hydroxy brand change symptoms

[Tinylittlemac]

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question for anyone who can help - when I was first put on hydroxychloroquine last year I was put on Zentiva and then an unnamed American brand, both of which were fine after the initial side effects, and I had no side effects switching between the two.

Recently however, I was told there was a shortage of the drug and I have since been put on a Bristol Laboratories brand that I think is quinoric?

Omg, it is awful. I feel mildly nauseous which is to be expected but I am so sore in my joints and I feel EXHAUSTED. I have a consistent fever too. Has this happened to anyone else? Is it common? I’m a bit confused and quite worried, as I feel I was finally starting to benefit from the drug after 10 months.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Love, Mac x

[KnitSewPurl]

Hi Tinylittlemac,

There has been a most recent chat onthe forum about this

There is quite a huge discussion about it about various brands scroll down and search for Hydroxchoriquine zenvita brand

[dg70]

Quinoric, makes me sick too. You can have zentiva brand only put on your prescription which your gp should do if you react to Bristol labs quinoric. Get your gp to prescribe a few months worth so you dont have the hassle of finding zentiva every month. Chemists are seeming to stock bristol labs more than any other. it may need you to ring round chemists to see who has zentiva or can get it for you. You can always take your presctiption back and try another chemist if they havent got your brand of hydroxychloroquine. See lupus uk for info on getting specific hydroxychloroquine it was updated recently. I am guessing Bristol labs is in most chemists because it makes most of us sick so no one wants it so there's plenty of stock. You don't want to upset your system when it was just being effected for good before the brand swap. Good luck.

[Spotty-ewe]

Bristol brand gives me severe gastric problems for which I was sent for an endoscopy twice with only unexplained gastritis discovered. I suddenly realised what the problem really was - the Quinoric! Like dg70 said you can ask your GP to write ‘Zentiva only’ on your prescription and mine adds ‘other brands cause gastritis’. I wrote a letter to both GP and pharmacist explaining how Bristol affects me and said although it is a cheaper brand it isn’t saving the NHS money when I need endoscopies, Omeprozole and Gaviscon because of the side effects. Both became VERY helpful afterwards. Good luck.

[Partner20]

One main group of side-effects associated with Bristol Quinoric are digestive disorders, including stomach pains and nausea. These are stated to be very common. Unfortunately there are currently supply issues with many medications, including hydroxychloroquine, which have nothing to do with cost or the availability of alternatives. Even when a specific brand is named on the prescription the pharmacy may not be able to source a supply. You can contact the manufacturer for an up-to-date supply statement, and, if supplies are available, check where they can be obtained from. Unfortunately if supplies are currently unavailable, trying another brand is the only alternative, as many are finding they have to do now.

[April2018]

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