Thursday, October 09, 2008 Michelle asks

Q: plaquinel

Hi, I was diagnosed with sero positive rheumatoid arthritis in the spring and finally saw a rheumatologist in late July. He put me on plaquinel. I am also on celebrex and taking 20 mg of prednisone daily. I have recently started lowering my dose of prednisone as it was meant to be short term but am finding my pain is becoming worse and now my feet are also bothering me a lot more. My doctor says it can take up to six months for the plaquinel to work and so I don't see the rheumatologist again till January. I am wondering if anyone can attest that the plaquinel did kick in that amount of time or should I try something else? I work full time as a nurse and although I am on modified duties it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue to work and I am just wondering if I will have relief soon.

Thank you, any info would be appreciated.

Michelle

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Answers (3)

Sara Nash, Health Guide

10/ 9/08 10:40pm

Hi Michelle,

My rheumatologist initially started me on plaquenil and naproxin (aleve). After six weeks, I was still in phenomenal pain and the fatigue was overwhelming, so when I went back for my follow up, she started me right away on enbrel in addition to the plaquenil. I would highly recommend talking to your rheumatologist as soon as possible about the possibility of starting on enbrel or a biologic -they typically show results much more quickly than traditional dmard's like plaquenil. After two weeks, I could tell a difference and I continued to improve dramatically over the next three months.

I am stil on the plaquenil, and do feel like it is working some as well, but it can take quite some time to kick in, meanwhile, you continue to be in pain and lose the ability to function the way you need to.

Try to see if you can get an earlier appointment and explore some other options!

You can also try some other pain management strategies like yoga (gentle or restorative), massage, acupuncture, etc.

Good luck!

Sara

Feels like the TinMan

10/ 9/08 11:42pm

hi Michelle,

I'm new at this RA stuff too. I'm on plaquenil and relefen. Relefen for 8 wks, Plaquenil for 6 wks. Umm, can't say I'm feeling better. i understand plaquenil takes 2-4 months before it's noticeable. I'm not in horrific pain (today) but i'm losing my mobility in my hands and i'm getting more and more pains in different locations. Some harsh, some annoying. I have an appt with my rheumy tomorrow, so I'm kinda wondering what his next plan of attack is. Will i just ride it out for another 6 wks and hope that the pain doesn't worsen? I'll guess we'll see. good luck! desiree

feeling.great

10/14/08 6:17pm

Hi, if I remember correctly the plaquinil took about three months to kick in and, it was the only drug I was taking at the time other than pain killers. I was on it for almost ten years and decided to quit one day. Two months later the RA went to full steam and I suffered greatly for two months until I could get something that worked. But your arthritis might be more severe than mine from the onset, so it is hard to tell for sure. If it works it is a great drug and simple to take. If I hadn't quit I might still be on it. Today I am on Humira and Methotrexate. If he has to move you to a bio drug it gets pretty expensive, but that is likely to be the next step. Hope this helps and you get to feeling better soon. Danny

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