Thursday, November 15, 2012

Plaquenil makes me sick let's hope Minocycline is kinder

I just kept getting sicker and feeling more unwell on the Plaquenil. I put up the dose to make sure it was the Plaquenil and sure enough I got even worse. My joint pain was too much for any pain killers and I had just started itching again when I stopped it so hopefully I have averted the rash. I got the burning mouth again which does not look like it is going to go away for a while, have been more constipated and the very first side effect was the reflux and burning gut. I thought I could put up with that by increasing my Losec but it reached a miserable peak when I added Nilstat Oral to treat the mouth and stopped it again 24 hours later when my gut was burning even more even after I had stopped the Plaquenil. Terrible nights propped up in bed on pillows. Nevertheless my joints are now much improved but I don't feel well but it's different unwell now if that makes sense. On the Plaquenil it felt like my ankles were going to crack when I walked. Anyway the flare up was too much for me and I couldn't eat properly. I'll have to forgive myself for being old and too sick for too long to be able to take much of a herx but I don't have anyone to look after me and someone has to do the washing and cook the meals. Me.

 I've been really upset to have to quit on the very first medication prescribed and have worried about what the doctor will say when I go back. I lasted one week and 4 days. However, Mualla McManus (neuropharmacologist) of the Karl McManus Foundation prefers Plaquenil (for cyst busting) to be added 3 months after the Minocycline otherwise you can get very ill she said. She also said Minocycline was more anti-inflammatory. I am starting on the Minocycline today which is a close cousin to the Doxycycline I was complaining about on New Year 2011 however, this time the dose starts off low (half a 50mg tablet every three days for the first week) and I only need to build to tolerance level. Unfortunately Doxy caused constipation last time too. Let's hope the chia seeds, Aloe Vera juice and probiotics I was told to take help. Along with everything else I am trying. I am OK today in that regard.

 As an aside, I tried to get photos of the eclipse of the sun yesterday but it was too bright for the ipad or camera and I did not really have the energy to do much more than go click. The temperature dropped here about 0.3 degrees but we did not get a total eclipse here as you probably know. I remember it going dark and the birds going quiet in Melbourne when I was a child. Or did I dream it?

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