The most common side effects are nausea and diarrhea, which often improve with time. Less common side effects include rash, hair changes, and muscle weakness. Rarely, hydroxychloroquine can lead to anemia in some individuals. This can happen in individuals with a condition known as G6PD deficiency or porphyria.
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.
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.
Hydroxychloroquine may cause a condition that affects the heart rhythm (QT prolongation). QT prolongation can rarely cause serious (rarely fatal) fast/irregular heartbeat and other symptoms (such as severe dizziness, fainting) that need medical attention right away.
Using Plaquenil for a long period of time may harm the retina, causing serious vision loss. People with retinal damage from Plaquenil are not aware at first that they are losing vision. Unfortunately, once they lose a severe amount of vision loss, it is permanent.
Plaquenil and other anti-malarials are the key to controlling lupus long term, and some lupus patients may be on Plaquenil for the rest of their lives.
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.
Keep taking hydroxychloroquine until your doctor tells you to stop. Do not stop taking it just because you feel better. If you stop, your symptoms may get worse again.
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.
It can decrease the pain and swelling of arthritis which can prevent joint damage leading to long-term disability. Hydroxychloroquine is in a class of medications that was first used to prevent and treat malaria but today is the standard drug in lupus. It can be used in many other autoimmune diseases.
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 medication may irritate the stomach, and should be taken with food. It is best to avoid coffee, spicy food or alcohol.
What is Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil®)? Hydroxychloroquine is used in the treatment of arthritis to help relieve inflammation, swelling, stiffness, and joint pain and also to help control the symptoms of lupus erythematosus (lupus; SLE). A common brand name for hydroxychloroquine is Plaquenil®.
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.
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.
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 is generally safe at normal doses, but higher amounts can damage the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, and could result in partial or complete blindness.
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.
Experts haven't found any interactions between alcohol and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), a drug you may use in your lupus treatment plan. But you may also take other drugs alongside hydroxychloroquine, like methotrexate. If this is the case, you shouldn't drink alcohol.
This medicine lowers the number of some types of blood cells in your body. Because of this, you may bleed or get infections more easily. To help with these problems, avoid being near people who are sick or have infections.
Benefits include: Decrease in the number of disease flares. Decrease in damage from disease over time. Ability to delay absorption of ultraviolet light.
Hydroxychloroquine starts to work gradually. For inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, it can take 6 to 12 weeks before you notice any benefits. It's important to keep taking hydroxychloroquine. You may not feel any different at first, but it is likely to be working.
Hair loss. It's possible to have hair loss while you're taking Plaquenil. In addition to hair loss, some people taking the drug have reported changes in hair color. It's not known how many people have had hair loss or changes in hair color while taking Plaquenil.