Autoimmune Diseases :: Prednisone And Hydroxychloroquine 200 Mg?
Apr 19, 2015
What can I do while I wait to see what medication is going to help me. Predisone and hydroxychloroquine 200 mg
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Apr 19, 2015
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Do Parasites Cause Autoimmune Diseases?
I have recently completed 2 stool sample tests that have rendered the same outcome, positive for parasitic organisms but unable to identify. Now I have to complete the exam a third time. I have still not received any treatment and have experienced some serious health problems over the past few years, including an idiopathic cardiomyopathy a little over 2 years ago. Two years before this I was hospitalized for a serious virus that could not be identified. This involved a very high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and the start of kidney failure, however I went to the emergency room at the right time. One month later, I had mono, then 4 months later, had a palsy in my left foot, then less than one year after, started experiencing chest pain, serious headaches, and extreme fatigue. The emergency room kept sending me home telling me it was a virus. Finally several months had passed after numerous visits to this ER, I went to a different hospital where they found a cardiomyopathy. My ejection fraction was 35%. I am only 37! Just after this, I noticed one day that I had experienced severe itching in the rectal area with several days of white discharge that had an odor of infection. I waited for a couple of months to see if things would get better, and they didn't, so I went to the ER. I told the doctor about the cardiomyopathy and previous mysterious illnesses, he completed a brief rectal exam, and said it was probably internal hemorrhoids. I asked if a parasitic infection was possible, and he said it was very unlikely because I hadn't been out of the country in several years. So he never tested my stool. Two years have passed, and I have had the same/similar problems since, and have reported this to the doctors over and over. For the past year and a half, I have developed new symptoms. Extreme fatigue, weakness, joint aches, headaches, constipation and diarrhea, greasy, yellowish stools, sweat that smells like ammonia, skin peeling out of my mouth, gas, burping, bad breath, weight loss and loss of appetite. In addition, I have mysterious skin rashes with hives on a daily basis, and started taking pictures of them to document this. In December of 2012, I tested positive for lupus with a positive ANA, and my doctor ordered the test because my eosinophil percentage had consistently been flagged on my blood reports as high. I still was not getting any answers, so I switched all of my doctors and have been going to the city. This is a world renowned hospital. Upon meeting my new doctors, they ordered a repeat of blood tests. This time the lupus was negative. The doctors quickly dismissed the lupus results prior, and said that sometimes people just test false positive, with no further explanation. Back in April of this year, my doctor informed me that my vitamin d level was very low, 12, should be between 30-40 he said, so I have been taking prescription vitamin d. I met with an infectious disease specialist a month ago, and she said she didn't think that I had parasites, but she would test because of my eosinophils. Bingo, I do have them, and now the doctors are trying to say they are parasitic but may not be causing my symptoms. For several months I have noticed that there is strange looking debris after blowing my nose into a tissue. Last night, I am about 99% certain that it was a small worm, certainly looked like one, and I was a teacher, so I am fairly well educated. I saved it in the tissue and put it in a ziplock bag. I don't know whether to call my doctor or not on Monday morning, as I don't trust him, and think he will once again be dismissive. I already went through the HIV phase with him, and told him I didn't have it, as I've only had 4 partners my entire life, have never had unprotected sex, I don't rim, and had an HIV test. I haven't been sexually active in about three years, so I knew I couldn't have it. I retested a couple of months ago to satisfy him, and it was negative once again. I have asked him if any of my past symptoms are connected, and he didn't think so. I disagree. The only diagnosis I have is another one of idiopathic nature, urticaria, (spelling) and says my blood work is fine, which it isn't, because my vitamin d was very low, and my eosinophils are still high. Any advice on what I should do? Prior to all of this stuff over the past 5 years, I was very rarely I'll. now I can no longer do many of the things that I used to, as I don't feel well enough, and I would really like to get some normalcy back in my life. Is there a doctor who can answer this without telling me that I am imagining things? The test results obviously indicate that I am not.
View 52 RepliesCause Of Autoimmune Diseases? Non-functional Immune System
What causes Immune systems to become useless and non functional ? Is it drugs too many, to strong ,killing off what is good stuff in our blood, ?
taking yet more drugs to compensate for blood disorders,to give the system chance to revive to fight back, but seemingly never does.
What happens when the immune system can't take any more drugs,
does it shut down totally, and then what?
Possible To Contract Diseases From Smoking After Someone?
Is it possible to contract diseases, other than cold and flu viruses, from smoking after someone? I recently hung out with a friend who has a slightly questionable lifestyle, and now my boyfriend is freaked out and wont see me till I get tested, and i want to be sure its actually possible before I spend the money for the test.
View 1 RepliesInfectious Diseases :: Is Sepsis Contagious?
Hi I just had a friend pass away from what they believe was Sepsis. But they aren't sure just yet. His organs and fluids came back great. There doing blood tests and we won't know exactly what it was until mid March. I was just wondering if his family and friends should be concerned about getting it?
View 1 RepliesInfectious Diseases :: Flu Symptoms After A Cat Bite
So last friday night, my cat bit me on my lower leg. I washed it coz my mom got mad at me with water and soap. Yesterday I feel fatigued (probably due to my brother's birthday and I cooked half the day ugh) and just this morning when I woke up my throat feels itchy and I have had chills. I don't have fever but feels like about to have a flu. I had myself vaccinated after waking up but still feels chilly. Is it rabies? My cat looks well anyway so I don't think she has rabies but I want to be sure. Everyone in my family has had flu last week so I'm not really sure.
View 1 RepliesLyme Disease :: Doxycycline And Hydroxychloroquine Together
I just picked up my first Lyme prescription and was surprised to see two antibiotics, Doxycycline & Hydroxychloroquine. I'm not sure if I am supposed to take this together or the doxy first and THEN the hydroxy when I finish that.
Obviously, I can wait until the morn and call my doc, but I'd love to get started tonight. Anyone know if these are usually prescribed together for Lyme?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica And GCA :: Hydroxychloroquine - Experiences Anyone?
Doe anyone know anything about this med or have taken it?? Have gone from 15 mgs of pred to 10 to 7.5 mgs since December when I was diagnosed with pmr. 7.5 was not cutting it and dropped it back to 10mgs and also started me on hydroxychloroquine. The hope is to get off of the pred all together. I'm taking both meds for now until my next appt. in July. Has anyone had experience on this med?
View 21 RepliesArthritis :: Ringing In The Ears With Hydroxychloroquine
I was diagnosed with OA in my lumbar & cervical spine 10+ years ago although it has not caused me any severe problems. I am now in a new state & under the care of a new rheumatologist. She has diagnosed me with Sjogren's & also "probable lupus" (I have many of the symptoms but nothing has shown up in blood tests as of yet.)
Over the past few months my knuckles have gotten bigger so that I cannot put on rings or remove my wedding band. My fingers also swell, & there are some nodules on the knuckles of 2 fingers up near the fingernails. My rheumatologist told me I now have RA.
I have been taking prednisone bursts every now & then to help with my problems. I have also taken it for several weeks at a time, either 10 mg/day or 5 mg/day. Most recently I had been taking 5 mg/day but it was not helping me. I asked at my last appointment about bumping it up to 10 mg/day again, but she is not wanting to do that. I don't know if its just this state I'm living in or what, but every medical professional I see tells me that taking prednisone long term is not good ... yet I know of people elsewhere who have been taking it for many years.
Three weeks ago my rheumatologist asked me to try hydroxychloroquine while I tapered off the prednisone. Not long after I started taking this medication, I noticed I was having ringing in my ears. I really didn't pay much attention to it ... figured it was just some fluke thing. I never had ringing in my ears prior to starting the hydroxychloroquine. As time went on the ringing got worse. I checked the side effect sheet that came with the medication & ringing in the ears was listed as an "unlikely but serious side effect" & it was noted that if this occurred I should "notify my doctor immediately."
I called my dermatologist's office & unfortunately her nurse took the call. This nurse seems to feel that she is a doctor. She has given me incorrect instructions in the past regarding medication. When I told her what was happening, she told me to stop taking the hydroxychloroquine for one week, then to start taking it again ... "just to see that there's nothing else that could be causing the ringing."
If the ringing hadn't been happening prior to me taking the medication, & it stopped immediately after I stopped taking it, then why do I need to start taking the medication again? Again, this ringing is described as an "unlikely but serious side effect." I am concerned that starting to take it again may result in irreparable harm to my hearing.
Am I just being silly/overcautious? Has anyone had this experience or a similar one?
Infectious Diseases :: Tick Borne Encephalitis
I got back from a 2 month trip across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa about 6 weeks ago. A few days after I got home I felt quite unwell, fever, headache etc and I was concerned I may have contracted malaria as I wasn't brilliant at remembering to take my pills. So I got referred to infectious disease department who tested me for lots of travel related illnesses. I was negative for malaria but came back positive for tick borne encephalitis and also Rickettsia (related to African tick fever) I think.
I am actually feeling fine now but they called me in for the results ... I'm just a little confused as from what I've seen on travel health websites is that you can't get tick borne encephalitis in africa! I didn't know this at the time so I didn't say anything to the doctor. You get it in Asia and Europe..I did go to Asia about a year and a half ago but would it be possible for this to still show up in my blood?
I'm just a bit worried as I know this disease can be potentially deadly or cause lasting neurological problems and there's no treatment. I'd feel a bit better knowing I definitely caught it from the earlier trip to Asia as then I know it would have made me much sicker by now if it was going to.
Thyroidectomy Due To Graves Diseases - Edema Of Both Eyelids
total thyroidectomy 2 months ago due to Graves disease, 3x since, I have experienced, edema of both eyelids, itching and redness, I am on Synthroid 0.1mg po/daily. The symptoms dissipate after about 2 days.Anyone post Thyroid removal ever have this happen?
View 2 RepliesPsoriasis :: Hydroxychloroquine - Cheeks Looked Red And Swollen
I was prescribed the above about two months ago. About two weeks after starting it my cheeks looked red and swollen and I had an itchy rash under my chin. Stopped taking it and it all cleared up in the following two weeks.
the Rheumy nurse has told me to try it again to make sure it was the cause. Thing is, I've had Sjogrens for about 20 years with the usual dryness, but I cope with eye drops and vaginal lubrication and HRT cream. Apart from the odd tummy troubles, I'm thankfully not in pain and lead a pretty normal life.
i'm not at all sure if taking hydroxychloroquine is worth it for me, as I dread it damaging my eyesight. My Specialist seems to think it may help with my poor sense of taste and smell, which would be great as it's depressing.
Rheumatoid Arthritis :: Low Neutrophil Count Hydroxychloroquine
I am 71 and have had Rheumatoid since 1988. Had various treatments over the years. I have been on hydroxychloroquine for about 8 years. One tablet a day up until just over a year ago when it flared up and I have been on two since then. Recent blood tests showed my neutrophil levels were just under half of normal. At my check up specialist reduce the dose back to one and asked for another blood test. This one was down to 15% of normal.
Has anyone else had this problem. It is pretty scary and I am under instruction about seeking urgent help in case of infection.
Side Effects Of Using Hydroxychloroquine And Smoking Weed
because i stop taking my meds for about a day or so before i smoke weed which isn't often but that most likely isn't very good for me either.
View 1 RepliesFibromyalgia And Painful Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Diseases
I have been dealing with undifferentiated connective tissue diseases for a few years. I am now being treated for Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
These are very painful at times.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases :: Oral Sex - Receiving End - Chances Of STD
I had oral sex(Receiving partner-male) last week with unknown partner.I don't even cum into her mouth.Oral sex lasted only for a minute (I can say). Do I have any chances of getting STD or HIV/HPV ?? Do I have to take any medical tests ?? Please advice as I feel guilty and feeling disturbed.
View 1 RepliesSexually Transmitted Diseases :: Red Bumps On Penis Shaft
i've recently noticed this few bumps on the shaft of my penis and i became really afraid of what it might be. i'm only sexually active with my girlfriend for the past 1 year and this few bumps has been here since a week ago. there's a little itch but nothing serious overall. no pain or whatsoever.
View 8 RepliesSexually Transmitted Diseases :: Red Bumps On Shaft Of Penis
I woke up this morning and I took a shower, while I was in the shower I noticed Red bumps on my shaft of my penis but the thing is they don't itch or hurt, The day before they were kind of white but now their red, there's none on my head or around it, But I'm concerned because it happened last month but no burns when peeing or itchiness and nothing hurt.
I honestly haven't had sex in 2/3 months, and before that since last September of 2013. I used a condom. But she gave me oral without a condom....
Rheumatoid Arthritis :: Hydroxychloroquine - Abdominal Side Effects
how are you finding it? I am a little concerned about some of the possible side effects, in particular the one with abdominal problems and having to take antacids, as I take lansoprazole twice a day.
View 19 RepliesSjogren's Syndrome :: Hydroxychloroquine - Painful Muscles Of Legs
I have been on 400mg of Plaquenil for 7 months now, but for the last 2 months I have been experiencing muscle problems in my legs, it is so painful that I am yelling out with pain. I stopped taking the Plaquenil and the muscle problems stopped. My GP (American Dr) advised that the Plaquenil was the cause of my pain, although my GP (English) advised that he did not think it was the medication. I am now confused because once I stopped the medication my pain went away? I am now waiting to see my RA but have been waiting for 2 months now, and been on no medication since. Now my bloods are really high again and all my pains and symptoms are back. As anyone else had the same issue with this medication?
View 9 RepliesSjogren's Syndrome :: Hydroxychloroquine - Trouble Reading Documents
I have recently been diagnosed with Sjogren's, although I believe I have had it for years. The RA has prescribed me 400 mg of Hydroxychloroquine but after a month of taking the medication I noticed that I was having trouble reading documents. Can anyone confirm if this side effect will settle down, or will it only get worse? I am also having a lot of pain in my Chest, Back, Shoulders and neck.
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