Jennifer:

I was on plaquenil and mobic for awhile - didn't help. Don't worry about second-guessing yourself - you need to get as much information as you can and quiz your doctor. If he or she is uncomfortable with that - you have the wrong doctor because you are going to be battling a very invasive disease.

If you are not aggressive in your treatment, you run the threat of joint damage. Maybe you remember the actor Coburn who in his later years had hands that looked like bent twigs - that's one possibility. In my Remicade group, there were people who had to have joint replacements and other major surgeries.

I don't want to scare you (the whole situation is scary enough) but if you have any possibility of having rheumatoid, you need to pin down your doctor. While the diagnosis may not be easy, if it is more likely than not, go to war against it. Waiting is not a good option when your joints are at risk.

All my best wishes to you; I know this is not easy in any way.

I take plaquenil daily, along w/methotrexate once a week. I also take folic acid daily to counteract any side effects from the MET. I was "off" for the first week with the meds, but definitely fared better as time went on. It took about 5 months for me before the meds really had a positive effect. I will say that it's definitely helped since then.

Plaquenil has been around for decades. I would be surprised if you're having side effects because it takes a long time to build up enough in your body to do anything. It took me 8 months to work. I had a little nausea about 4 months along, but only when riding in a car or boat. I kept a bottle of water, a cup and some alka seltzer in the car and it eventually went away. One day I realised that I had become much more productive, and didn't need a hot bath to get moving in the morning and it's worked ever since.
I also eat most of my foods from the anti inflamatory list and avoid inflamatory foods, take fish oil and do water therapy. Good luck!

I agree with the other posters don't wait...If there is any chance you have it treat it aggressively...I have bone damage because it took so long to diagnose me...I hope you get to feeling better soon...Irene

Hello Jennifer,

My Rheumy prescribed Plaquenil at my last visit 6 weeks ago, he said it was to supplement the mtx. I take 400mg a day, the only side effect that I have encountered is dry eyes and tiredness.
To early yet to know if it is working, I have good and bad days. have a Rheumy appt this week, will be interesting to see the blood test results. all the best Lorri

I started Plaquenil, methotrexate, and prednisone at the same time 7 weeks ago. I too was flushed and had the most horrid nightmares amongst a great deal many other things. I can't tell which caused what symptoms but I do know that after several weeks they are beginning to disappear, but it took almost 4 weeks for any of them to start dwindling!

Sorry if you've heard this all before, if nothing else it helps to remind me. ;-) So now as I step into my repeating of my doctors spiel:

Plaquenil is actually an anti malarial drug that takes several months to accumulate in your system. That is why you don't see the over night pros of it like our beloved prednisone does for us. It's also why your doctor should have also requested you get your eyes checked in about six months as it can affect the cornea and macula of the eye and not in a good way. :-(

Fortunately when you stop taking Plaquenil the effects are usually reversed for the cornea. The macula can be more serious but a trained professional can spot the issue before it causes severe and permanant damage. This type is also usually seen after long term use as in years versus weeks or months like the cornea issues.

Nightmares, headaches, emotional changes, hives, itching, diarrhea, stomach cramps, blisters, and liver problems are just to name a few the other possible side effects.

So why on earth am I still on it and would say give it more time too? Because it is one of the oldest proven drugs to help curb the course of RA. We know what the long term use of it will do to us unlike the new biologic response modifiers like Enbrel. Now they show great potential but we really haven't had enough time with and on them to know how decades of use of them act on us like we do with Plaquenil and methotrexate.

If there is any chance that what you have is RA and your liver and eyes are holding up well, keep on keep on for at least a couple of months would be my vote and the approach I am personally taking. Things may eventually at a snails pace prove beneficial to you and hopefully to me as well. ;-)

Here's to having extreme patience and good luck!

OK, here's my two cents---I fully expect people to disagree with me, and that's OK.

My treatment started over 6 months ago with MTX, sulfasalazine, plaquenil, and prednisone. I took those dang drugs for SIX months and they didn't do squat for me. Now obviously they do help some people, but if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't waste my time with these "more gentle" (according to my MD) treatments. After 6 months of being totally disabled, I'm losing my job, my house, my possessions---I've already lost the joints in my feet and hands, plus all my hair, and more importantly, my sanity.

Go straight for the throat of this disease with aggressive treatment if there's even a chance you have it. Of course hind sight is 20/20, but from here on out I could never tell someone to do anything other than declare full-out war with this blasted disease.

I don't disagree with MsRigorMortis - she is right on. Joint damage goes hand in hand with 'RA. Aggressive treatment is a key. I have a rheumatologist who pushed my drugs along as fast as she could (I flunked drug after drug) because she knew I needed to get to the big ones. I was on Remicade (super expensive even with my insurance) but had liver issues so now I am on Humera. I don't have joint damage and that's because I got to a great rheumatologist quickly who believes in aggressive treatment.

Good luck to you in the battle.

Lynne

O.K. I've been where you are. I also had a RD who didn't want to give a definite DX right away. My labs were not conclusive. My pain was not extreme and neither was my inflammation. My RD went with plaquenil and mobic right off the bat and didn't do alot of explaining. I wasn't told that she suspected RA and that this is the standard starting point for mild onset. I also wasn't told that it would take months before this drug would show results or that I would feel bad from taking it. I know its really frustrating to have the person you turn to for help say "Your test don't really show anything conclusive but lets try this and see how it goes". I ended up having a spectacular full body rash and stopped taking the meds and never went back to that RD again. I went the natural supplement route and seemed to get good results. Unfortunately, it was either a coincidental cessation or the supplements stopped working eventually and my symptoms returned two years later. I really looked like a schmuck when I had to explain all of this to my PC and ask for another referral as I couldn't face the previous RD again. I also had to explain it to the new RD and start over. This RD is much better at explaining things and now I know that the first RD was doing the right thing by the book but was not good at communication. Its a humbling thing. The thing that was the worst for me was feeling bad and knowing that it wasn't right and then having someone say "I don't find anything wrong with you but take these pills and come back in 6 weeks". It does make you second guess yourself and feel foolish. The doc isn't saying there isn't anything wrong he/she's just saying the tests don't point to the culprit, he/she's going to have to pick the most likely suspect and see if it responds to the appropriate treatment. If you don't like how your RD talks to you then by all means get a new one but don't stop seeking treatment as long as you feel something is wrong. You know your own body so don't doubt what it saying. Naturopathy may help but that is just as much of a crap shoot as the other but naturopaths tend to be more personable so you feel better about the "try this and see if it helps" when it comes from them. Patients is very hard when you hurt and second guessing is hard to get past also. Do try to give it a chance because its hard to get back on board after you jump ship.

I started Plaquenil in April and in July I noticed that it was finally working. I also take Enbrel shots. However, since July, I have been able to go 4 weeks between shots. At first I had some nausea, but I don't know if it was from the med or the anxiety of trying another med. The nausea didn't last long.

If you are unsure about your dx, I would see another Rheumatologist and get a second opinion.

Good luck.