Saw the Rheumy today - started me on Plaquenil. Since I don't seem to be able to take anything that diminishes my immune system (I get EVERYTHING!), Plaquenil seems to be the drug of choice this month. Any advice/comments? I did schedule a baseline visit with the eye doctor next week (thank you, Ann!). Anything else I should know?
Also, a strange thing happened ... maybe not so strange? I did my second 24 hour urine (first was 300) and the lab could not process it? What does this mean? Has this ever happened to anyone? Of course, I immediately thought my number was so high, their "scale" could not read it lol (always the optimist:) .... Anyway, I am going to do it again in two weeks with my regular blood work. Thank you!! Dee
Before you started the plaquenil, you should have been passed first through an opthamologist.
When i first went on it i was taking it at 2pm in between other meds and my god i was ill, nausea/panic attacks well there was loads and i pulled myself off it slowly and when the rheumo persisted i start back on it, i was told by a friend to take it at night as your sleeping side affects off and i did do and just add nausea for 4 days and nothing since and i've been on it now quite a while...so i highly suggest taking it before going to bed...some members have done it and no affects.
Dee the link below will help you regarding your results...hugs Terri :)
Tez ... It says for me to take it twice a day (200 mg per pill), same time every day ... just took my second pill (last night and now and another one tonight) - how long did it take for you to get side effects? So far, so good. For some reason, though, been very dizzy the last week or so .... Started taking Amitriptyline at night to help me sleep with the pain (only take it at night). Do you have to take anything to help with sleep? I am trying so hard not to need to take all these meds (sleep/pain, etc.) because of the meds I DO need to take, i.e., for severe panic attacks, blood pressure, etc. .... so many side effects. Thank you for being there for me ...
I read the article re kidneys ... Thankfully, I am not diabetic (blood reading yesterday was 114 likely because I did not fast and he did not seem at all interested in that number). Doctors look at me and say, "oh, you have diabetes, yes"? because I am overweight, but I don't eat much lol . . . wish I ate as much as I look like I do; started gaining weight when all this started 8-10 years ago. Thank you for sharing with me, my friend. You are in my prayers.
Tez_20 said:
Hi Dee,
Before you started the plaquenil, you should have been passed first through an opthamologist.
When i first went on it i was taking it at 2pm in between other meds and my god i was ill, nausea/panic attacks well there was loads and i pulled myself off it slowly and when the rheumo persisted i start back on it, i was told by a friend to take it at night as your sleeping side affects off and i did do and just add nausea for 4 days and nothing since and i've been on it now quite a while...so i highly suggest taking it before going to bed...some members have done it and no affects.
Dee the link below will help you regarding your results...hugs Terri :)
You can take 400mg at night as my rheumo upped it not long back from 200 to 400 and then dropped it back down due to my eyes getting really dry off the sjogrens and he told me you can take up to 400mg at night.
I felt side affects in the first week which started off with nausea at first, which i've had many a time anyway but the panic attacks took me bad, if ste popped to the shops i phoned him to get back as i felt enclosed, stomach pain, there was that many i could'nt cope at first but it was the best thing a friend told me telling me take it at night and i really do highly suggest you doing the same. Amitriptyline is mainly an antidepressant drug to help with depression but does help the central nervous system which is even better for you as Lupus and it's affects all stem from that the CNS.
Dee i'm heavily drugged all the time with seizure meds besides medication with issues from Lupus but i do have valium and i take it every other night as it helps keep my cell rate down but i'm still woken early with spasms in my calfs which cripple me.
I know you hate taking this lot of meds, it's the same as myself but without them we'd be in a right state and your welcome mate and thanks for being there for me...it's having friends like yourself that helps me insuch a good way :) Tootles said:
Tez ... It says for me to take it twice a day (200 mg per pill), same time every day ... just took my second pill (last night and now and another one tonight) - how long did it take for you to get side effects? So far, so good. For some reason, though, been very dizzy the last week or so .... Started taking Amitriptyline at night to help me sleep with the pain (only take it at night). Do you have to take anything to help with sleep? I am trying so hard not to need to take all these meds (sleep/pain, etc.) because of the meds I DO need to take, i.e., for severe panic attacks, blood pressure, etc. .... so many side effects. Thank you for being there for me ...
Dee you have early diabetes with the reading 114 and to stop it getting worse you should be on tablets....this link shows sugar levels and i suggest keeping it as you can test your levels on it when they give it you.
Being overweight Dee does'nt automatically mean you have diabetes, i have suffer with low sugar and i don't carry weight...the plaquenil if it does'nt affect you actually causes youto lose weight i've lost a fare bit with it and if my thyroid goes hypo on top besides being underactive chrsit the weight loss is quick but we're all different and don't get listening to doctor's stupid comments either mate.
Love & kisses Terri :)
Tootles said:
I read the article re kidneys ... Thankfully, I am not diabetic (blood reading yesterday was 114 likely because I did not fast and he did not seem at all interested in that number). Doctors look at me and say, "oh, you have diabetes, yes"? because I am overweight, but I don't eat much lol . . . wish I ate as much as I look like I do; started gaining weight when all this started 8-10 years ago. Thank you for sharing with me, my friend. You are in my prayers.
Tez_20 said:
Hi Dee,
Before you started the plaquenil, you should have been passed first through an opthamologist.
When i first went on it i was taking it at 2pm in between other meds and my god i was ill, nausea/panic attacks well there was loads and i pulled myself off it slowly and when the rheumo persisted i start back on it, i was told by a friend to take it at night as your sleeping side affects off and i did do and just add nausea for 4 days and nothing since and i've been on it now quite a while...so i highly suggest taking it before going to bed...some members have done it and no affects.
Dee the link below will help you regarding your results...hugs Terri :)
Glad you scheduled your baseline visit. Not much to the medication... it can take a few weeks to 2 months to really kick in and you notice an effect. My fatigue was gone by the 2nd week. One side effect that is not on the medication pamphlet... nightmares. My rheumy warned me of this, said his number one complaint from people on Plaquenil is nightmares, not sure why it hasn't been reported or noted by the FDA. I don't have nightmares, I just have really bizarre dreams... like last night I dreamed I was with my best friend from high school and we were being chased by some pirate type guy and we were swinging like Tarzan from the ropes on different ships. Then we found three baby dolphins who didn't know how to swim and we couldn't find the mom dolphins. So we tried to teach them, turns out, after some of the ships in the harbor took off, Noah's ark was getting ready to set sail and had put all the mom dolphins on the ark and left behind the babies. So.. yeah, bizarre dreams.
As for the 24 hour urine... I'll tell you my dad's story with that one. He did his 24hr urine, dropped off the specimen at the lab, got a call later that day or the next saying they couldn't process it because they dropped the specimen and the jug of urine went everywhere so he had to do it all over again. Sounds like it's a lab error to me. lol
Dear Ballerina: Thank you so much for sharing your dream :) Maybe I can add a little excitement to my life in the dream world - doing things I cannot do now (swinging from anything!). LOL :)