I was put on 200MG of Plaquenil a few months ago and I could not tolerate it at all. It tore my stomach up , making me unable to keep food down.
I finally got in with my new rhemy last week and he highly suggested me going back on it, which I did and on Monday night right after I took it, I had a major allergic reaction to it! I immediately stopped taking it and notified him. I was only on it for a week :(
I have to wait til the end of October to go back , which sucks :(
I was wondering is there any alternatives besides Plaquenil that are easy on the stomach? I feel like I'm back at square one with meds. I'm unable to tolerate steroids at all so I really feel lost.
Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated!
Only you and your rheumy can decide what’s best for you, but I can tell you that I also had an allergic reaction to Plaqueni Anaphylactic, in fact. Keep trying! Dontget discouraged. Something is out there that can help you.
Five days on 100mg Plaquenil saw me in Hospital for 10 days in a dark room covered in wet towels & ice packs, wanting to smash my head against the tiles to knock myself out in order to stop insane itch for a few moments.
I attend a Lupus support grp every other month & another attendee has a similar (but even more extreme) story to tell about Plaquenil. If the experts suggest you do NOT try again with Plaquenil I suggest you consider it very carefully.
14 mths later I'm on 200mg Imuran & after (3 - 4 attempts at taper) down to 9mg Prednisilone. DX S. L. E. Initially treated as Lichen Planus following skin biopsy but then all hell broke loose.
G.P. has told me I don't need allergy alert bracelet & Immunologist has said it's essential as next time may be an anaphalyctic reaction. Bracelets look pretty normal these days may get one to be on safe side.
Best wishes to you. Listen to advice from professionals however always trust your own instincts on 'worth' of the professionals giving opinions. Kaz x
Sorry plaquenil didn't work for you. I went on it last dec 400mg per day. My mouth sores were horrible. He increased me to 600 in march. I need to take it with food. I need to stay near the bathroom after taking it, if you know what I mean. He said i'm sorry it does that to you and I said its worth it not to have the mouth sores. I have stomach issues anyway, 13 years ago I had a blood clot in my bowel and they took out a chunk of my bowel. I'm allergic to cipro, levoquin, ( they gave me stevens johnson) bactrim, doxy-hydrate(spelling) and a couple of others. I can't even tke antibiotic eardrops. I am not allergic to pennicillin because I had the allergy testing. I am running out of antibiotics . My PC said I can get an IV anti if needed.Do you take omeprazole? I feel lucky I amnot real sick (not yet anyway). I have SLE.
I also was diagnosed with Lichen Planus first about 6 years. Do you have it anywhere else besides extremedies?
Last summer my derm did biopsys on my arms. thats when they found I had sle. Had biopsys on my legs in the spring. which confirmed. I think I have a good team of Drs they are all in what they call foundation partners at the hospital in nashua nh. have been on prednisone twice. My rheumy says yo stay on that long term. t other symptoms do you have
What exactly is your reaction? Diarrhea, nausea, etc are common when starting Plaquenil -it does cause GI symptoms which usually diminish with time but then ALL drugs have side effects. Just wait until you hit prednisone- plaquenil can be a breeze compared to that. Unfortunately with lupus you often have to make a choice between drug side effects and the illness itself and often it seems the drugs are worse than the disease. :>(
I am on Hydroxychloroquine which I believe is the generic for Plaquenil. I have been on it a month, taken at night with a glass of milk. Luckily, I have not experienced any adverse side effects worth noting. First few days an off stomach, but other than that am doing well. I hope and pray they find a combination to give you relief. Prayers!
I was given plaquenil with Nexium, and slowly ramped up because it is known to cause nausea until your body gets used to it. It's not an allergic reaction so to speak. Just a shock to the stomach at first. I even had to break my pills into fourths to start with. Now I can take them with no problem and no nexium and even on an empty stomach. I would give it one more try like this before you give up. Plaquenil helped me so very much.
Digestive reactions are normal with this med. You say you had a major allergic reaction, but not what exactly happened. That would mean angioedema, anaphylaxis, etc… major allergic reactions are life threatening. If you aren’t swelling, having difficulty breathing, having heart arrhythmia, orpassing out, then it’s considered minor. For some people an allergy to this med will involve progressive difficulty standing and walking, but it takes time for that to build up. The digestive reaction is severe enough for some patients to decide they ccan’t tolerate it. It’s considered a med sensitivity or intolerance in those cases, not an allergy. I don’t know which type of reaction you had, I’m just relaying information.
I've been on the Predisone too! It's the devils pills! When I first started Plaquenil a few months ago, my stomach felt like the medicine was tearing it up! I was nauseous, couldn't keep food down or anything, I had never had the allergic reaction until Monday Night, and this was from only being on 200MG 1x for a week. I have to wait for this reaction to stop before trying anything new! :( The allergic reaction I had was literally seconds after I took my dose, I broke out in hives all over my body, it was painful, and itchy!
poobie said:
What exactly is your reaction? Diarrhea, nausea, etc are common when starting Plaquenil -it does cause GI symptoms which usually diminish with time but then ALL drugs have side effects. Just wait until you hit prednisone- plaquenil can be a breeze compared to that. Unfortunately with lupus you often have to make a choice between drug side effects and the illness itself and often it seems the drugs are worse than the disease. :>(
I should have been more detailed I'm sorry, I was on this medicine a few months ago and my stomach couldn't tolerate it at all so I was taken off it. I am with a new rhemy and he suggested giving it another shot, I had only been on it for week and when I had my last dose on Monday night , instantly I broke out in hives all over my body, I was itching and developed swelling (as if I need more of that lol!) I notified my doctor and he told me immediately to stop it and to wait for it be over before putting me on something new. Thanks for the advice!
Tala said:
Digestive reactions are normal with this med. You say you had a major allergic reaction, but not what exactly happened. That would mean angioedema, anaphylaxis, etc... major allergic reactions are life threatening. If you aren't swelling, having difficulty breathing, having heart arrhythmia, orpassing out, then it's considered minor. For some people an allergy to this med will involve progressive difficulty standing and walking, but it takes time for that to build up. The digestive reaction is severe enough for some patients to decide they ccan't tolerate it. It's considered a med sensitivity or intolerance in those cases, not an allergy. I don't know which type of reaction you had, I'm just relaying information.
