Saturday, April 12, 2008

Plaquenil Again

In theory, I'm supposed to resume taking Plaquenil again next week, although I plan to call my rheumatologist to see what he thinks of the neurosurgeon's theory (see yesterday's post) and whether I should still resume Plaquenil on Tuesday.

I did discover one good thing about Plaquenil while I was on it that I sort of miss. It's an appetite suppressant, at least for me. In fact, one of the potential side effects is anorexia, which I found interesting.

(For those who don't know me in RL, being too skinny is not a problem I've ever had, and since my August 2006 car accident where I injured my back and had to quit going to the gym and then coming down with my mystery illness and having no energy whatsoever, I've gotten "fluffier" as they call it in some circles.)

Anyway, I certainly didn't stop eating while I was on Plaquenil, but I did stop most of my snacking. Of course, I get so little exercise because, essentially, movement makes me hurt worse in many and various ways, so I didn't suddenly drop a bunch of weight. But I was on it for five weeks and I lost 4 pounds, which was a nice side benefit.

Of course, bad abdominal cramping and moderate nausea do tend to make you less interested in food ...

In the four days or so since I quit the Plaquenil, those bad side effects went away but I was caught by surprise when I suddenly found myself hungry more often, particularly at lunch time. I had pretty much cut lunch down to a 8 ounce non-fat, sugar free container of yogurt and fruit. And I ate that more out of a feeling that I ought to eat something than out of hunger.

So when I followed my 11 a.m. neurosurgeon appointment on Friday with waiting at the hospital for the x-rays he ordered, I was startled to find myself starving as I left the hospital at 1 p.m. I hadn't been eating my lunch of yogurt until around 2ish most days, so it was a shock to be so hungry earlier than I was used to eating lately.

I solved the problem by buying half a turkey sandwich on wheat as I left the hospital, but still, it was a little weird for me.


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