Pain management/plaquenil vision issues

So I am dealing with some pretty bad hip pain. It is a burning pressure type pain in both hips, of course stiffness and weakness too. I am taking a dose pack of prednisone along with 800 mg ibuprofen in the am to try to get moving. I called my dr yesterday because I am not seeing any improvement, the pain just is not easing up. He has told me to triple my ibuprofen and add extra strength Tylenol 2x a day, so 800 ibuprofen in the morning noon and night with 500 Tylenol in between along with the prednisone. Is there really not any options that would not be so hard on my liver and kidneys?

Also has anyone experienced vision problems on plaquenil? My eyes have recently started bothering me & I was just wondering what the vision symptoms can be from plaquenil...

Thanks so much, it means the world to have someplace to come for help, advice and/or just someone to understand.

I also deal with a lot of back and hip pain. There are some stronger prescription strength NSAIDs that I have used...mobic, voltaren, and most recently, relafen (which I haven't started taking yet). I think that they may be just as hard on your liver and kidneys, but they may work better for you. My doctor has also just recently prescribed ultram for my hip and back pain, but I honestly can't tell a difference when I take it, except for the nausea. Not sure if it is something that takes time to work or if I should be able to tell a difference immediately.

I took plaquenil for a few months but didn't see any improvement, so I stopped taking it. I didn't have any issues with my eyes, but I didn't take it long enough to experience anything like that.

Hang in there.

Hi MamaLolo,
I also suffer with severe back & hip pain. I was given a cortisone steroid injection in my right hip (as at the time that was the worst of my hips), having it done was painful, im not going to lie, I cried. BUT after a day or so the pain cleared up & I was doing cartwheels! I havent had any pain since. Ask your DR for this & see if it helps.
I have recently been suffering with BAD back pain. I'm going to ask for a steroid injection in my spine. They perform it in the same way as an epidural. I have been given a weeks course of diazepam (valium) for my back pain as it is a muscle relaxant. It's not making any difference.
As with the liver & kidney worries, how long is your course to be on the ibuprofen? Ibuprofen isn't that bad for your kidneys' & liver as other medication is but any medication can be bad depending on how long you are on them for. My rheumy said as a general rule: the higher mg you can take of a tablet the less damage it will do to your liver & kidney. That's why you need a high dosage because your body needs so much before it can even take affect. If that makes sense.
As with Plaquinil, I've been on it for about 3 years (on & off) & have started getting vision problems in the last 6 months. Straight lines have been appearing wavy to me, eyes have been getting dry & i've been getting migrane tensions on my eyes. I told my Rheumy & she has refered me to an Opthamolagist next week. I'll let you know how it goes & what is said.

I actually did develop Vision Issues with plaquenil, I just didn't realize it. I had thought it was weird that my vision kept getting drastically worse and worse, and that each year I needed a new prescription. I never associated it with the plaquenil until I stopped taking it and My vision stop getting drastically worse.

I stopped like some where around this time frame last year because I got treatment for Lyme and No longer needed the plaquenil for pain relief. And my Vision is actually stable like it used to be, I didn't need a new prescription again this year. It sounds really mundane, but it really was noticeable for me since prior my vision hardly got worse, on it my vision got a lot worse, and then after stopping it it went back to barely changing.

Honestly though the pain relief it offered was worth it at the time, I would notice with in 12 hours of not taking it the pain was terrible with out it.

MamaLolo wrote:So I am dealing with some pretty bad hip pain. It is a burning pressure type pain in both hips, of course stiffness and weakness too. I am taking a dose pack of prednisone along with 800 mg ibuprofen in the am to try to get moving. I called my dr yesterday because I am not seeing any improvement, the pain just is not easing up. He has told me to triple my ibuprofen and add extra strength Tylenol 2x a day, so 800 ibuprofen in the morning noon and night with 500 Tylenol in between along with the prednisone. Is there really not any options that would not be so hard on my liver and kidneys?

Also has anyone experienced vision problems on plaquenil? My eyes have recently started bothering me & I was just wondering what the vision symptoms can be from plaquenil...

Thanks so much, it means the world to have someplace to come for help, advice and/or just someone to understand.

Hi Mamalo,

you should have had your eyes checked before going on Plaquenil. Also you should have been getting them checked at least every 12 months to ensure that you are not having any issues.

Long term use of Plaquenil can cause cataracts.

In my own personal experience I have been able to tolerate the Plaquenil and my eyes have been playing up less after I went on the medication.

What I am suggesting is that you make an appointment to get your eyes checked and that you tell the doctor that you see that you take Plaquenil and he/she will do the appropriate tests.

StacieicatS wrote:I also deal with a lot of back and hip pain.  There are some stronger prescription strength NSAIDs that I have used...mobic, voltaren, and most recently, relafen (which I haven't started taking yet). I think that they may be just as hard on your liver and kidneys, but they may work better for you. My doctor has also just recently prescribed ultram for my hip and back pain, but I honestly can't tell a difference when I take it, except for the nausea.  Not sure if it is something that takes time to work or if I should be able to tell a difference immediately.

I took plaquenil for a few months but didn't see any improvement, so I stopped taking it.  I didn't have any issues with my eyes, but I didn't take it long enough to experience anything like that.

Hang in there.

I have been using Lyrica for the back/hip pain issues. In the past it helped but right now all it does is reduce the experience, but the discomfort does not go away.

I have had some relief from Cymbalta....the doc suggested it since I was already taking something for anxiety, and the Cymbalta is a combo drug. He also started me on Lyrica, which I feel has helped a little with the smaller joints, but has littler affect on the bigger joints, like my back

I have only been diagnosed and on Hydroxycloraquine (Plaquinel) since June and thus far I'm not sure its doing anything. My rheumy said to get eye exams every six months as some serious eye side effects can even lead to blindness, and he really stressed this, so I'm about to schedule my first. Hope that helps. Hang in. Nance