Plaquenil cold turkey – side effects?

[Pauyen]

Its ok to just stop Plaquenil… right? No adverse reactions? Besides “normal” symptoms (swelling, pain and stiffness 😀 )

Currently on 400mg daily and want to stop to ensure I can get a disability pension (really hate to say it). Been out of work for alittle over a year and finances arent great, thinking I need alittle bit more help in that area. Which the pension would provide.

Plaquenil has definitely helped to hold the symptoms to a certain point (but am still no where close to employable) and when I miss days I certainly feel a lot worse for it. Just thinking when I go off it, I will feel worse, but it would guarantee alittle bit more money… thoughts?

…I read somewhere that Plaquenil isnt as effective after taking a break from it…

Just started AP and recently made diet changes which have helped.

[Parisa]

How will stopping Plaquenil help you get your disability pension? Do you want your symptoms to come back so that you then qualify? You might be playing a little with fire and end up with a pension and out of control symptoms.

[gordbentley]

with the condition your in already by the sounds of it I wouldnt mess with it. why dont you just kinda fake it? the damage wouldnt be worth the cash. personally all I take is minocycline but if I was in your shoes I wouldnt stop if it provided a certain level of releif. and yes plaquenil does lose its affectiveness if you stop taking it. my moms cousin took it for years as it gave him the ability to walk and when he went on humira he stopped taking it. then 4 yrs later humira stopped working and he tried the plaquenil again and it did absolutely nothing and he went immediatley onto enbrel. he hit remission 2 years later and stopped taking enbrel. hes now in a long term remission 6 years i think?

[maz.aust]

I don’t see why you need to stop the plaq either & I am in Oz & do understand the criteria for getting a disability pension ,,
you need your doctor/specialist to tell Centrelink that you have an ongoing medical condition named blah which means you have blah disability & MOST IMPORTANT that it will for whatever reason last more than 3 yrs !! You fill out one form, your doctor fills out another form & submits it independently to Centrelink – their medical team reviews the data & then makes a decision. It has nothing to do with how sick you actually are at the present time .. it has everything to do with how long you can expect to have the illness/disease/disability !! If it is something that will get better for instance within 2 yrs you won’t get a pension, if it is an illness that will last your lifetime you will .. it just depends on your own doctor’s report to Centrelink as to how they handle it.

Dec07: Diagnosed PRA, (CTD; Fibromyalgia; suspected Lyme):
Mar08: Diet to heal gut/bolster immune system (no gluten, dairy, sulphites or sugar)

Jan 2018: ABX Mon/Wed/Fri (started AP 2008)
1/2 x 150mg Roxithromycin(Biasig), 1/2 x 150mg Clarithromycin (Klacid),
1/2 x Fungillin, 1 x 250mg Cephalexin (Keflex)

All off days Probiotics

[Pauyen]

Parisa – Thats basically the gist of it, get worse, get on pension.

gordbentley – Yeah, it is a rather nutty idea Ive been having for a few days. Thought that was the case with Plaquenil.

maz.aust – Sounds about right, thing is, mainstream docs consider this lifelong and consider its only (far more likely) going to get worse and worse, so I dont think that will necessarily be a problem.

I dont really know (probably is a stupid idea), just frustrating at times with the wife working hard, while my wheels have fallen off and for all intentional purposes…am “useless”.

[maz.aust]

Useless for now — wait til you feel a whole heap better !!!

If you are ok for now, let the abx start working and give it time.

Cheers,
Maz

Dec07: Diagnosed PRA, (CTD; Fibromyalgia; suspected Lyme):
Mar08: Diet to heal gut/bolster immune system (no gluten, dairy, sulphites or sugar)

Jan 2018: ABX Mon/Wed/Fri (started AP 2008)
1/2 x 150mg Roxithromycin(Biasig), 1/2 x 150mg Clarithromycin (Klacid),
1/2 x Fungillin, 1 x 250mg Cephalexin (Keflex)

All off days Probiotics

[Randy]

Pauyen,

One day about a year ago, after finding out that I had been approved for Social Security Disability Insurance, my oldest brother enthusiastically exclaimed, “You are set for life!” I immediately told him that I would happily give away all the disability payments I have received for normal good health. I think he got the point.

Your perspective to worsen your health to collect disability insurance is tantamount to wanting to die so your family can collect life insurance. You need to change your perspective.

We all have some or significant health challenges that we are trying to defeat or that we are making the most of. With the right positive attitude we all have a fighting chance.

Randy

Diffuse SD since Apr '07
AP since Feb '08
100mg Mino twice daily
Stopped Clindamycin IVs Aug 2019
"No one should profit over someone else's illness"

[Pauyen]

@maz.aust wrote:

Useless for now — wait til you feel a whole heap better !!!

If you are ok for now, let the abx start working and give it time.

Cheers,
Maz

Yeah Im ok for now, just like abit more money 😀

@Randy wrote:

Pauyen,

One day about a year ago, after finding out that I had been approved for Social Security Disability Insurance, my oldest brother enthusiastically exclaimed, “You are set for life!” I immediately told him that I would happily give away all the disability payments I have received for normal good health. I think he got the point.

Your perspective to worsen your health to collect disability insurance is tantamount to wanting to die so your family can collect life insurance. You need to change your perspective.

We all have some or significant health challenges that we are trying to defeat or that we are making the most of. With the right positive attitude we all have a fighting chance.

Randy

Thanks Randy, though pension here is far from set for life, its just alittle more income. Its just been moments of frustration that these thoughts have come to mind.

Ok, should just stay focused on getting better and try to not focus on money issues too much, thanks again.

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