Hi Nicki, you are so young to have this diagnosis and a pretty young girl as well. I am sorry that you have to deal with this. I have been on Plaquenil for the past about 6 years along with several other meds. I have been through the mill with biologics and Dmards and Plaquenil has done me well. I have eye exams about 4 times a year because of the Plaquenil and history of my mom who is predisposed to glaucoma and blind in one eye. Have your eye exams regularly, ask your Rheumatologist plenty of questions. Also ask what the plan is for what you are to use for pain when your joints are hurting. Good luck with everything. Please keep us posted.

Nicole, sorry that you're diagnosed with RA at such a young age. I was diagnosed at 28 (very young) as well. I had a very hard time mentally and physically. My RA was flaring and ravaging within matters of week, starting from my wrists and working its way around other unaffected joints.

I'm not sure about Plaquenil. Never got to that. My Rheumy wanted to put me on MTX, but I refused, giving reason that I need to conceive for my 2nd child. In the end, I did well on tiny amount of Pred. I'm about 70% well now, off meds most of the time because I'm an avid believer and practitioner of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM). If you want to learn more about it, you may visit my personal blog on my RA journey at http://www.myradiary.com.

For awareness, I've also recently written a post on LDN, as an alternative treatment for autoimmune including RA. Not a very mainstream med for RA, perhaps, better since the side effects are minimal, unlike DMARDs or biologics. If you are interested, you can visit http://www.myradiary.com/570/low-dose-naltrexone-ldn-a-better-drug-for-rheumatoid-arthritis.

If you need any helps, feel free to contact myself. I'll assist as best possible.

Hi Nicole,

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with these 2 diseases at such a young age. I too, was diagnosed with Sjogren's first, but as things developed I tested positive for and developed symptoms of RA and Lupus and was diagnosed with those as well.

As for Plaquenil, I started taking it when I was first diagnosed with Sjogren's two and a half years ago. I was taking it with prednisone and after about 6 months my rheumy changed me over to methotrexate because it wasn't giving me enough relief. I had to stop the methotrexate after 8 months due to liver issues even though it gave me good relief. Since then I have been on 2 other drugs, Arava and Cellcept together along with Tramadol for pain. I still was feeling very fatigued. So long story short, my doc put me back on Plaquenil in addition. I have now been back on it for 3 months and this time it is starting to help me with the fatigue and joint pain. It has taken 3 months to start feeling the good effects, but, yes, it is helping.

I see my Opthalmologist every 3 months anyway due to my dry eyes from Sjogren's so he will be screening me and looking for any eye issues from Plaquenil. From what I understand, eye complications are very rare and can be caught very early. Plaquenil is otherwise a very safe and mild drug and I hope that you can get some relief from your symptoms with it. Just understand that it may take awhile to see results. It may cause you some stomach discomfort in the beginning, but that will go away as time goes by.

I know you have been dealt a blow by this additional diagnosis, but try to keep as active as possible without over-doing it. Avoid stress, get as much restful sleep as possible. A positive approach to life with autoimmune disease can be as powerful as the drugs that treat it.

Good luck with Plaquenil. Hope it works well for you!!

Hugs, Jo

Nicki - sorry you have RA. I've taken plaquenil and mobic together, but got more relief from Remicade infusions.

Nickie, I am sorry you are having to deal with this, its not easy no matter what your age, its just a shame you are having to deal with it at all. I have tried plaquenil and mtx, neither was good for me, they worked well but I had bad reactions to them. There are many meds out there and new ones being developed all the time. i wish you luck and hope you soon find the right combination of meds to help.

Hi! I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I have been on Plaquenil for about a year. I am also on MTX, and Enbrel. I have not had any side effects from Plaquenil, and I make sure I get an eye exam yearly. I was told it can take 3 to 6 months to see if it is effective. I have friends with Lupus, and it does them wonders. I can not say it was a miracle drug, but it did help mildly with inflammation and pain.

Thanks everyone! I'm starting Plaquenil tomorrow.

Happy new year!! :)

How has the plaquenil worked so far nicklein25? I started taking it right before Christmas and have had some side effects. waiting patiently for it to kick in.