Plaquenil is one of the first medications they use. A biologic is humira, a whole different line of meds. Have yiu done a Vecra Da test at all.? I just received my results and they were not good eithier. I am on methrotrexate, plaquenil, folic acid, Orencia. I wish you luck, and hope it works out for you. I was on humira about 2 years ago it was one of the better medications and I saw results good ones but then I was sick a few times and it didn't work.

Plaq did virtually nothing for me. MTX did a little but the magic happened when taking the MTX and Humira! Don't fear the biologic or the needles unless you prefer the pain of RA.

thank you for your comments Robinb113 and Nonightshades2 I took my first dose of plaquenil this morning I ate and had some carrot juice with almond milk in it and my stomach is not upset. and I am not having any side effects so far which is good I took it several hours ago and I feel fine. I hope it works.

May I ask - how many mg of MTX?

I take 2.5 mg of MTX 8 pills once a week

I'm a big fan of MTX injections because it absorbs more effectively and helps more, in my opinion, but biologics are also an important part of my arsenal. Is there a reason the doctor hasn't switched you?

To be blunt, I don't believe Plaquenil does all that much, based on comments I've read over the years. [Makes me wonder why it's even used at all.]

I would shoot for the injectable MTX instead......and be thinking about adding a biologic.

If you're going ahead with adding the Plaquenil, I would suggest you and your rheumatologist set a certain date for deciding if it's working or not. And I certainly wouldn't let it stretch out for a period of time.

BTW - this is a board certified rheumatologist who is treating you, right?

I had my first infusion on Dec 13, 2nd Dec 27. Still waiting for it to kick in. Meanwhile I inject MTX every week and am taking prednisone for relief. My only pain with taking all of that is due to fluid in my foot from a bakers cyst behind my knee which I am told will go away. My most recent dilemma is finding out about the cost of supplements when I finally can retire. I am on a LOA right now so checking in to all these things., it is very scary as your limited income and how costly it all is ☹️

thank you all for your comments and advice. I am being treated by a board certified rheumatologist. Dr. Lopez my Rheumatologist wanted to put me on humira injections which is suppose to work well but is also very expensive my insurance will probably cover it but they will probably try to get her to put me on something less expensive. My mother takes plaquenil and it works well for her she has been taking it for many years so I thought I would give it a try before I switch to an injectable. I really don't want to take an injectable I would rather take a pill twice a day. I have to take pills for other things everyday anyway so to me it doesn't bother me to take another one. I don't like needles i take insulin as needed at night for my blood sugar if it is high i take a slow acting insulin but i don't take regular insulin injections and i take pills to control my sugar. I got a shot in my knee the other day to help with the pain but it has been killing me even with the shot it is still killing me .

Ok. No needles. Have you considered Xeljanz as a biologic? The extended release is a pill once a day. If you need help paying for it, they have an assistance program.

Plaquenil is important, but in my opinion isn't enough to really fight RA most of the time. If you are already on MTX and need more meds, I would be shocked if Plaquenil turns out to be the solution.

Maybe you will be lucky and your RA isn't severe, but based on what you said, it sounds like a biologic is likely in your future.

I would agree with Kim. I am doing (now) MTX with Plaq and sulfasalazine and Humira. For the 3 months I was on MTX, Plaq and sulfasalazine, I actually got worst and had higher pain numbers.

Maybe you are wired different than most if your mom gets relief from it...but I can say pretty well that it did nothing for me.

I am listening to the comments I appreciate all of them. I don't know what is going to work and what is not until I try it but I hope I find something that works well for me soon even if I have to inject myself.I think the prednisone is probably what is helping me the most right now but I know it is not good to be on for long term. It weakens your bones and makes your blood sugar go up my mom took prednisone for 30 years. and now she has osteoporosis

I do like the weekly enbrel injections over the pills, the methotrexate and plaquenil both made me very sick, lose hair, and i still had flare ups. I still have flare ups from time to time, and i will always have pain i suppose but the enbrel has helped more than any of the pills. i just have pain and fatigue now, instead of pain, fatigue, nausea, hairloss, diareah exc.....

also..... the first two pills i took elevated my liver enzymes . not good for the liver.

All I can say is that I was on MTX pills for 15 years when they stopped working. Humira was a game changer. Felt better almost immediately and better than I had in all the years.

In my mind people would do well to forget this thing about needles. Choice is yours. Feel better or not. Best way to do this for most is with biologics.

People who hated the thought of needles pretty much kicked themselves in the tush when they started an injectable biologic as it was so easy and they felt so much better.

Up to you.