posted
So I started Plaquenil about three weeks ago, prescribed to me to use as an anti-inflammatory.
Since being on it, my intestines are acting out of control. I've always had GI issues related to Lyme, however, I had them under control until starting this medication. Side effect perhaps?
Also, my breathing seems labored, I have a hard time taking a deep breath, and at times, I feel like I can't breathe, like I have to think about it.
I had these symptoms in the past, on and off, but the breathing symptoms haven't been this severe since May or June. I'm scared to death. I really felt like I couldn't breathe today, like I might just fall right on the floor and die.
I've had other symptoms too, like my brain feeling like it's burning, quivering lips, and some mild leg numbness. I haven't had these symptoms since before I started treatment almost a year ago.
What is going on?
Posts: 81 | From Central PA | Registered: Mar 2007
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ArtistDi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 2297
posted
Plaquenil does have certain side effects, and the gut issues can be caused by the drugs. The shortness of breath can also be a side effect, or it could be that it is hitting Babesia. I would confer with your doctor.
PlaquenilSide Effects & Drug Interactionsfont sizeAAASIDE EFFECTS MALARIA Following the administration in doses adequate for the treatment of an acute malarial attack, mild and transient headache, dizziness, and gastrointestinal complaints (diarrhea, anorexia, nausea, abdominal cramps and, on rare occasions, vomiting) may occur. Cardiomyopathy has been rarely reported with high daily dosages of hydroxychloroquine.
LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS Not all of the following reactions have been observed with every 4-aminoquinoline compound during long-term therapy, but they have been reported with one or more and should be borne in mind when drugs of this class are administered. Adverse effects with different compounds vary in type and frequency.
Neuromuscular Reactions: Skeletal muscle palsies or skeletal muscle myopathy or neuromyopathy leading to progressive weakness and atrophy of proximal muscle groups which may be associated with mild sensory changes, depression of tendon reflexes and abnormal nerve conduction.
Ocular Reactions: A. Ciliary body: Disturbance of accommodation with symptoms of blurred vision. This reaction is dose-related and reversible with cessation of therapy.
B. Cornea: Transient edema, punctate to lineal opacities, decreased corneal sensitivity. The corneal changes, with or without accompanying symptoms (blurred vision, halos around lights, photophobia), are fairly common, but reversible. Corneal deposits may appear as early as three weeks following initiation of therapy.
The incidence of corneal changes and visual side effects appears to be considerably lower with hydroxychloroquine than with chloroquine.
C. Retina: Macula: Edema, atrophy, abnormal pigmentation (mild pigment stippling to a ``bull's-eye'' appearance), loss of foveal reflex, increased macular recovery time following exposure to a bright light (photo-stress test), elevated retinal threshold to red light in macular, paramacular, and peripheral retinal areas.
Other fundus changes include optic disc pallor and atrophy, attenuation of retinal arterioles, fine granular pigmentary disturbances in the peripheral retina and prominent choroidal patterns in advanced stage.
D. Visual field defects: Pericentral or paracentral scotoma, central scotoma with decreased visual acuity, rarely field constriction, abnormal color vision.
The most common visual symptoms attributed to the retinopathy are: reading and seeing difficulties (words, letters, or parts of objects missing), photophobia, blurred distance vision, missing or blacked out areas in the central or peripheral visual field, light flashes and streaks.
Retinopathy appears to be dose related and has occurred within several months (rarely) to several years of daily therapy; a small number of cases have been reported several years after antimalarial drug therapy was discontinued. It has not been noted during prolonged use of weekly doses of the 4-aminoquinoline compounds for suppression of malaria.
Patients with retinal changes may have visual symptoms or may be asymptomatic (with or without visual field changes). Rarely scotomatous vision or field defects may occur without obvious retinal change.
Retinopathy may progress even after the drug is discontinued. In a number of patients, early retinopathy (macular pigmentation sometimes with central field defects) diminished or regressed completely after therapy was discontinued. Paracentral scotoma to red targets (sometimes called ``premaculopathy'') is indicative of early retinal dysfunction which is usually reversible with cessation of therapy.
A small number of cases of retinal changes have been reported as occurring in patients who received only hydroxychloroquine. These usually consisted of alteration in retinal pigmentation which was detected on periodic ophthalmologic examination; visual field defects were also present in some instances. A case of delayed retinopathy has been reported with loss of vision starting one year after administration of hydroxychloroquine had been discontinued.
Dermatologic Reactions: Bleaching of hair, alopecia, pruritus, skin and mucosal pigmentation, photosentivity, and skin eruptions (urticarial, morbilliform, lichenoid, maculopapular, purpuric, erythema annulare centrifugum, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, and exfoliative dermatitis).
Hematologic Reactions: Various blood dyscrasias such as aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia (hemolysis in individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency).
Gastrointestinal Reactions: Anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Isolated cases of abnormal liver function and fulminant hepatic failure.
Allergic reactions: Urticaria, angioedema and bronchospasm have been reported.
Miscellaneous Reactions: Weight loss, lassitude, exacerbation or precipitation
Posts: 1567 | From Hatfield, MA, USA | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I started Plaquenil two weeks ago and had none of the associated stomach issues (I've been using acidophilus and fish oil, which helps a little bit).
However, recently I developed some gum bleeding which is probably the Plaq. I'll probably have to switch this med out for something else.
The possible eye effects--though rare--had me edgy from the get-go anyway.
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 36 | From Connecticut | Registered: Oct 2007
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Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Yes, this sounds familiar. If your experience is like mine, this will clear up in a couple of weeks and you will be breathing better than ever.
I had the exact same problem with breathing after starting plaquenil, on the same timeframe that you mention, about 3 weeks in.
However, it stopped after about the first 4-7 weeks on plaquenil, and now my breathing is much better (improved from before).
For me, I think it might be hitting babesia. I had the exact same phenomenon with breathing difficulty about 3 weeks after starting malarone -- and then it cleared up after about 6 weeks, and then too, my breathing was better than it has been in years.
I am not sure if I cured my babesia with 5 months and a few days on malarone. This repetition of my experience with respiratory distress and then clearer breathing, on an almost identical timeframe with plaquenil and malarone, makes me think that it is possible that it is a babesia thing.
Please let us know, if you can hang in there! Perhaps it is a lyme thing, not babesia. I was given plaquenil as a cyst-buster. I managed to get by the bad respiratory times on both malarone and plaquenil with an emergency albuterol inhaler, and the respiratory distress did ease up markedly after a couple of bad weeks.
However, I have not had any gut issues from plaquenil. Could increasing your probiotics possibly help?
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I'm definitely going to increase the probiotics. Just over the last two days, I've seemed to get worse.
Not only with gut issues, but I have a raging headache, the kind I haven't had in almost a year.
I'm going crazy. I'm hoping this means something is happening, like hitting Babs maybe.
Posts: 81 | From Central PA | Registered: Mar 2007
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
Anything that impacts breathing can be an allergic reaction. Have you spoken to your doctor or a pharmacist?
The eye effects take years. (Just an FYI)
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Yes, I should have added -- be careful about the breathing problems. If you feel you cannot breath and you cannot get relief from an inhaler, consider calling your doctor and going to an emergency room! Make sure it is not an allergic reaction.
If I did not have my albuterol inhaler, I might have ended up in an ER a couple of times during the initial plaquenil and malarone herxes (I believe they were herxes). But my inhaler, menthol cough drops, and herbal breathe easy teas were enough to get me through difficult respiratory times, and then after a couple of weeks my breathing was better than before the herxes.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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CherylSue
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13077
posted
Any other reactions on plaquenil?
Posts: 1954 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
My understanding is that Plaquenil also has cyst busting qualities, so you may be herxing from that as well.
Posts: 975 | From California | Registered: Apr 2007
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