hi casey
i can so understand you anxiety about taking drugs (or any drugs) like i ve said before that im not on any drugs at all due to my poor stomach im off this afternoon to have a abdomen scan to make sure everything is ok.

Im back to my rhumy on the 28th april and will asked him if i need to be on any drugs or can i tick on by without and see how it developes,i know we are all individual and have to go by our own docs decision but i hate taking them too.after my appointment ill let you know what he said.

just be careful cause lupus can change and sometimes sadly we need the drugs to control it weather we like it or not.

im sorry to hear you are depressed it can be like that sometimes and you have a young baby to look after so your hormones are proberly all over the place i do hope you have someone very understanding to talk to,i know that can really help.

i constanly wear my lupus wrist band everywhere i go now and that helps people remember when they see me, its also helps friends and family to ask questions which in turn helps them understand.
keep me posted
love debs xx

i

Hey debs

Hope your apt this afternoon goes well and all is clear, but I also hope they can give you some answers. I get tummy trouble when I eat certain foods sometimes. I have to limit bread, potatoes, pasta and milk.

I'll keep up with all the tests and blood work to keep monitoring myself but I just think I can help myself with other things before I get to the point of drugs.

Funnily enough I'm having a lupie day, joint pain and very dizzy n faint. But not giving into to it as my daughter wants to do a little light shopping for a tee shirt for her cousins birthday party.

I've been feeling much happier having the kids home for Easter and Lea was off for 6 days over the Thursday to Tuesday. Hoping I can keep smiling come Monday when they go back to school.

Take care today sweetie and lets know how you get on xx

Casey x x

All I can say is that Quinoric nearly killed me - a reaction called Stevens Johnson Syndrome.... be careful, this reaction is NOT listed on their patient leaflet..

Dear god Mary that's awful!!!! I hate the lack of info from doctors, they didn't mention to me they were changing what they were giving me. Hope they are looking after you better now x

Casey

I just read up on this Stevens johnsons syndrome and it's horrendous. I can't believe there are drugs that are allowed to be so toxic to people out there. I know not everyone is effected in the same way but the doctors should be a lot more vigilant with patients using the drugs that are more likely to cause these problems and not just hand them out out with no warnings. I'm very disappointed in my whole experience of the doctors since being diagnosed in early February. I live right by keele medical university and the care is crap to say the least. God knows what they are reaching young doctors. Keep well x

Casey

Hi Moontreegoddess - yes SJS is a nightmare - mine lead to TENs too - you burn from the inside out - I spent a month in hospital last year alone - I still suffer from the effects of SJS and Tens on top of that I have Lupus and APS, Sjogrens etc - so lots going on. I was prescribed Plaquenil but given quinoric at the chemist - both the same drug... Plaquenil manufacturers do inform patients on their leaflet of SJS - Quinoric (Bristol Labs) DO NOT... I am already on to them and will shout from the rooftops about this so that no other person has to take a medication in which the manufacturers hide the side effects... thanks for your support xx Mary

here here !!!!!! casey
i too have just looked up sjs and cannot believe it, i have never heard of it and hope to never get it but what with all these powerful drugs including nsaid which i have had in the past, can cause such a deadly life threatening condition which is just awful.
i can tell you now that i will question every step of my treatment when i see doctors and always ask about any serious side effects.

yes i too have been very disappointed with my gp docs but have at last found one that takes action and listens to me(they are rare) he even didn t bat an eye when i went there recently with a hand written list of symptoms ha ha!
just got back from hospital over stomach scan and good news liver ,pancreas and stomach all look fine,so maybe IBS after all.(relief).

my advice is if you have any no matter how small worries over your med you should tell the doctor.

great info here, thanks everyone!

last june when my diagnosis got far enough along my rhuemy gave me a prescrip for hydrochloroquine: the pharmacy at boots gave me quinoric. but by then i had heard plaquenil was the most popular version. so i simply went back to boots and exchanged the quinoric: they said ok this once because of my history of uopper GI problems. then i told my GP please give me plaquenil on repeat due to my upper GI issues. i guess i was lucky she agreed, even though i never actually tried quinoric out! but i was able to tell her that i'd checked on lupus forums and learned that quinoric is commonly known to upset the upper GI, and generally be less easy on us: it even is said to tend to make you more yellow skinned than other makes. and there is this awful sjs. why do i suspect this could be about plaquenil maybe costing more???

anyway,my feeling is that you all have totally well and truly confirmed : best to try to avoid quinoric

Hi all

Plaquenil®
Quinoric®

are both trade names for Hydroxychloroquine sulphate - they are the same medication but under different names

I too was given Plaquenil first time then went to get my repeat and was given Quinoric was a bit confused myself

What I have done is handed them back at the pharmacy saying I react to the fillers and need plaquenil instead. The pharmacy have exchanged them but have now said to ask the GP to change it on the repeat prescription to read plaquenil.

Funny how this question came up! I have been on Plaquenil for a year & over Easter my repeat was missed up & I was given emergency supply of meds from pharmacist. He gave me Quinoric. I went into flare & this week had to have my 1st IM steroid. Very unhappy. Since then I have been told by docs & pharmacist changing brand could will have caused the flare :-(.

learning about the diff between different manufacturer's versions of a standard ingredient has turned out to be really important to me over the years

when i asked my gp how there can be such a diff btw 2 versions of the same chemical (eg hyrdoxychloroquine sulphate in plaquenil vs in quinoric) she smiled, loked a bit gulity and embarrassed and said it's cause different manufacturers combine a chemical with different ingredients and by different methods. she said the legal requirement is something like 20% of specific chemical to 80% of filler etc (sorry if i've remembered these %s wrong, but she said it's something along those lines (my brain does get fogged!))

has anyone else heard about this?

and my gp stressed that this is why i had to try 4 manufacturer's versions of flucloxacillin 500 mg caps before we fond one that i could tolerate ok (i was on it for 5 months and having trouble with nausea & swallowing etc). she also said this is why i do better with dermovate ointment rather than cream: the cream has many more preservatives and stuff in it than the ointment, and i react to preservatives. also, i can take tolerate cefalexine capsuls but taking cefalexin in pill from makes me nauseous

no doubt there are many of us on here who have learned that it;s best to let your Gp, rheumy or whoever know if you're finding one make of a pharmaceutical hard to tolerate. they really do seem to be willing and able to let us try other makes for these things

I have been on Plaquenil for many years with pleasing results, however, when I was given Quinoric I was nauseous and sick. My prescription read "hydroxychloroquine sulphate" but apparently Quinoric is cheaper to produce so the Pharmacist gave me this, when I mentioned this to my very understanding GP he told me to abandon them immediately and gave me a prescription specifically stating Plaquenil. My husband is in the Pharmaceutical industry and he says they have the same active ingredients but have a different "excipient" which is probably what disagrees with us. Hopefully you will get your GP to be specific. Good luck.

Thanks Jaxqueline. I have stopped taking them now my partner Lea got a bit worried as he read some of the answers here and didn't like the look of the hives type rash on my thigh. I get it anyway with having lupus but he said with the tummy upsets I've had he feel better if I didn't take them. Going the docs on Monday to explain to them what's happened.

Thank you to all who have answered my question it has been very helpful x

gosh, moontreegoddess - everything you started up here is so helpful, and also it helps me just hearing about your hives rash: i've had hives rash on my thighs when reacting to new meds too....but before my SLE diagnosis....and have wondered ever since if such a rash was commonplace or what (my gp sort of had one of those blank nonreactions to it). i guess when i get that sort of rash now (on any body part) it's relevant and to be respected

anyway, good luck at the docs, and take care

and many many thanks to you and everyone for this discussion: it has helped me a lot!

Interesting! I've been on Quinoric since January and I still feel queasy now and again and my digestion generally has been worse than it has been for years. I was blaming IBS but perhaps it's the fillers.... I have almost run out of pills so instead of a repeat, I think I will go and ask for Plaquenil instead for a trial. Is it a lot more expensive for them than Quinoric does anyone know?
Jennie

Never taken quinoric but I've been on plaquenil/hydroxy for nearly 7 years, 400gs of the stuff daily and its suited me very well. Tried 200gs a day because I was worried about the effects on my eyes but couldnt cope and slept all the time. So the dose went back up. Saw my optician last week and she assured me there was no damage whatsoever from hydroxychloraquine. Big sigh of relief went up....

I have stomach cramps occasionally but I was getting those before SLE was diagnosed, think it was more to do with IBS which I believe is a symptom of lupus...correct me if I'm wrong. As for rashes I dont get those, my face burns and gets very red at times with the sweats but no rashes...I do know that drugs cause rashes as a side effect and I've had problemss that meant stopping them. They were given for Sjogrens syndrome and didnt suit me at all, came out in huge red blobs and itched like mad, felt poorly too. When the dentist found out she stopped them straight away. Unfortunately there was notning else available so I stick to prescription toothpastes, mouthwashes and little natural salivary gums. I buy sugar free mints, they help quite a lot

This thread has been very useful to me and as a result I have joined the forum. I have just been given quinoric, and because of this thread i have gone back to the pharmacist and asked for it to be changed and he said i have to go through the GP to have plaquenil specified on prescription. We asked for GP to call me which she just has and basically refused my request and has advised me to take the quinoric! The both are exactly the same, just a different manufacturer. I have heard this so often the last few months with meds. Im on some very strong drugs already and not looking forward to maybe having side effects from a brand that is prescribed because it is cheaper. Im not seeing rheumy til august (he is as much use as a chocolate teapot!), so i will ask him.

Hi, this is my first ever 'blog' so please excuse me. Started taking Plaquenil 1998 when eventually diagnosed with mild lupus. Last year the chemist started giving me Quinoric. Not only did it taste bitter but that taste stayed with me all day plus made me feel sick and gave me acid reflux. Quinoric generally made my lupus worse, headaches and making me feel stressed.
I asked my chemist to give me Plaquenil again. I was told I had to see my GP and he had to ensure my presciption actually said Plaquenil and not Hydroxychoroquine. Chemists are always trying to cut costs.
It came to a stage when I didn't want to take any tablets at all because I felt so awful.

Thanks a lot for this information. I have been feeling pretty unwell in the past weeks/month and could not find out why. I have noticed that my Plaquenil was changed to Quinoric but I cannot remember how long ago. I have horrible headaches, indigestion, painful muscles and joins and feel very low and tearful. The Quinoric could be the cause. Went to my pharmacist today but he said that I need a prescription from my GP stating the brand name Plaquenil, not just Hydroxycholoquin, as Quinoric is cheaper, that is what they have to give me. So have to wait till Monday to make an appointment. Hopefully that is the culprit.

Currently having the Q vs P battle myself. Have had P for 2 years no problems. Life is nearly restored. Changed GP and given Q. Taking 1 tablet a day through winter, to reduce potential damage. After 3 days, itching up my arms that was intolerable. Stopped taking them. Went to GP and had a battle about why I couldn't have P. There is no chemical difference or cost difference........ Although the coating on Q may as well be called shine.....as there doesn't appear to be a coating......yuck! GP said it was to do with creating a level field between manufacturers. I went on to say I am requesting it, it will cost me £7.?? So can I have it. GP has allowed me to have it on a month trial!!! Guess what folks? Bliss! Have now run out. Taken left over Q to keep me going till I get an appointment, as the sun is out....... And guess what? 3 tablets and the itch starts! Knowing about SJS now has made the decision to stop taking it. If she refuses to prescribe, I will find a GP that can. My consultant has also wrote a letter too. The sun up! The battle must be won!

Oh and it isn't pharmacists! If it states hydro....... The go with Q. GP has to state P.

Got Plaquinil back! YEY!