Hydroxychloroquine is a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). 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.
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.
Over the long term hydroxychloroquine can reduce pain, swelling and joint stiffness. If you have lupus, it may also improve the rash. It may be as long as 12 weeks before you notice the benefits. Hydroxychloroquine is often taken in combination with other drugs such as methotrexate.
HCQ comes in 200 mg tablets. 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.
Conclusion: HCQ may exert simultaneous anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects in patients with HIV infection and inflammatory arthritis. If larger studies confirm this observation, it may be the drug of choice in this population of patients.
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.
This medicine may cause muscle and nerve problems. Check with your doctor right away if you have muscle weakness, pain, or tenderness while using this medicine. Hydroxychloroquine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors.
Hydroxychloroquine acts by suppressing Toll-like receptors to trigger important immunomodulatory effects. Hydroxychloroquine is a well-established and effective therapy for systemic and cutaneous lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
How long you take hydroxychloroquine for depends on why you're taking it. For some conditions, if hydroxychloroquine works for you then you may need to take it for several years, or even for the rest of your life, to control your symptoms.
In 1956, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved HCQ for symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, particularly skin inflammation, hair loss, mouth sores, fatigue, and joint pain.
Its main side effects are gastrointestinal upset (vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps), skin rash, headache, dizziness, and ocular toxicity. However, serious side effects including arrhythmia, bronchospasm, angioedema, and seizures can rarely occur.
No interactions were found between hydroxychloroquine and Vitamins.
Hydroxychloroquine oral tablet doesn't cause drowsiness, but it can cause other side effects.
No clinical trial has reported that Hydroxychloroquine can make you gain weight. However, bloating or weight gain can be experienced by some people because of water or fluid retention in the body. You should inform your physician if you experience severe or unusual weight change.
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.
Is weight gain a side effect of Plaquenil? No, weight gain hasn't been reported as a side effect of Plaquenil. But weight loss has been reported as a side effect. Two conditions Plaquenil is prescribed to treat, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus, can cause symptoms that contribute to weight gain.
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.
Hydroxychloroquine may potentially result in adverse effects on the central nervous system, mainly irritability, nervousness, emotional changes, nightmares, and even true psychoses [3, 4].
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.
Methotrexate is a common treatment for some types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis, but it can have many side effects. Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) is an effective medication for autoimmune conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus) and certain types of malaria.
For some people, Plaquenil may cause weight loss. This is because the drug can decrease your appetite, which may lead to the weight loss. But it's not known how many people have had weight loss while taking Plaquenil. Weight gain, on the other hand, isn't a known side effect of Plaquenil.
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.
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.
Plaquenil may also cause liver problems, such as liver failure. So drinking alcohol with Plaquenil could increase your risk of liver problems.
This light sensitivity can cause inflammation, squinting, burning, excessive eye watering and can make going outside — even for a few moments or while it's overcast — difficult and painful. Hydroxychloroquine, for example, is one medication that can cause significant sun sensitivity in the eyes.