Plaquenil and Vision Issues: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• June 11, 2010

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I began taking Plaquenil 6 weeks ago and I am pleased with it. I'm now seeing the benefits and my rheumatologist says that I should continue to get even better over the next 3 months. Honestly, I'm okay with where I'm already at. The biggest surprise is that I'm receiving benefits that I didn't get from 20mg/day of prednisone! The hardest part was when I first began Plaquenil. You initially experience side effects without any benefit, but you just have to hang in there. The side effects start to improve significantly after 2 weeks. My side effects were nausea, loose stools, vomiting, and temporary changes in vision (full eye exam confirmed that everything is fine.) I would highly recommend this medicine!"

• che...
• July 9, 2015

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I had very bad experiences with this medication. I now have permanent toxicity in my system and I also developed medically induced cataracts from this medication. Even though I have stopped taking the medication, it will continue to try and rob me of my sight. My eyes are always swollen, running, and very painful. Every morning when I rise, I look like a monster with my face full of fluid input all around my eyes, like little sacks of fluid. Is there help out there? I would like some and I would like to know if there's a manufacturer lawsuit for this medication. The information for this medication does not tell you about the damage that it does. Now they are warning doctors to let patients know about this medication and the bad side effects, and let them decide if they want to take it."

• Bac...
• November 4, 2017

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I am a 72-year-old female, diagnosed with RA 6 years ago. I took Plaquenil (200x2) from 2012 to 2016, along with Prednisone to start. Due to the fact that I could not use my hands because of the swelling, I risked the possible vision problems. By 2012, I was symptom-free and still fearful of vision loss, so I stopped the drug. I was pain and symptom-free for one year, but now symptoms have returned, and I have been told to restart the drug (no Prednisone). In the 4 years that I took it, I went from 95 lbs to 85 lbs, lost a significant amount of hair, had cataract surgery, and now have macular degeneration. The decision to restart is extremely emotionally stressful, weighing the benefits against the risks. (Dr. says neither eye problem was caused by the drug.)"

• PBH...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 29, 2014

For Lupus "I have been taking 200mg of Plaquenil daily for 2 years now. I still have many days a week when my entire body hurts. My eye doctor cautioned me not to go to a higher dose for the protection of my eyes. Recently, my daughter noticed a film over half of one eye, which I could not see, and my vision is generally not as clear. May not be the right medicine for me."

• Olg...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 1, 2021

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I have been on Plaquenil for over two years now for my moderate to severe RA. Having tried multiple medications that made little to no difference, I was excited about the drug that finally helped. I am taking it in conjunction with a weekly injection of Actemra. Now I am dealing with vision problems that worsened in the past two years and an uncontrollable irritability and low mood. Things are so bad mentally that I lost all my social connections and am having a very hard time communicating with the closest family members. I am in my late thirties, and I feel like my life is falling apart because of the devastating effects this drug has on my mental health."

• pat...
• March 2, 2016

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Helped with RA. It has affected my vision immensely, so much that I stopped taking it."

• msl...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 19, 2020

For Lupus "This medication, Plaquenil, works for lupus, but for me, the side effects were that I nearly lost my vision. Very rare side effect."