Hello Everyone. :) I'm brand new to this forum. Came across it when trying to find out whether my Plaquenil could be causing my massive, unexplained weight gain. Three doctors and two nutritionists have looked at my food diary (which I'm very honest about) and the amount of exercise I do (usually 5x / week of aerobics and weight-lifting) ... and all five of these people cannot figure out why I have gained about 30 pounds in the past 6 years. :'( I have been taking Plaquenil since 2003, and whether it's contributing to my weight gain, I don't know. But I am convinced this must have something to do with it. My question is - does anyone know whether there is an alternative to this drug? Whether a natural remedy or an actual drug? (BTW, I have been seeing an Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor for acupuncture for about a year now, and have never felt better since 2003. ;D Maybe this is all I need? No drugs? :-\ ) Thank you in advance for your advice.
Welcome to the forum. I hope to hear more from you. I use some alternative therapies for Sjogren's. Do you also have this naughty little auto immune diseases or one of its cousins?
Thanks and sorry - I guess I should've pointed that little detail out. Yes. I was diagnosed with primary Sjogren's back in 2003. Would love to know what alternatives you're doing. I must say though, I feel SO much better since I've been doing the acupuncture. I'm just unclear as to what will happen if I slowly take myself off the Plaquenil entirely.
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Flaxseed, Inositol, D3, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Acetyl L Carnitine
Reiki, reflexology, meditation,
electro-herbalism: www.chakraforce.com
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http://butyoudontlooksick.com/navigation/BYDLS-TheSpoonTheory.pdf is a good link.
If you want more information PM me.
Thanks Joe S! I'll check out that site. Nice to know there are other nice people out there to chat with about all this stuff.
:)
Welcome to the board.
susanep :)
Hi LWebster,
Welcome!
I have been seening an acupuncturist for a back problem and that and taking tumeric has helped with pain.
Is your acupuncturist treating you for your sjogrens? Because I never thought to ask mine if that was a possibility, and if so how often do you go and is it a combination chinese herbs and the accupuncture?
Hi LWebster,
Let me also welcome you to the SJS World and family! Please do look around the board as there are tons of topics and scads of information available that you might find interesting by using the search engine located in the upper right hand side of this page.
Take care of yourself -
Patze
Thanks Patze!
JellyB - Yes, my TCM dr is treating my Sjogrens with both acupuncture and chinese herbs. I started going to him because of my extreme fatigue and weight gain. When I first went to see him, my fatigue was so bad that it didn't matter whether I slept 4 hours or 14 hours, I was equally exhausted. In my case, he told me my kidney & liver energy were bad. He told me all of my energy was going to try to make those organs function, leaving very little energy for the rest of my body. He didn't push me to come twice a week, but I was so tired of being tired for years, and western doctors not being able to fix that ... that I decided to be very aggressive about trying this. So I went twice a week for about 5 weeks, then my TCM/acupuncturist suggested to come just once a week. About 2-3 months into my treatment, I finally started realizing I had much more energy. Now when I'm tired, there's a reason for it - like too much working or not enough sleeping. But I'm not exhausted all the time. Of course, my rheumy, nice as he is ... doesn't seem to believe it has anything to do with my TCM, but he's not trying to stop me from doing it either. He may be rolling his eyes about it, but I know one thing: I have felt terrible for years & years, then I started acupuncture and now feel 99% better.
I now just see my TCM dr once every two weeks, and that's mostly to work on the weight. Admittedly, we're having trouble getting this extra weight off, but just yesterday, I've shown him message boards that talk about Plaquenil & weight gain. I'm talking to both him & my rheumy, to see what we can all do. My rheumy agreed that I could see what happens if I cut my Plaquenil from 200 mg to 100 mg per day. So the lingering question I have is ... is Plaquenil actually doing anything to really protect me? Or is it just to "make me feel better"? Cause if I'm only risking the potential to be uncomfortable & dry by not taking it, then I'd like to stop. But if stopping means actually risking damage to my organs, then that's something to reconsider.
Much longer answer than you wanted, I bet!
Welcome to this board L,
I'm not sure about weight gain and plaquenil, but I suggest you have your Thyroid levels checked. Many people suffer with more than one auto immune disease and an underactive thyroid can pile on the weight, despite exercise and watching your diet.
Hope you fine answers.
Aussie Mum
Hi :)
Welcome from me too.
When I read your post I just thought the same as Aussie Mum. I put on loads of weight when my thyroid went wrong.
Take care - Scottie :)
Hi LWebster,
Welcome to the site! ;) We're glad you found us. I'm glad to hear you've had good benefits with acupunture; very interesting.
You'll find loads of information here and people who understand, encourage and support one another. Please keep posting. We look forward to hearing more from you.
Take care,
Melinda
Hi L. Webster,
Welcome to the forum!
Yes I also had massive weight gain when on Plaquenil.
For some reason or other it almost bought my bowel movement to a complete standstill.
My Dr's where puzzled as to the reason's why & suggested it was an allergic reaction.
BTW: I was already on thyroid meds - made no difference.
Take care!
Maria
Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
You will find lots of support and friends here.
Duchess