Lupus Support Group

Lupus is an auto-immune disease in which the immune system cannot distinguish between threats (like viruses and bacteria), and healthy cells and tissue. As a result, the body produces antibodies that inflict cell damage, most commonly targeting joints, skin, kidneys and the nervous system. Join the group and find support for coping with lupus.

912 Members
7,373 Posts
0 Online
Muscles & Bones
/ Lupus Support Group

Meds

BarbaraB12
BarbaraB12
Hi everyone! it's me again! lol..went to Rheumy yesterday and got totally griped out.. :( I woke up tues a week ago with sore throat..didn't think anything of it..thought it would go away..well it hasn't and now coughing sorethroat and fever by saturday was feeling awful! didn't go to dr because i knew i had to go to rheumy tuesday and could just see her She informed me i can never just ride out anything i need to be seen..i have been dx since around i'd say '93 and not one dr as every told me that! She said when i get sick i need to stop my meds ie. plaquinil and imuran..no one ever said this..has anybody else been told this? I know sometimes i sound really dumb about these things but i just have to ask! Get more responses from this group than the others..thanks for your patience! hope all are well!
BARbara
amethystchic
amethystchic
Hey Barbara...sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I was told by my Dr's when I first got dx that I should go immediately to the office whenever i get a cold or anything like that. Because we take meds that lower our immune systems, we don't fight bugs as wll as normal people. My rheumy made it a point to tell me that a harmless cold could turn into pneumonia for us very quickly. I was also told to never play around with sore throats b/c of thrush....he said if it gets into your windpipe, it can be a very terrible problem. That's all ever been told...hope this helps...not really sure about stopping the meds though....but it kinda makes sense....hope you feel better......Phoebe.
Allisonc79
Allisonc79
No I have never heard that before maybe thats just something she prefers her patients to do. But thanks for the heads up I have gone to the doctor for the most part when sick but sometimes not. Everytime I have been sick it has stayed mild. I am all to familiar with sore throats, but when I get them they stay benign. I would go with what your doctor says, maybe others doctors told them the same thing. My primary puts me on antibiotics at the slightest sign of illness b/c of being on the Plaquenil.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi Barb,
Im with allison. I can completely understand you stopping the Immuran as it is a more severe immuno suppressant. I have been told that if I am sick I should stop my MTX but never the plaquenil. It is a very very mild immunosuppressant and doesnt even affect some people in this way (lowering their immune system). Actually, when I get sick, im suppose to increase my prednisone to try to control getting a lupus flare up. This may be something your rheumy does with her patients. But, in 10 years I have never been told to stop my plaquenil for any reason. May want to see what another dr. says about this because stopping the plaquenil works by building up in your system. The longer you are off of it, the longer it will take to start to work again. Feel better.
BarbaraB12
BarbaraB12
thank you all for your repoleis..i understand aboout it colds turning to pheumonia had that last time i got sick..took forever to get well..she just took me off meds for a week..feeling better today got cortixone shot and that does wonders..lol..melissa i finally got off the predisone.. i do not like that stuff! take care all!
deleted_user
deleted_user
Just a few weeks ago, I was chastised by the ER doc for the exact same thing, well really similiar. I had a bad stomach bug that had me vomiting every 20 minutes and we won't get into the diarrhea that accompanied it. I just wanted to ride it out, but by the fifth day, I knew that I needed an IV of liquids. My doc sent me to the ER because she had never seen me so sick. I was not told to stop the Imuran, but I was told to get in on the second day and not the fifth. That is a good question for my neuro in a couple of weeks and I will ask her if I should have stopped it. Honestly, I didn't take any meds for 5 days as nothing would stay down.
kitty3
kitty3
Sometimes I go thru periods where I'd swear I've got a homing device on me for colds & other bugs but I've never ever been told I need to be seen.
My dr's do say that if it goes too far or carries on too long to definitely check in but I know they don't want to see me for every little thing that comes along. They trust me to know enough & have enough common sense to know what to do & when.
Also, I've definitely never been told to discontinue any meds unless I've checked in with them & they decide to temporarily change things.