Plaquenil stomach issues

[Corella]

Ive been on 200mg for well over a week now and I am fine, I am just wondering how much I should increase by, I was thinking about going up by half a tablet for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

One thing is annoying, I had 2 beers through the day yesterday and felt so ill it wasnt true, not sure if its the alcohol dehydrating me or it is not working with the Plaquenil - probably a bit of both.  Oh well, a wine and lemonade for me today!

Merry Christmas everyone, hope anyone who is on Plaquenil isnt suffering too much over the festive period.

[KatieB]

  Thank you all very much for the advice.  I am taking the generic, so that's something to check up on and think about. We are paying everything out of pocket right now though, so the price does count.
  Merry Christmas everyone!

[Corella]

Well I increased yesterday by half a tablet - so I will try that out for a week before going up to 2 tablets a day - 400mg.  So far a bit of gas but it is early days.

Trouble is when you split the tablet it tastes foul but my chemist said it only comes in 200mg tablets here, I need to check that out.

[artsyamerican]

Hi Katie - I had a horrible reaction to Sulfasalazine and told my Rheumy ...no way Jose! So now we are trying Methotrexate.  I have many of the same symptoms you do....and the Methotrexate and Neurontin are keeping things calm for the moment.  Hope this helps!

[Julie]

I agree with Irish.  Try not to take any of your medications at the same time. Too many meds seem to fight each other.  I wait at least an hour before mixing anything with the Plaquenil..even if it's just a pain reliever for a headache.  I've been on it for just about 2 months now.  I am one who has adverse side effects to everything I'm given, so I was really hesitant to start this.  Thankfully, taking 200 mg of the generic form twice a day really hasn't caused me many problems.  The first month there was some excessive belching, but that is subsiding.

The only other thing is that it does seem to cause more random flareups of GERD, and my insurance company has stopped paying for Prevacid that I've depended on for years, so...I need to go see my GP to find out what to do for that.  I notice it happens more at the bedtime dose, so I make sure I don't lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking it.  I can't swallow pills, so I have to crush this pill twice a day and put it in applesauce or yogurt.  Yuck...!! It is a very BITTER pill to swallow...literally. Wish I could take it just once a day. The rheumy said I could, but I am too chicken to try 400 mg at once.
 
I don't drink alcohol all that often...maybe a glass of something twice a month.  I was hesitant to try any while on Plaquenil after reading that some people have trouble with that and this medication is hard on the liver too.  I had a White Russian a few weeks ago...and a glass and a half of wine yesterday and did OK.  When drinking any alcohol, I make sure I have a glass a water sitting alongside of it to stay hydrated.

I have to say though..while I don't really notice unbearable side effects with Plaquenil, I also have not noticed any benefits yet either.  The doc said it would take a couple of months.  Maybe I just have to wait it out a little longer.

I wish you the best with your prescription and hope you find a way to tolerate it.

Take care
Julie

[soycoffee]

[ . .  ] The first month there was some excessive belching [on Plaquenil}, but that is subsiding.

The only other thing is that it does seem to cause more random flareups of GERD, and my insurance company has stopped paying for Prevacid that I've depended on for years, so...I need to go see my GP to find out what to do for that.  I notice it happens more at the bedtime dose, so I make sure I don't lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking it.  [ . . . ]
Julie

An alternative to Prevacid is to take 3 50 mg tablets of Zinc, AM and PM. I'ver researched it; there's one Japanese study that found it effective against GERD, and no negatives except that one needs to have a small amount of copper in the diet.

And, of course, you would want your doctor's agreement.

Best,
Soycoffee