Another is hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil). It can sometimes cause people to get jumpy, nervous and twitchy. Sleep fragmentation — not getting good quality sleep — occurs in more than half of patients with RA that Suneel Valla, MD, treats.
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.
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.
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.
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.
hydroxychloroquine food
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Symptoms of heart-related problems Plaquenil may cause include: fatigue (low energy) irregular or fast heartbeat.
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.
Hydroxychloroquine oral tablet doesn't cause drowsiness, but it can cause other side effects.
Administration of chloroquine (20 mg/kg s.c.) for 21 days significantly increased pentobarbitone sleeping time by 16--105% within that period.
There were no reports of pale stools before medication, but 12% reported the occurrence of this symptom after treatment started. Other symptoms such as blurred vision (54%), pruritus (22%), paresthesia (6%), insomnia (46%), and “stings” into the skin (22%) were reported after chloroquine was taken.
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.
The study concludes that hydroxychloroquine therapy is safe for long-term use at doses <5 mg/kg/day. Learn about how lupus affects the eyes and hydroxychloroquine.
Stopping Plaquenil
Plaquenil stays in the body for around three months and it may take a while for side effects to go away. There is no official data regarding hydroxychloroquine or Plaquenil withdrawal symptoms. But some studies have shown that people may have disease flare-ups after stopping treatment.
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.
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.
No interactions were found between hydroxychloroquine and Vitamins.
This medication may irritate the stomach, and should be taken with food. It is best to avoid coffee, spicy food or alcohol.
It is best not to take hydroxychloroquine and magnesium carbonate at the same time. Products that contain magnesium, aluminum, or calcium such as antacids and some other gastrointestinal medications may interfere with the absorption of hydroxychloroquine and reduce its effectiveness.