Over time, Plaquenil helps reduce inflammation around the heart and lungs and improves symptoms such as fatigue, fever, and cognitive dysfunction. And patients report more energy because it's a mild stimulant.
In 1956, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved HCQ for symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, particularly skin inflammation, hair loss, mouth sores, fatigue, and joint pain.
Hydroxychloroquine is in a class of drugs called antimalarials and is also an antirheumatic drug. It works by killing the organisms that cause malaria. Hydroxychloroquine may work to treat rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus by decreasing the activity of the immune system.
Over the long term hydroxychloroquine can reduce pain, swelling and joint stiffness. If you have lupus, it may also improve the rash. It may be as long as 12 weeks before you notice the benefits. Hydroxychloroquine is often taken in combination with other drugs such as methotrexate.
It's used in people with Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus to relieve joint pain, fatigue, and rashes. It may take up to 12 weeks for you to notice the effects of hydroxychloroquine. Hydroxychloroquine is safe, even for pregnant women with Sjogren's syndrome.
Over time, Plaquenil helps reduce inflammation around the heart and lungs and improves symptoms such as fatigue, fever, and cognitive dysfunction. And patients report more energy because it's a mild stimulant.
Serious side effects
muscle weakness, cramps, stiffness or spasms, or changes in how your skin feels such as tingling. frequent infections with a high temperature, sore throat or mouth ulcers. bruising that happens more easily than usual.
It works by calming your immune system. This helps reduce swelling (inflammation) in people with autoimmune conditions, where your immune system attacks your own body. For example, it helps reduce the inflammation that causes swollen and stiff joints in rheumatoid arthritis. Hydroxychloroquine is not a painkiller.
Hydroxychloroquine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies, or to become more depressed. If you or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor right away.
How long you take hydroxychloroquine for depends on why you're taking it. For some conditions, if hydroxychloroquine works for you then you may need to take it for several years, or even for the rest of your life, to control your symptoms.
The usual dose is between one and two tablets per day (200 to 400 mg per day). If you are taking two tablets a day you can take them all at once or divide them up: one in the morning and one in the evening. The maximum amount of HCQ you can take is based on your body weight.
Its main side effects are gastrointestinal upset (vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps), skin rash, headache, dizziness, and ocular toxicity. However, serious side effects including arrhythmia, bronchospasm, angioedema, and seizures can rarely occur.
Exercise is important.
It has been demonstrated that exercise reduces fatigue in lupus patients. Other features which contribute to fatigue such as deconditioning and quality of life are improved with exercise.
DHEA DHEA is a mild male hormone that is effective in treating some of the symptoms of mild to moderate lupus, including hair loss (alopecia), joint pain, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction (e.g., difficulty thinking, memory loss, distractibility, difficulty in multitasking).
For some people, Plaquenil may cause weight loss. This is because the drug can decrease your appetite, which may lead to the weight loss. But it's not known how many people have had weight loss while taking Plaquenil. Weight gain, on the other hand, isn't a known side effect of Plaquenil.
Hydroxychloroquine may potentially result in adverse effects on the central nervous system, mainly irritability, nervousness, emotional changes, nightmares, and even true psychoses [3, 4].
Hydroxychloroquine acts by suppressing Toll-like receptors to trigger important immunomodulatory effects. Hydroxychloroquine is a well-established and effective therapy for systemic and cutaneous lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
No clinical trial has reported that Hydroxychloroquine can make you gain weight. However, bloating or weight gain can be experienced by some people because of water or fluid retention in the body. You should inform your physician if you experience severe or unusual weight change.
Is weight gain a side effect of Plaquenil? No, weight gain hasn't been reported as a side effect of Plaquenil. But weight loss has been reported as a side effect. Two conditions Plaquenil is prescribed to treat, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus, can cause symptoms that contribute to weight gain.
Adults—At first, 400 to 600 milligrams (mg) taken as a single dose or in two divided doses per day. Then, 200 mg once a day or 400 mg taken as a single dose or in two divided doses per day. Your doctor may adjust your dose if needed. Children—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
Profound and debilitating fatigue is the most common complaint reported among individuals with autoimmune disease, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis.
These medicines are called immunosuppressants. They include methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, and cyclophosphamide. These are the most common immunosuppressants used for Sjögren's.