Retinal holes !!

[Samaka]

Retinal tears (holes ) bilaterally could be due to :

Hydroxychloroquine, dehydration or malnutrition ?

[Beverly]

Hydroxychloroquine ( Plaquenil) may cause Retinal toxicity, with the dry eyes, have you been having your eyes tested regularly? Because it can lead to the complete destruction of the macula.

[Samaka in reply to Beverly]

yeah i have dry eyes and talking plaquenil (since 2 years only ) , i'' doing regular check ups on eyes every 6 monthes but suddenly discovered bilateral retinal tears , and i don't know is it from plaquenil ? steroids ? dehydration and malnutrition?

[Hidden in reply to Samaka]

Has your optician or doctor not advised you to stop taking Plaquenil because of this yet? Have you stopped anyway? As far as I'm aware Sjögren's doesn't usually cause this kind of retinal damage.

When I took Plaquenil my optician told me that the eye damage it causes is very specific and easy to identify and requires a person to stop taking it immediately.

[Samaka in reply to Hidden]

he told u what kind of harm plaquenil causes in eyes ?

and is it reversible damage once we stop it or the damage will be permanent?

[Hidden in reply to Samaka]

If it's not too late then the damage is reversible but you have to stop it straight away - that's all I was told. I can't believe they didn't tell you this though? My optician was just a high street one (in Scotland so NHS) but he was good. I'm an artist so I used to see him a lot while on Plaquenil and he didn't mind at all. I had to stop taking it for other reasons but he said it would show up to an optician very clearly.

[Samaka in reply to Hidden]

yeah the issue is that the incidence of retinal tear is extrelemely rare , what the opthalmologists are used to see is something called macular degeneration.

ehealthme.com/ds/plaquenil/...

that's why we are so confused could it the rare SE of plaquenil or another cause like dehydration,or malnutrition 🤔🤔

and u know a decision of stopping plaquenil without alternative is not that easy !

When u stopped it , the dr gave u alternative ?,