Yes, Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) can affect sleep, often causing issues like nervousness, anxiety, vivid dreams, nightmares, agitation, or insomnia, though it doesn't typically cause drowsiness. These sleep disturbances can stem from CNS effects, while some studies even suggest long-term use might improve sleep quality for certain conditions like Sjögren's.
Side effects of the central nervous system include dizziness, headache, hyperexcitability, nervousness, insomnia, psychosis/depression, and reduced seizure threshold1.
The metabolism of Amitriptyline can be decreased when combined with Hydroxychloroquine. The risk or severity of seizure can be increased when Hydroxychloroquine is combined with Amitriptylinoxide. The therapeutic efficacy of Amobarbital can be decreased when used in combination with Hydroxychloroquine.
It does not matter when you take your tablet, but because Hydroxychloroquine has a bitter taste, it is better to take them with food.
These results suggest that hydroxychloroquine modulates lymphoproliferation in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and may prevent progression to extraglandular sites of neoplastic transformation.
This syndrome most commonly affects females. This disorder most typically presents as sicca symptoms, though plenty of other symptoms can exist. One of these other symptoms is the disturbance of sleep. The insomnia component of Sjogren's syndrome is the focus of this case report.
Immunosuppressant drugs: These are stronger than Plaquenil and actually decrease (or suppress) immune system activity rather than just calm it down. These medicines are called immunosuppressants. They include methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, and cyclophosphamide.
The most common side effects are nausea and diarrhea, which often improve with time. Other side effects include rash, hair changes, and muscle weakness. Rarely, hydroxychloroquine can lead to anemia, typically in individuals with G6PD deficiency or porphyria.
For 90% of patients with lupus, Plaquenil therapy has been shown to reduce discoid lesions, erythema, mouth ulcers, and hair loss. Joint pain and swelling also decrease. Over time, Plaquenil helps reduce inflammation around the heart and lungs and improves symptoms such as fatigue, fever, and cognitive dysfunction.
Plaquenil works very slowly. In 1 to 3 months you should start to feel better. You may continue to get better for up to 1 year. Most people who take Plaquenil also take other medicines for pain and stiffness.
This is because it can make you feel sleepy. If you find that you're still feeling sleepy when you wake up in the morning, you could try taking it earlier in the evening. Amitriptyline doesn't usually upset the stomach, so you can take it with or without food.
Magnesium supplementation may reduce blood levels of chloroquine, a compound similar to hydroxychloroquine, and decrease its effectiveness.
Chronic insomnia is a common complaint for patients with rheumatic diseases and conditions. In fact, sleep disturbances are among the most common symptoms of both fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with more than 50% of chronic pain patients reporting sleep disturbances.
In susceptible individuals, hydroxychloroquine can exert a stimulant effect on the central nervous system in the absence of these favoring conditions, probably as a consequence of an individual's hypersensitivity.
Another is hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) which can also cause sleep difficulties. Your doctor may recommend you take these medications early in the day to try and reduce the impact on your sleep. You may still experience sleep problems even if your PsA is under control.
Patients experiencing chronic fatigue related to autoimmune conditions often describe their symptoms as more than just feeling tired during the day. This is significant exhaustion that impacts quality of life and makes it difficult to function on a normal basis.
For example, the tricyclic amitriptyline is known to relieve many symptoms, including sleeplessness and low energy levels in CFS/ME. Other tricyclics (doxepin, desipramine, nortriptyline, clomipramine and imipramine) improve sleep and relieve pain, although it can take 3 to 4 weeks for symptoms to improve.
HCQ treatment may be discontinued by patients and physicians due to dermatologic, cardiovascular or gastrointestinal side effects, most commonly retinal toxicity.
You may want to limit your consumption of grapefruit or grapefruit juice during treatment with hydroxychloroquine. Grapefruit juice can significantly increase the blood levels and effects of hydroxychloroquine, which may result in an irregular heart rate or other conduction disturbances.
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.
Nipocalimab is the first and only investigational therapy granted U.S. FDA breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of adults living with moderate-to-severe Sjögren's disease [news release]. Johnson & Johnson. 2024 Nov 11. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act ().
Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) is the most common antimalarial for lupus. If you can't take hydroxychloroquine, your doctor may recommend chloroquine (Aralen®). These medicines can be taken as pills or liquids.
There may be times when your symptoms get worse (flare-ups) and times when they're better (remission). It's not known exactly why this happens, but it's thought that certain things, such as overdoing it and not resting enough, may trigger your symptoms or make them worse.