How long does this stay in your system? I am treating babesia now and I was wondering this because I would like to get pregnant maybe end of year or beginning of next year (assuming i am in remission by then and will be treated with abx. during pregnancy).
Posted by trish4 (Member # 14156) on :
I believe the half life is around 30 days so it could stay in your system 1 to 2 months after stopping it
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Ask your pharmacist. Your ob/gyn might know as well or be able to find out for you. It's used to treat inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, so they may have other patients who have been on it.
Good luck. Posted by seewater69 (Member # 11433) on :
Hello,
are you treating babesia with plaquenil? I am on it as well (just started) and I am very doubtfull whether it works for babs, what did your dr tell you? How much do you take?
Posted by njlymemom (Member # 15088) on :
I thought this drug was used to help arthritic pain associated with lyme:confused: never heard of it being used for the infection itself....it is a foggy day here - maybe i have it wrong
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
quote:Originally posted by njlymemom: I thought this drug was used to help arthritic pain associated with lyme:confused: never heard of it being used for the infection itself....it is a foggy day here - maybe i have it wrong
Plaquenil has many uses related to Lyme.
I've heard it is a cyst buster, so some people use it along with treatment to bust the cyst form. But I'm not sure it's really effective in this use.
It is often used to make some abx more effective. Biaxin is the one abx it is commonly prescribed with. I don't know how it works.
Since it is an anti-malarial, it may have some impact on babesia. But it definitely can't get rid of babesia on its own.
It can be used to reduce inflammation and arthritic symptoms.
I started plaquenil when I started Biaxin. I stayed on it because it reduced my inflammation. I had to stop it recently because I found out I can't detox sulfa based drugs. I've been really inflammed ever since. I never realized how much it was helping.
Posted by maureen2174 (Member # 11471) on :
I was on it for 7 months with biaxin (just that combo alone), then after that have been treating babesia now with mepron/biaxin/bactrim.
I have been off plaquenil for 4 months, but asked my LLMD to add it back in since I am on biaxin and thought it would help with the biaxin.
Posted by CherylSue (Member # 13077) on :
Seawater, I'm about to start plaquenil for babesia per my LLMD. Have you had any herxing on it? What's your dosage?
Thanks, Cherylsue
Posted by CherylSue (Member # 13077) on :
I am starting plaquenil today. What kind of side effects, if any, should I expect? What has been your experience?
Thanks, CherylSue
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Cheryl Sue,
If you will be on Plaquenil for an extended time you need to get an eye exam that includes a visual fields test. The test is recommended every 6 months while on Plaquenil.
Plaquenil toxicity can reduce your peripheral vision and lead to blindness. But this takes years to happen. If you have the exam every 6 months, you will catch damage before it has any noticable impact on your vision.
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