posted
My doctor often prescribes Plaquenil to his patients.. I forget what for.. I want to say it's for either the cyst form of Lyme or a co-infection.. I forget. Anyways, I did some research on it and found out that it is indeed often prescribed in Lyme patients. However I also read that it is an immunosuppressant.
I'm confused - I thought Lyme patients were supposed to RUN from anything immunosuppresant? Can someone explain this
Posts: 34 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Mar 2009
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I wasn't aware it is an immunosurpressant. I am about to purchase some myself. Some LLMDs seem to prescribe it for cysts.
Posts: 410 | From Victoria BC, Canada | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
I thought it's also an anti-inflammatory - Lupus patients are often prescribed this and you run a slight risk of color-blindness (hence my LLMD required I see an opthmamologist when on this for baseline vision testing).
Posts: 11 | From mass | Registered: Dec 2008
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
It has anti-inflammatory properties. Right now doctors are using it as an anti-malarial. This is in light of the blood slides that show organisms attached to the red blood cells.
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Plaquenil is some strange stuff - I think that technically it is an immune modulator, and generally has anti-inflammatory properties. Surprisingly, for a drug that has been in use for so long with so many patients, it still is not clear how it works. It does seems to be quickly and thoroughly absorbed, and it collects in the lysosomes of cells and stays there for months.
As an anti-malarial I think the action is better understood - it collects in the food vacuole of the parasite and disrupts functioning.
Posts: 263 | From Capital Region, NY, USA | Registered: Jun 2008
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kreynolds
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15117
posted
I was taking it after Flagyl as a "cyst buster" but made my vision a lot worse.
So I stopped taking it...
-------------------- Diagnosed CDC + 6/2007
Quest: + IGG Bands 18,23,39,41,58,66 and 93.
Quest: + IGM Bands 23,39
Quest: + Bartonella (B.Henselea & B. Quintana),+ Babesia, and + Mycoplasma and Lyme-Induced Addisons Disease
+ Biofilm blood test 12/2010 Posts: 1185 | From New York | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
I have been taking it 8 months or so. It says on the pamphlet with the meds that "it is not clear how exactly it works"
Comforting eh?
Its used as a cyst buster by my LLMd. He deems is safer and more tolerable than flagyl or tini.
I think he wants to move to Tindimax later when the cyst load has been lowered a bit more. Thats the theory anyway.
-------------------- Pos BB and Bart(Q & H IGG pos) Began treat 1 year after start of illness. Diagnosed Feb 2007. Posts: 648 | From Ireland | Registered: Jan 2007
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pamoisondelune
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11846
posted
I just tested with low IgG and IgM.
I am worried that Plaquenil may have caused that; i took it for 2+ years total off and on. I did read that one of the possible causes of low immunoglobulins is: antirheumatics, of which Plaquenil is one.
Is it permanent or reversible?
Posts: 1226 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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