Plaquenil and Dizziness: What Users Say

• Kit...
• March 26, 2017

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I've been on Plaquenil for over 3 months now. It works wonderfully! I combine my treatment with Curcumin & Magnesium baths and I feel like a new woman :-) Side effects I experienced: Nausea & dizziness for the first week or two (I found I needed to take it after a full meal to prevent the nausea). I have also noticed since starting the Plaquenil I seem to sweat profusely. It's annoying, but the benefits far outweigh this little problem. I just wear my gym gear about now... which I did mostly beforehand anyhow :-) Also, it take take a couple months for the Plaquenil to kick in & for me to feel the effects! Don't give up, just give it some time."

• Hol...
• November 13, 2018

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I've been on a roller coaster for years with Plaquenil for RA/Lupus. I take the name brand to prevent side effects of red, warm, swollen, painful hands, nausea, dizziness, hair loss, etc. Each time I try going back to generic, side effects return immediately. I'm not one to comment but I read so many reviews that sounded like either my ups or downs, so I want to encourage people to stick with this med and try the name brand (though expensive) if having bad side effects with generic. It could explain why some people have such opposite experiences. I get Plaquenil from an international pharmacy and it's much cheaper. It works better than biologics that contributed to or sped up the process leading to my cancer. I'm now 'cancer-free' and refuse to go back on them. I might have to get my vision checked and deal with other mild side effects, but pain and swelling are gone on Plaquenil. Anyway, please hang in there and give your body enough time to adjust to the med before stopping it. It's a risk versus reward scenario with meds."

• Cas...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 27, 2017

For Lupus "I'm in Australia, only just started this medication a week ago but I feel less fatigued already. I was stuck in bed most days, but now I can go longer without needing to go to bed or feeling like I'm going to collapse. I haven't noticed any bad side effects yet either which is good! As I get nauseated and dizzy on meds easily and haven't found that to be the case! I just wanted to point out that some people hear a lot of bad things that aren't necessarily reported or true. Like I noticed a woman on here said she needs to stop taking it because of the tinnitus side effect means she might go deaf. But deafness hasn't been reported, just tinnitus as a side effect whilst taking it. Don't be so afraid if it's going to give you your life back."

• Not...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 20, 2019

For Lupus "Started taking Plaquenil 5 days ago for bad butterfly rash caused by dermal lupus. I’m extremely dizzy, bad stomach pain, ringing in the ears, etc. I’ll deal with the rash, this is way too harsh. This is why pharma scares me so much. In bed on a beautiful sunny day, can’t even walk my dogs, so dizzy."

• Tjm...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2019

For Lupus "I am African American, 55 years of age. I developed sores on my leg, hearing loss problems, heart rate increased, dizziness all the time, balance problems while walking, mouth sores, weakness of lower legs. I had to use a mobile chair, I became so weak, made quality of life worse."

• Tjm...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2019

For Lupus "I am African American, 55 years of age. I developed sores on my leg, hearing loss problems, heart rate increased, dizziness all the time, balance problems while walking, mouth sores, weakness of lower legs. I had to use a mobile chair, I became so weak, made quality of life worse."

• che...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 13, 2022

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I thought it might be helping, I thought I tolerated it well because my eyes were okay. I was wrong. My heart rate went up a couple of years into taking it. Doctors blamed pain, then fatigue got worse to the point that I lived in my recliner. Then I developed more problems that slowly got worse: dizziness, extreme fatigue to the point that I couldn't concentrate on basic tasks, racing heart and near fainting, uncontrollable sinus infections, daily migraines, and my skin was all messed up with rashes and rosacea. I started dropping weight fast, food went right through me. The heart had problems not caused by the heart, the gut had problems not caused by the gut. Finally, the blood doctor's tests showed hemolytic anemia was bad, I was reacting to the Plaquenil in other ways too. Three months off and I'm near recovered. Watch that stuff!! Eight years, GONE, I was near death with doctors blaming RA and misdiagnosing as other things!"

• Anonymous
• March 15, 2016

For Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease "I was on this medication for one day when I began to have severe vomiting 30 minutes after taking it and stomach bloating and uncontrollable gas. By day six, I called my doctor to tell him I had bilateral muscle weakness in my legs and could hardly walk a straight line without feeling like I was going to fall down. My doctor stopped the medication after six days when I presented with a known severe adverse side effect of this medication: muscle weakness and loss of coordination."