. Anyway - to answer your question I have Sjogren's Syndrome and granuloma annulare. I wish I knew the underlying cause....I sometimes chalk it up to it all being a simple misfiring of my immune system (gone very awry). The Sjogren's and GA are just annoying - the RA is a big giant freaking bummer. I have a 2 year old daughter - toddlers can be hard to handle for people who are well - for me - I barely make it through most days. Ahhhh - but that's a whole other story.....and today was a good day (thank goodness).
Be well,
Joy
I've been taking Plaquenil for two years. The first week was horrible with the nausea and it did take a couple of months to kick in. It was a wonderful drug for me until my RD decided to cut the dosage in half. Other than the week of nausea, I've had no noticeable side effects.Plaquenil gave me a nasty headache for the first 2 weeks and then my body adjusted and it went away and I had no other side effects.