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Is Plaquenil an immumo-suppressant?

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Posted 4/2/2012 1:54 AM (GMT 0)
I have been taking Plaquneil as part of the lyme/frye bug treatment for about 5 months. I saw an ENT who said it was an immuno-suppressant, but she didn't really explain what that means.

My primary lyme symptom is recurrent bladder infections. Since I've started the treatment my recurrent infections have actually increased. Now I get one nearly every single time I have intercourse. It used to not be so often.

I'm wondering if maybe the Plaquenil is suppressing the immune system and that's why they're becoming more frequent. I started the lyme treatment hoping that it would help the bladder infections, but that hasn't helped yet.

Posted 4/2/2012 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
I can't give you a specific answer here, but I can tell you that I did a lot of research on the subject when I first started plaquenil and I really couldn't find anything definitive that says "plaquenil suppresses the immune system." It does seem to suppress autoimmune activity in lupus - my sister has seen great results from this - but I like to assume that no doctor would prescribe this stuff for people with chronic infections if it was likely to suppress our immune systems.
Posted 4/3/2012 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
My LLMD just precribed Plaquenil to me .. so far so good tho I am concerned about the Vision issues with this medication but from everything I read its very rare to have Vision problems and nothing I read said that it was an Immune suppressant.. I think I will ask both the Doc's I see for Lyme and see what each of them say ... :)
Posted 4/3/2012 3:30 AM (GMT 0)
Angie just make sure to have an eye pressure exam before you start, soon after, that way you have a point of reference to check for those (rare) vision side effects.

I replaced tindamax with plaquenil a few months ago and it really helped! Hope you have similar experiences!
Posted 4/3/2012 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
I had a eye pressure test back in October and in November and it was good ... I already started the Plaquenil and didnt know I should do this again ... Should I wait a while and then call and have it done again ???? and like how long should I wait to get another pressure test done ??
Posted 4/3/2012 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm...of course don't rely on my advice instead of a doctor's, but...I'd guess that the eye pressure from November could be considered your "baseline" and then you're supposed to retest every 6 months, I believe, while on the plaquenil (and I think for a while afterward).
Posted 4/4/2012 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Ok.. Thanks so much Borderlyme.. I think I am going to go in a few weeks to get it checked just to make sure ... I havent noticed anything with my vision just the normal blurry vision but I have had that for about 8 months now , way before I was even diaganosed with Lyme ...
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