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Posted 7/1/2008 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
I have sjogrens and possibly another AI disorder....we are still waiting for all the test results. Anyway, I hurt everyday. Joints, muscles, you name it...it hurts. Some days are better than others but here is my question. I was on plaquenil for about 6 months.  I told my rheumy that I really didnt feel like it was helping much, so he took me off it cold turkey last monday. So this past week I have had several very bad days and a few "normal" days. Im just wondering if it is a coincedence or if stopping the plaq could make me feel worse that quickly?? Any ideas? Thanks and hugs!!!
Posted 7/1/2008 2:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hello my3sons, my opinion rheumy shouldn't have taking you off the plaquenil it does take time to start working. I would ask to be put back on, give it sometime to work. Stopping it I think you will feel worse. Hope you feel better soon.. Debbie
Posted 7/1/2008 3:04 PM (GMT 0)
I took plaquenil for a couple of years and it never did anything for me at all.  Of course, I also take enbrel and mtx.  My rheumy took me off the plaquenil, but told me to phase out and not go cold turkey.  I phased it out over a couple of months and I haven't had any problems yet.  Been without it for 6+ months now.

Elcamino

Posted 7/1/2008 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi my3 sons . . . *sigh* I think a lot of us "thought" plaquenil wasn't helping . . . till we went off of it. He may be letting you test the benefits of the plaq and he won't have to hear you "wonder if its helping" anymore. Now you'll know. I did the same thing with MTX and then with all the meds. Sometimes we just aren't satisfied until we prove to ourselves that we really do/don't need the meds. I'm a bit of a hard-head and I've tested the med's a couple of times and am a very sorry girl when I go into a tail-spin for it. I hope you get things figured out. The plaq is really working in the background sometimes. It isn't always an obvious helper . . . because we don't get immediate relief (like with a pain med). But it really does most of us a great deal of good. Keep us posted. Blessings!
Posted 7/1/2008 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
I talked to my rheumy today. I told him I have been feeling really crappy this week. He said my bloodwork came back ok but my x-rays showed osteoarthritis....it is in my lumbar spine, hips, knees, wrists and fingers. The only reason he didnt mention shoulders, ankles, feet, etc is because they didnt x-ray them yet. He called me in a prescription for Arthrotec and told me to call in 2 weeks. I really like my rheumy but I feel like he is kind of brushing me off....shouldnt he be concerned why a 36 year old has arthritis EVERYWHERE he looked?? Or is that just assumed to be from the sjogrens? Im sorry, Im just venting....

Thanks for the replies, if I still feel this bad when I call him in 2 weeks I will ask to go back on the plaquenil.

 

Posted 7/1/2008 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
Well Denise . . . you have some real overlapping issues there. The Fibro, UCTD, Sjogrens, Thyroid and Scoliosis can ALL cause lots of aches and pains!! Now you are adding Osteo to the mix. *sigh* Hopefully your rheumy will find the right mix of meds for you. Hoping your rx will help!! Keep us posted! Blessings!
Posted 7/1/2008 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
Rosie is right, IMHO ofcourse.

Plaquenil takes so long to start working, and its starts wroking gradually. SO you dont truely realize how well it IS working. I keep thinking I can stop taking it but I have to remember where I was in January, and where I am now.

If I stop taking plaquenil for two days, I get achy in my joints, mild but none the less its there. I also feel like I am about to get the flu or a bad cold. I have run out of my prescription before and it took 3 days to get it again. FOr about 5 days i was feeling pretty yucky. So it is possible that's what it is. HOwever you do also have other issues that may be the problem.

Either way I hope you work it out. :)
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