I'm back after surgery!

[Momedic]

Hey all!  Just wanted to get on for a moment and let you know how things are going.  I had surgery on my neck on May 10th, fusing C6 and C7. The surgeon said this was one of the worst he had ever seen.  Instead of being an Hour and a half surgery, it was nearly 4 hours long. I am still struggling to regain my strength and stamina.  My movements are still not where they will, hopefully, someday be. The doc seemed to think this should make me feel quite a bit better. I am still waiting. I have been able to get off the pain medication, so that is definitely a step in the right direction.  I did get to see the Rheumy!  He put me on Plaquenil. Holly Cow!!!  I did not tolerate that medication well at all!!! I have lost 13 pounds in less than 2 weeks! I cannot eat, the abdominal pain is unbearable!! Does anyone else have issues with this medication? or is it just me? Pretty frustrating. I sure hope there is another medication that he can try. Any input would be appreciated!  Hope everyone is doing good and having a safe and fun Memorial weekend!

[Cassi307]

Momedic
I am glad that your surgery is over and pay that your re overly picks up for you.

Give the Plaqurnil a chance. When I started it I had no appetite and rapidly lost weight in the first few weeks. But, my body adjusted and I was able to eat better. Unfortunately I regained my weight and a little extra but that may have something to do with my kidney issues.

Hang in there and I hope you feel better quickly.

[lindaneall]

Are you on the generic or brand name Plaquenil?  Many people have less GI side effects from the name brand.  This is the only kind that I can tolerate.

[Pisces24]

lindaneall  -- Thank you sooo much for mentioning about the generic. One of the few things that make me really PO'd    is when I hear someone "parrot" that generics are the same as the name brand!!

I would look into that possibility as they ARE different!

[Scottietottie]

Hi 

Did you take the whole dose of Plaquenil straight away or did you try weaning onto it slowly - to let your body adjust? If you try it again start with half a tablet every second day and do that for a week before trying a whole tablet every second day and so on. Always take with food. Some people cannot tolerate it which is a shame but adjusting the body slowly is worth trying.

Take care - Scottie 

[Momedic]

It is the generic!  I may have to look into the name brand if this does not work. I thought I was working up slowly on the dosage but apparently not slowly enough! lol!  I go back to the Rheumy in a week or so. I will talk to him about a slower approach then. Thanks for the input!

[susanep]

I am so glad your surgery is over. I am still not able to take 2 doses of plaquenil,  because I can't keep it down. I take one per day, and then if I have a good day with food, I take a second one.

Praying for a speedy recovery, with all good signs of a successful surgery.

susanep

[Ark mom]

I hope you are back to a better you soon!  When I started Plaquenil, I took half of one pill for about a week before moving up to one whole pill.  Then I went to 1.5 pills a week after that.  It took me several weeks before I was on a full dose of 400mg.  I did not have any side effects at all.

[finallyadx]

Hope your surgery went well and you are feeling better with every passing day.

When I started on plaquenil I took 200 mg per day for like 4 weeks then went to 400 mg per day.  I tried to take it all at once at night after my meal, bad idea for me - bad stomach distress all day the next day. Then I tried taking it all with my breakfast - still a bad idea.  Rheumy told me to take it split - 200 mg in am with breakfast, 200 mg in pm with supper - much better...but it took some time for my stomach to adjust to it all together.  I am on the generic - you may heed others advice and see if you can get the brand name.

Do hang in there if you can though, I have seen some changes and improvements in many of my symptoms - I have more "good days"...

Best of luck to you.

[Momedic]

Thanks everyone for your replies and well wishes!  I am feeling better each day. The neck is still very tender but is getting better as the days pass.  I am still on lifting limits but that will increase with time.  I am anxious to see my eye doc again tho. My eyes are playing some wicked tricks on me but I am not sure if it is my eyes or my glasses! LOL! Things seem so out of focus lately. I am hoping she can shed some light on that subject for me. I wish I could get some better sleep.  Between the neck and the joint pain, my sleep, even with my sleep aids, is not very good lately.  I will be addressing this with my doc when we return home.    Hope everyone has a good nite and rests well!!  Am anxious to get back home to my bed!!  ( we have been out of state visiting family for a couple weeks) Love to visit but miss our bed!  Especially with my terrible sleep habits! 

[Momedic]

Well, my Rheumy called me on Sunday!!  I am thinking he is a keeper!!  He has put me on Methotrexate instead of the other.  Will see how this goes. Sure hope I don't lose my hair!! This is a chemo drug, so we shall see.

[Cassi307]

Momedic
Don't you just love an md that follows up!

Good luck on the new med. hope you do well.

[Momedic]

And on a sunday!!!  I had to ask if it was Monday!  I think I will be keeping this one!!  And Thanks!  I hope so too!!

[Sleepy In Seattle]

A few more things about the plaquenil: DON'T TAKE IT WITH MILK PRODUCTS! Lots of people have horrible problems when they mix the two. You need a baseline eye exam and then exams every 6 months because in EXTREMELY rare cases, after several years plaquenil can cause vision problems. And the bad sleep may be because of the plaquenil - during the first 2-3 months, many people have disturbed sleep and/or extremely vivid, weird dreams. For most of us, all those side effects pretty much go away after 3-4 months.

I have had great luck with Mtx - definitely had hair thinning, but it's a small price to pay for feeling better. Your body will also have to go through a couple of months of adjusting to it (just like with Plaq), but it can be very helpful. Take it with food (I like to take it right before bed so I can sleep through any side effects), and take a mg of Folic Acid every day (it helps a lot with side effects) - ask your doc, though.

Best of luck with all this!!! Let us know how you do...

[Momedic]

Thanks for the Welcome Back!!!  It is good to be back on and with at least a little good news!!  I do take the Methotrexate at night so I can sleep through any of the nasty side effects and the doc did give me an Rx for Folic Acid. I am hoping the hair loss will be minimal but I have had some pretty bad loss even with other meds so I am not holding my breath on that one!! But, I am really hoping for some pain relief eventually!! He did say something that was curious to me.  He said what I thought I heard...I have SJS and Lupus... not sure so I am going to ask him the next time I have an appointment. Really, it doesn't make a lot of difference I suppose. The treatment will be the same, pretty much. Just another name of another AI to list... HAHA~~  More of a reason for the aches and pains and swelling and nausea and ..... and .... and....lol....