How long for hydroxychloroquine to take effect??

[Danimgw]

I've been taking hydroxychloroquine for a week and I'm still with joint pain. I have swollen hands and knees and sometimes its painful to walk or grab things.

[jetjetjet]

with me it took a month or more to reach full effect- I take 400 mls a day------jet

[Danimgw]

Thanks. I think I'll ask the doctors to increase dosage as I'm taking 200mg daily.

[jetjetjet]

Is there a diference//

[Danimgw]

I'm taking quironic that is the same composition as plaquenil. I assume there is no difference.

[Hidden]

Quinoric and Plaquenil are just different trade names for the drug hydroxycloroquine and there is no difference between them, it's the same chemical compound.

When all new drugs go on the market in the UK, the main manufacturer has a ten year licence to make as much money as they can from their product in that time. Sanofi Aventis had the licence for hydroxycloroquine and sold it as Plaquenil.

The ten year licence period ended last year which means that the chemical compound can be made by any manufacturer and cheaper. Quinoric is produced by Bristol Labs and is mainly prescribed by NHS GPs because it is cheaper - the private sector still prescribes Plaquenil because they are not bound by the same budget constraints.

It can take up to three months for hydroxychloroquine to kick in but I've personally found it a great help with arthralgia and fatigue

[Danimgw in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Kate for this info and hope you are well.

[Hidden in reply to Danimgw]

Pleasure Dani - and hope all is good with you. I'm now signed off completely from Winchester Stroke Unit which is good

[Kimu in reply to Hidden]

Hi KateH,

I have been very reluctant in the past to start Plaquenil, but my Consultant has persuaded me otherwise, so yesterday I started on Hydroxychloroquine 200mg, I had always understood from posts here and comments elsewhere that Plaquenil was the better one to take, but after talking to my Consultant at length and reading your post I feel quite confident in Hydroxychloroquine as I do with my "new" Consultant.

I do have to take a cocktail of medications as most of us have to, and just feel a bit nervous as to how to space the Omeprazole 40mg, Aspirin etc well away from the Hydroxychloroquine having had problems in the past years, all meds are normally taken after a meal, and only three meals a day makes it a juggle, any hints or tips would be appreciated, Kimu

[Hidden in reply to Kimu]

APSNotFab has kindly pointed to a relevant thread but I notice that you are taking Omeprazole with aspirin. I would just make sure with your GP that it doesn't have any contra-indications with your aspirin as my GP took me off Omeprazole onto Lanzoprazole because it conflicted with clopidogrel. I'm finding the Lanzoprazole is more effective than the Omeprazole too

[ebulfin in reply to Hidden]

It is another case of how we are all so different. Following a major transfusion (5 units) for an unexplained blood loss the Royal United Hospital Oncologist (for some reason I had to have the transfusions in the Chemo ward) changed me from Lanzoprazole to Omeprazole and I have had no further unexplained blood losses.

[GinaD]

Once upon a time my GP started out his career as a biochemist and a drug rep. He later went back to school and became a doctor. He told me that generics are allowed to be a little lax with the margin of error in each pill. i forget the exact numbers, but he explained that while the percent of allowed variation in a name brand might be less then ( again, forgot the exact numbers ) 5%, a generic might have an allowed an expected variation of half agan as much. Therefore, he concluded, in antibiodics these variations even out over time. And, in drugs with a long half life, the variations also even out. But in some drugs with targeted hormonal or systemic effects, such as steroids, this variation can be huge. So, he concluded, generic antibiodics are OK. Everything else? -- ask your doc or pharmacist.

He also said that also the preservatives and stabilizers in name brands were more carefully chosen to decrease chances of approval- rejecting side effects; whereas generic manufacturers are not under as much pressure to synch the active ingredient with the " hangers on."

[Hidden in reply to GinaD]

Very interesting - that would explain why the rich private hospitals can afford to pay that little bit extra, while the rest of us plebs have to make do with the generic versions

I personally did not notice any difference between the two - I was on Plaquenil until the licence ended then swapped to Quinoric with absolutely no side effects at all ... however, others might have different experiences ...

[CanaryDiamond10 in reply to Hidden]

Dear Kate: Thank you for correcting the facts. I am presently on a Plaquenil trial and insisted on name brand explaining that the Professor Himself preferred it over generic and that I had that information on a good source. His own Foundation representatives. So my doctor wrote me the prescription for name brand. Since this is a "trial" I don't want to switch midstream and I am only about 2 months into this 6 month trial. At this point, I do not feel any difference except my fingernails, hair and general body are very, very dry. I am losing much more hair than before, fatigue remains the same or worse. Something "unknown" is happening to my left eye impairing vision. It takes a lot more self control to harness my temper and patience. I don't know if a medication can even affect mood.

It could be we have had very changeable weather lately. Chicago doesn't usually see mid 90's. Perhaps a few record days in the low 90's but coupled with humidity this particular summer of mid-90's has made my all my other diagnoses act up.

This experience has certainly reminded me that "not everything you read on the internet is true". A lesson I did learn a long time ago and clearly should have applied to my trial.

Thanks again for the correction and the reminder. If it does have any affect it is nice to know generic is the same recipe and perhaps I can cut costs after this trial.

Warm wishes,

CanaryDiamond10

[Hidden in reply to CanaryDiamond10]

Yes, I think you're wise not to switch when you are in the middle of a trial. I have seen posts on this forum where people genuinely feel that Quinoric is not as good as Plaquenil, and GinaD makes some very interesting points learnt from her GP so there might be a very slight variation which could affect a few people - difficult to say really.

Hydroxycloroquine does make everything rather dry and my hair is certainly not what it used to be, but not falling out in clumps, more like a continually shedding! You must be careful with your eyes when taking it as it can cause macular degeneration. I tend to go to the opticians once a year and insist on the dilated pupils so they can have a really good look for MD and clots etc.

Ugh - 90 plus degrees sounds horrendous. We've actually had a summer this year and my broom cupboard (AKA office) has reached over 95 which was unbearable on a couple of days. I'm not surprised you're not feeling well

I hope the trial does make a difference for you and, from my experience, Quinoric was just as good as Plaquenil.

[Danimgw in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for this, so hopefully the Quironic is ok. Today I feel really bad swollen arms and knees. Waiting for the medicine to kick in.

[ebulfin]

Hi, I am just going through some older posts and noticed this one. I was put on Plaquenil by a specialist at St. Thomas' at 200mg per day and taken off again five weeks later as there had been no change. I transferred my care to RNHRD in Bath and the registrar there told me 5 weeks was not really a long enough test. He put me on 200mg twice a day and after eight weeks I had lowered swelling in my joints, considerably less chronic fatigue and I have remained on this dose for the last 10 years. There have been no side effects and although some of the swelling is coming back it is still a long way from the pain and swelling of my pre-plaquenil days. As for Quironic, I get these sometimes when my chemist changes suppliers to save costs and as long as you are not allergic to the ink in the printing on the capsule (it can give some people a headache) it is just the same in effectiveness.

I have heard of people who needed 200 mg twice a day for 12 to 15 weeks before they noticed any changes, so I hope you get as much relief as I did (or even more).

[ebulfin]

I just remembered why I have not posted for a long time. My brain function has become quite addled, and here is proof of how it can effect answers to questions. I was writing about Hydroxychloroquine and mentioned printing on capsules, which is on my Tramadol tablets and not Plaquenil or Quironic. Sorry about that.