New to RA and Starting Plaquenil

January 30, 2004

> Hello all,

>

> My name is and I have just been diagnosed with RA. My

> Rheumatologist called today and wants me to start on Plaquenil.

> Looking at all of the possible side affects listed on the internet,

> I am very nervous about starting the meds.

Hi ,

I am newly diagnosed as well and have been taking Plaquenil for about

2 months. I know your feeling about being nervous about meds; I was,

too. Most people tolerate Plaquenil very well, and it is considered a

mild medication. The rheumatologist who prescribed it for me said

that he's had about 10,000 people on it in his years of practicing

medicine and has only had three develop eye problems, and all three

reversed once the med was stopped. I had some side effects initially

(nausea, dizziness, etc.) but went to a lower dose for a while and

now I'm tolerating it very well. After the research I've done (and

seeing the effects of untreated RA in my mom), the meds seem less

scary to me than the untreated disease.

Take care.

Sierra

January 31, 2004

Hi ,

My name is Wanda and I am a newbie myself to RA. I was diagnosed with RA in

September of 2003 and my RA doctor put me on plaquenil and I have had

diaherrea after each meal. It started after being on it for about two weeks. I

have

to stay close to a restroom after eating. It isn't fun and I am tired too. I

don't know if the plaquenil causes the fatigue or if it is the RA. I told my

doctor in November about the side effects I was having with plaquenil and she

had me decrease my intake and then up the dose back to what she had me on

originally. Nothing so far has helped but several members have suggested eating

yogurt and drinking fruit juices. It may and may not work for me but I am

willing to try anything at this point. Just keep an open mind and I would keep

a

diary for a little while so you can let your doctor know how you are doing on

the med.

I hope this helps ...........sorry if it sounds

discouraging.............don't mean too. It just gets old being sick after

eating everyday and feeling

tired.

Wanda

In a message dated 1/30/2004 4:55:15 PM Central Standard Time,

jennie@... writes:

> My name is and I have just been diagnosed with RA. My

> Rheumatologist called today and wants me to start on Plaquenil.

> Looking at all of the possible side affects listed on the internet,

> I am very nervous about starting the meds. I would love to know what

> experiences people have had on this medication. By the way, I am 38,

> married and the mother of two great teen-aged girls.

>

> Have a great evening and I look forward to hearing from you.

>

January 31, 2004

Hi , welcome to our list. I can only speak from my own experience. I was

on Plaquenil for 3 years during the early days of the disease. I can honestly

say I had absolutely no problem of any kind. Sometimes reading about all the

side affects can be scary but the reality is that by la every incident must be

reported and then it must be included as a side affect if only 1 or 2 people

experienced the problem. As long as you are having regular blood tests done,

any problem will more than likely be caught.

Hope you enjoy it here.

Hugs

June

January 31, 2004

Thank you so much for your responses, I'm feeling a little better

about the whole med thing. This looks like a great group of people

and I look forward to getting to know you all. Take care

January 31, 2004

if you have any questions about R>A> and some of it's meds just ask. i'll be

glad to help. your new friend mike

snowdrift52003 <snowdrift52003@...> wrote: