Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
Hi everyone,
I am frustrated tonight. I took Sulfasalazine for two nights for the first time, and I woke up with ugly skin rash all over my chest. I called my RA dr, and he told me to stop taking Sulfasalazine, and if the rash does not get better, go to the urgent care. I waited till 6 o'clock tonight, but the rash was not getting any better and I started to feel chill and sore throat, so I dragged myself to the urgent care. The UC dr prescribed me some steroid med and told me to stop both sulfasalazine and Praquenil since we don't know which med is causing the skin rash. Also she told me to go to the allergy dr. to find out what kind of medication I am allergic with. I am new to RA, have been diagnosed only for little over one month, and my dr and I are trying to find a combination of medications that works for me. Even though I was taking very minimum amount of Praquenil, I am afraid of stopping everything at once. What if I get a bad flare and the pain gets worse? I have an appointment with my RA dr on Monday to discuss about this. Before Sulfasalazine, I took MTX for two weeks, and I had skin rash on my both legs knee down so I stopped the MTX. I had never had any reactions to medication before I became RA so I dont know what has happened to me. Did RA change my system that now I am allergic to everything? Did anyone else have the similar reaction due to the Praquenil or Sulfasalazine? I have been on Praquenil for only three weeks and just increased the dosage to two tablets a night I thought Praquenil was working pretty good for me, but the UC dr said it is too soon to say I dont have allergy to Praquenil, so to be safe, stop both meds...
I am frustrated tonight. I took Sulfasalazine for two nights for the first time, and I woke up with ugly skin rash all over my chest. I called my RA dr, and he told me to stop taking Sulfasalazine, and if the rash does not get better, go to the urgent care. I waited till 6 o'clock tonight, but the rash was not getting any better and I started to feel chill and sore throat, so I dragged myself to the urgent care. The UC dr prescribed me some steroid med and told me to stop both sulfasalazine and Praquenil since we don't know which med is causing the skin rash. Also she told me to go to the allergy dr. to find out what kind of medication I am allergic with. I am new to RA, have been diagnosed only for little over one month, and my dr and I are trying to find a combination of medications that works for me. Even though I was taking very minimum amount of Praquenil, I am afraid of stopping everything at once. What if I get a bad flare and the pain gets worse? I have an appointment with my RA dr on Monday to discuss about this. Before Sulfasalazine, I took MTX for two weeks, and I had skin rash on my both legs knee down so I stopped the MTX. I had never had any reactions to medication before I became RA so I dont know what has happened to me. Did RA change my system that now I am allergic to everything? Did anyone else have the similar reaction due to the Praquenil or Sulfasalazine? I have been on Praquenil for only three weeks and just increased the dosage to two tablets a night I thought Praquenil was working pretty good for me, but the UC dr said it is too soon to say I dont have allergy to Praquenil, so to be safe, stop both meds...
I was on both sulfasalazine and planequil and had a major reaction. Turns out I 'm allergic to sulphur. I am back on planequil and mthx with no bad effects so with me was definitely the sulfasalazine. I now have to wait 12 weeks to see if this current cocktail will work if not he is going to add humira( from what I can gather).
Good luck with the meds.
Kelly
It's strange how different meds affect different people. I've had no problem at all with MTX but had a major reaction to Plaquenil after about 10 days. The Rheumy stopped it straight away and then gave me Sulfasalazine - even worse reaction as soon as I went up to 4 tablets a day. He cut it back to 2 tablets a day but I can see it's building up to a major reaction again.It's no fun, this medication merry-go-round. 12 months down the track after diagnosis, I'm still trying to find the right "cocktail" for me.
I'm glad you're seeing the RA doctor on Monday but, if it puts your mind at rest, stopping Plaquenil cold turkey didn't cause any problem for me.
Good luck
My liver kept freaking out on mthx, so I finally switched to Sulfasalazine. I was on it for almost 10 months, when I started getting itching reactions all over my entire body. I was living on Benedryl, till I figured out it was the aspirin I was allergic to. I am also allergic to Penicillin, so I hoped it was the Sulfa. With the aspirin allergy I am now allergic to all DMARDS. I am on prednisone, waiting for Rituxan to kick in.
I am sure you should take a Bendryl if you are having an allergic reaction, and go to the ER, or see your Doc. They can get bad and become anaphylactic. And so, med side effects and allergies can be a major issue in treating RA. But don't give up hope, my Rituxan seems to be helping although I am still taking prednisone. Never a dull moment with this disease.