Plaquinel and stomach upset

[Corella]

I started my Plaquenil on Sunday night, 400mg - first night fine, second day bad cramps and diarrhoea.  GP reduced it to 200mg and told me to take it for 2 weeks and then gradually increase up to the 400mg my Rheumy wants me to take.

Sadly my wonderful vivid dreams have stopped on this dose but the tummy cramps I get late evening and the diarrhoea I get early morning are still there, I suspect it would be far far worse on 400mg.

Can I ask, how long do the unpleasant side effects such as this last? I know it can take 3 months to get the benefits and I have been told to stick with it with regards to unpleasant ones, I can tolerate them, its not unbearable and the weight loss is welcomed but I was wondering how long does it take to get used to them? I really would rather not come down any lower and would be happy to increase every other day.

But it would be nice to know the end is in sight as the toilet has become my new best friend and I am not laughing.

[Sadie963]

Hi Corella,

I think the first couple of weeks I took Plaquinel 200mg a day. Then my rheumie upped the dose to 200mg 2x/day (am and pm). I take it after breakfast and dinner. I have less stomach upset if its after a meal.  I started taking this medicine last January.

At 400mg, I think it took me a 2-3 weeks to get used to it. But whenever I took it on an empty stomach, I always had upset stomach, gas and mild nausea.

Try to stay with it if you can because the benefits are worth it but call your dr. if the symptoms become too problematic.

Welcome and good luck.

[irish]

I am curious as to why you are taking the Plaquenil in the evening. It seems to me that this lays you wide open to more GI upset.

I sort of planned my time to take it so that I wasn't taking it with any other meds and when I could take it with food.

I came up with about 1PM or so right after I ate lunch. I also take it with plenty of water so that it goes down good and it also dissolves more rapidly instead of laying there in my stomach. I had a couple of weeks of sort of nausea, queasiness and more bowel movements but that was very short lived.

By the beginning of the third week I was doing fine. I take the 200 mgm and I doubt that my doc will increase it ---- though I guess this could change also. I just stopped it for 2 weeks while taking doxycycline cause I was getting really dizzy and weird and restarted it a couple of days after I finished the doxy. This worked out rather well as I was pretty sure that the plaquenil wasn't out of my system yet as it has a long half life.

I seldom take any drug at night other than my omeprazole, etc because so many times they lay in the stomach longer and have a tendency to irritate the gastric tract and cause more problems. Irish

[Corella]

It says on the bottle to take each evening with food so I take it at 6pm with my main meal.

[engy]

I don't know if you have to or if that is just a recommendation. I did like Irish, 200 for a few weeks then 400.

I was taking it at breakfast and dinner (200 each) but I didn't like the dreams & someone here(sorry, I forgot who) said to try it earlier.

I now take 200 with my breakfast & 200 with lunch & that has worked well for me.

I also take a probiotic (not sure if that helps stomach with plaquenil though).

Good luck, Carie

[SLEEPY101]

I had the same reaction when I started. It does get better. It took me about 6 weeks to tolerate it. Even know if I forget and skip a day I vomit when I take it again. Peppermint tea really helped my vomiting and stomach pain. You might want to try it, I found it had Walmart. If it gets unbearable call your Dr she might prescribe something to help you. My Dr would have but I wanted to try the natural route because I was already taking 22 prescribed meds a day. I hope you feel better soon. I do have to say even though it is horrible right now it might be worth it for me within 6 months I was feeling so much better!

Oh I just remember. My Dr had me started with a 1/2 a pill the 1st week. Then 1 pill the 2nd week, 1 pill and a 1/2 the 3rd week and both pills together the forth week. She also told me to take them both at night. I would take it with yogurt and that really helped.

[Corella]

I shall stick to 200mg for a couple of weeks and then take the extra 200mg every other night.  I want to keep my dreams, I dont get them on 200mg, but having had anti malarials before I had fabulous dreams and it has been the same this time, I really dont mind them.

I am on the sofa, it is so hot in Perth, I have the fan on, cant have the air con on as there is a fire somewhere outside, I cant get my drops in my eyes quick enough.

I am terrified of my hair falling out as well, its gone brittle with having this illness anyway, some people say it helps their hair and some say it makes it fall out, whats been your experience?  If I have to face going bald, I will not take it.

You will have to excuse me tonight guys, I am having a pity party.

[Luna]

I take 200 mg twice a day. Doctor did not say how I should do it. Just do it twice a day. I take one at lunch, sinse I don't eat a large breakfast. Then one with Dinner, which i eat at 6p.m.  For a month I had stomach issues with it. After that, i am fine. As long as I eat and drink a lot of water. I hope your side affects stop soon and you feel better.

Luna

[irish]

Corella, Can you call your druggist and find out why the directions say to take at 6 PM? I wonder if your doc is thinking that it is better to take it then than to take it in the morning with all the other pills. Just wonder if you would do better taking it earlier in the day.

I chose after lunch because I didn't want to take it with other meds. Irish

[Corella]

I suppose I can take it in the morning but not sure what the benefits are, I get cramps anyway so I dont suppose it matters, I dont have a big meal in the morning - just one slice of bread so cant take it then, I couldnt force myself to eat more if I tried and evenings is the only time I do eat more.

I have also discovered that eggs are totally off the menu, cannot even tolerate them now

[Meld256]

Corella,

I hope you being to feel better with the stomach upset soon. I guess we each need to find what works for us in regard to when to take Plaquenil so we have the least amount of trouble.  I had some stomach upset for the first 2-3 weeks with it, but not after.  As long as I eat something about the same time I take it, I'm ok.

With the hair fears, I hope it doesn't keep you from giving Plaquenil a try for a while if you're not having other problems with it.  I understand, beleive me. I was hesitant, too.  After 7 months on the drug, I have lost a few hairs but it's nothing too bad.  I'm taking zinc and biotin supplements and hoping that will keep it that way. Some people have no hair loss-I hope that's the case with you!

I hope your day is better today- we all have those pity-party days and it's ok.
Take care,
Melinda