Comments on: Doubt

By: Christie

Christie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:55:17 +0000

It’s been a few days now… so how’s the Plaquenil going for you? I hope you’re doing well on it. They say it can take several weeks to notice any significant affects though. I was on it for less than a month but had to stop taking it due to some unusual side effects. I must say though that even in just the few weeks I was on it… and even in light of the adverse effects I experienced… I do believe it helped my RA symptoms. I hope it will help yours as well. You’re in my thoughts as you take on this new adventure!

By: Lynn Rivers

Lynn Rivers — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:16:13 +0000

I was on Arava, Plaquenil (hyroxycholoquine) and Sulfazalazine in combination for over 1 year with practically no side effects. Unlike methotrexate… which made me violently ill. I don’t think you need to fear the Plaquenil. However I might question the choice to go off the Arava. Combination therapy is the best approach. I found the Arava alot more effective in combination than by itself. Ask your Rhuemy… why not both drugs?

By: RA Guy

RA Guy — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:27:35 +0000

Thanks for all the support, tonight I am taking my first dose of Plaquenil!

By: Jules

Jules — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:04:02 +0000

It is so funny, you and I have gone the exact opposite in our medication order. I started on Plaquenil, when that did no good, went to Sulfasalazine with no results, then to Arava- which I had an allergic reaction to, and finally to MTX. For me-I will fight tooth an nail if they ever want to take me off MTX- it has been my lifesaver. Each of my switches(except Arava) have been after over a year and with no results. Each time I have been cranky about it since nothing worked. My terror when they said I would be going to MTX AND I would be injecting it was almost tangible. After I finally got results- I realized it was all worth it.

I hope the plaquenil works for you. You deserve longer pain free stretches my friend!

By: CRK

CRK — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:29:08 +0000

I can understand your quandry. I had been on Humira a while and was still having flares. My doc switched me to Simponi. Humira clearly wasn’t working, but I didn’t want to switch. I knew Humira. I knew how I felt — better than MTX. I had the injection sequence down pat. So why did I want (like you) to stay on something that clearly wasn’t working? Because it was comfortable and safe and when you have RA, every day has a bit of fear in it — fear of pain, fear of drug side effects, fear of getting worse — so anything that makes you comfortable and safe is a good thing.

But I switched because I trusted my doctor and it was the best decision I’ve made. Simponi is very similar to Humira but has been shown to help people like me that weren’t responding to Humira. I’ve had my second shot and it’s amazing.

You might not want to switch to Plaquenel, but what you’re on clearly isn’t working like it should, so you need to try something different. Beside you’re a [my] super hero. New adventures await.