Ok so I’ve been to see my rheumatologist and I’m on this drug for a months trial .anyone got any advice please x
A month probably won't be long enough. Plaquenil, AKA hydroxychloroquine, is a disease modifying drug. It takes time to work. That was my first DMARD and I was on it for at least a month before I started seeing any difference, and it can take a few months to see any substantial benefit. It was a really nice starting med for me, especially because it made a really big difference in my fatigue.
Hi stoney, I’m actually trying it for 3 months to check it out to see if it suits me, the 1st month is to make sure I don’t get a rash or any major side effects . I don’t suffer from the skin problem of psoriasis so my rheumatologist was a bit bothered incase the drug zapped the skin prob into action . It’s only day 3 , nothing major to report but I’m patient , happy to bide my time in the hope it will help longterm X
Sounds good. I have virtually no psoriasis and it did not increase it at all. Your doctor should be monitoring your eyes every 6 months with a visual field test for retinal toxicity. It is one of those side effects that can occur over the long term. I was on it for 7 years with no eye problems. I just want to mention it in case your doctor didn't.
Thanks. Yes he did as did my pharmacist who’s an absolute star . X
Hi Phillylou
I was on hydroxychloroquine, when Methotrexate and Sulfasalazine weren't working. MTX + Sulf failure is a prerequisite for biologics here is Australia.
My experience was almost an immediate and continual increase in symptoms with severe outbreak while I did experience some relief in my PsA the increase in skin and particularly all over my forehead, eyebrows and bridge of nose (where I had never had it before)
I persisted for about 3 months before I refused to take it anymore. I then began the process for biologics application and have been on MTX +Enbrel for nearly 16 months. I have got good results to date.
As they say "Everyone is different" so good luck :)
Bec
ive been on plaquenil for over 12 months and there is no change in my symptoms,in fact they are worse.I need a better painkiller.
Phillylou, just give it a go and see what happens. If you get some impossible side effects, you move on. As Stoney said, your eyes need to be checked early on, and then every six months after.
Great to hear that you have a phabulous pharmacist. So do I, and what a great thing that is! When you have a chronic condition, a good pharmacist can really help, and even sometimes save your hide!
Queenpink, how come? That's a long time to be on a drug that's not helping. Might you post & let us know how the land lies? Often wonder how you're getting on.
Queenpink said:
ive been on plaquenil for over 12 months and there is no change in my symptoms,in fact they are worse.I need a better painkiller.
Hi. I realise I'm a bit late to the party on this thread, but thought I might be able to add something of use. I am on Hydroxychloroquine after asking my rheumatologist to consider the "whole" of me rather than just the arthritis. I have bipolar as well, and the constant tests etc of the other DMARDs were sending me into a real nosedive. I had tried sulfasalazine and been rather ill due to infections and swollen glands, and it had taken several months for me to get right afterwards. When they said they could try me on this drug with a long name beginning with H that didn't require tests on a regular basis and which was somewhat "easier" than the others to cope with I was overjoyed. Nearly cried, in fact.
I've now been on is since November, and I confess it's been a bumpy ride in getting things better. In mid-December I saw an improvement, but then slipped a disc in my back and things went downhill. Then there was another improvement in January and then another slip back. But then, sometime in late February (so after four months) I found I could do things I had been struggling to do for a long time (like get up off a chair or the loo!). The pain in my feet from ligament or tendon issues eased up almost completely, and my knees are now considerably smaller and better behaved than they once were.
That doesn't mean I'm a new man. But it does mean that, since November, the disease hasn't got into any new joints (it was getting into 1 a month in the lead up to then!) and I can move easier than I could six or seven months ago. I know from the lovely people here and, indeed, my doctor, that there are other medications that could have more effect on my arthritis, but at the moment keeping the bipolar on an even keel is just as important to me, and so the hydrox... is a reasonable halfway house (probably) for the short term.
I've just got to have blood tests every six months (1 on Tuesday as it happens, about which I am freaking out - not about the needle, but the results!) and have to see the optician once a year. I've had no obvious side effects. Perhaps mouth ulcers, but I've had mouth ulcers regularly since I was a tot, so I can't say that's anything new, although I've had a few more than normal. But no stomach upsets or feeling sick or anything like that. There have been a couple of very minor skin issues, but nothing to get excited over or that required any treatment I didn't already have. Psoriasis is also pretty much fine - a couple of days where it has flared up, but I find that has to do with stress as much as anything else!
Hope that helps.