Bet you cant - yep, Plaquenil.
My GP has just telephoned me and said he has spoken to my Rheumy who is seeing me in Feb and he has said to go on Plaquenil 200mg every other day and slowly build up until I am on the full dosage. He said it is the only thing aside from steroids he can suggest at this time.
My hair is crap anyway, so I am going to give it a go, I have marked muscle weakness on/off and I feel rubbish. But I am wondering, if you build up slowly with Plaquenil, I wonder if that has any bearing on the risk of hair loss?
Oh well, they give me wind - bad wind, so I fully expect to gas my husband out shortly. :-*
Does it matter when you take it? I took mine in the evening with my main meal but I am wondering does it make a difference with the gastro side effects?
Corella, You have a lot to celebrate! You have two doctors who are taking the illness seriously, willing to treat, and are concerned for your well being. :) I'm happy for you! As far as the GI symptoms, it might not be the active ingredient in the medication, but a filler might be bothering you, so talk to your pharmacist and see if he can recommend a different brand. Experiment with taking it at different times of the day and see what works best. As far as hair loss, there could be a hormonal imbalance involved so talk to your doctors about that too.
Remember to take some time to relax, do something enjoyable every day, and try not to dwell on it too much. I hope Plaquenil brings you some relief soon. But be patient, some people don't get the full benefits till almost a year later. I continued to get improvements even past on year on it.
They only have the one brand where I live, but I have taken half a tablet and I shall do that for a week and see how it goes. My hair is dry and brittle and breaks off, I do believe my thyroid was OK but I am having my vitamin D checked in two weeks and my parathyroid.
The doctor said I can take my time building up with the dose so I feel more in control which is good. Fingers crossed the toilet doesnt become my best friend.
Im wondering if I will be able to have a glass of wine on xmas day do you think? Some say not to drink on plaquenil and others say you can but Im not sure, Im not a big drinker but like the odd glass with my meal.
Corella, Plaquenil hasn't made my hair loss any worse - I really think you'll be ok as far as that goes.
My rheumy also told me it's fine to drink alcohol occasionally; the only thing we CAN'T do while on Plaquenil is smoke (I don't smoke anyway) because smoking negates the effects of the Plaquenil.
I started taking 200 mg twice daily right from the beginning. I took each pill with a meal to avoid stomach upset and have had no side effects except for itching on occasion.
Good luck - I hope it works out for you!
I was really sick on 200mg, last night I just took half a tablet and I will do that for a week or two to see that I can tolerate them, I shall just take my time in building up on them.
It seems like ages to build up to 400mg, I was meant to be on 400mg for 3 months and then down to 300mg, anyway I see the rheumy in Feb so god knows what dose I will be on by then.
Wish I was normal like everyone else and could take my proper dosage without my bowels falling out. Doesnt matter what I eat, I feel so ill on them. Actually, when I am on them I cant eat eggs which is odd, I wonder why that is?
Dont worry about the hair loss, mine got much better while taking the drug...everyone has this pre-conception that is causes such drastic hair loss, and I think the stress of it all actually is the cause of the hair loss..Steriods are much worse. Since I had to up my dose and add medrol to my mix over the last 1.5 year, all my hair is almost gone. Most of us have horrible hair anyways right?
Gursie
I am thinking that you are probably cutting the 400 mgm tabs in half. THat may be the one big reason that you are getting so sick. The medication gets dumped into your gut right off the bat and really irritates big time. When you cut the pill in half the pill has a "raw" side where the med empties out faster.
I take 200 mgm every day and I have the 200 mgm pill that I take whole. I had some nausea the first couple of weeks but got over it. I always take it as the only pill right after my noon meal. I think if I took it with other meds I would have more stomach issues. Irish ;D
Oh I was on 2 x 200mg tablets and I was only able to tolerate one 200mg tablet.
This time I have had two days with half a tablet and today I decided to take 200mg again, last time I couldnt tolerate even that, so what I will do, if I cant tolerate 200mg daily, I will do it every other day to build myself up.
Took one full tablet yesterday - 200mg. Apart from a bit of wind, not much to report. Actually, I have noticed on the Plaquenil that my blood sugar seems to drop and I have to eat more frequently, is that a side effect or is it in my head?
How are you doing on the plaquinil so far?
I've been thinking of you and hoping it's all working better for you now.
Any updates?
Debbie
Quote from: Debbie48 on December 20, 2011, 04:50:56 PM
How are you doing on the plaquinil so far?
I've been thinking of you and hoping it's all working better for you now.
Any updates?
Debbie
Yep, I have been on 200mg for about 6 days now with NO side effects except a dodgy blood sugar level, I go hypo very quickly and have had to adapt my eating habits, they make me starving hungry but other than that I have been fine.
I am wondering how long I should stay on 200mg before I increase upwards, I am thinking of going to one and a half tablets for a bit and then obviously going to the full 400mg?
I dont know why the initial dose upset me but it did and I dont know why I am fine this time, perhaps it is that initial taking them and getting the stomach used to them, who knows.
Any ideas on how and when to increase from now on?