Hi there. I just posted a couple weeks ago about my skin issues (lichen planopilaris). Turns out I have the body form too--lichen planus, all over my itchy back, and a little near my armpits and on the chest.

My rheumy yesterday said this is looking more like lupus, so I guess she's writing that on my paperwork now. She started me on plaquenil, 200mg bid.

Also I have to get a MRI of the head done, b/c I see spiders on the ceiling at night...lol. (My hubby made me tell her that--he said it's an early sign of psychosis). I'm awake when I see them, usually have just awakened, and they look so real that no matter how many times this happens, I'm still fooled. I really don't think they're going to find anything on the MRI, but at least hopefully they will find a brain... :D

Diinin, Glad you are getting some treatment, but sorry about the visual effects! Are they big bad effects? I get "floaters" but maybe they are smaller blotches than you are getting (?)

Did the visual stuff start only after starting Plaquenil? I got bigger floaters & a halo effect at night, which stopped fairly quickly as I adjusted.

Best wishes! Vee

I've been seeing spiders on the ceiling for 2 or 3 years, so it's not related to Plaquenil. I just took my first dose this morning! I'm an arachnaphobe (sp?), so I'd always chalked it up to that. The last one I saw was tarantula sized, and the light was on in the room. Unfortunately, hubby walked in right then and heard my "spider squeal." He's all into this psychiatric stuff, so he acted like I was dying tomorrow. I almost forgot to mention it yesterday, almost wish I hadn't, b/c I think the MRI is going to be a waste of money!

Oh, I have a question about the Plaquenil. It's written for twice a day, not every 12 hours. Is it okay to take it, like, 8 or 10 hours apart? I assume it's split up into two doses a day to avoid the GI effects.

Oh, Vee, I didn't answer your question. Usually the spiders are about grass spider sized, maybe 1 to 1.5" in diameter, and there are usually several of them running around on the ceiling. It happens when I've just awakened, but am fully awake. As I mentioned, the last time the light was on, and there was only one spider, but that one was tarantula sized. Sounds crazy, but these things look as much like spiders as the real thing. That's why they are so convincing! :eek:

I'm new to Health board, just bumped into it while surfing the net...
I, too, have lichen planopolaris and have been on a generic Plaquenil (200 mg - 2/day) for 9 months now. (...greatest caution being paid to regular eye exams) I have had LPP for probably 27 years, with my first notice of it being about dime sized, and over the years, even through many biopsies, different types of steroid treatments (injections, topicals, Clobex shampoo, and a wide variety of pills, including a session with prednisone) it has continued to get larger. It now is appr 5 inches long and 3 inches wide at the widest.

I now use the Plaquenil, 2/day, Rogaine 5% foam once a day, even though it specifically says women are not to use it, and take a sulfa drug called SMZ-TMP (400-80mg, 2/day) along with applying Betamethasone Valerate 0.1% lotion. I am taking so many meds I'm afraid to walk by an open flame :rolleyes:

I would like to communicate with anyone who knows anything about this...especially, what can I expect. My hairdresser is only a beautician, not a magician, and may not be able to help me camoflage my bald spot forever. I do use a cheap trick called 'Tween Time, found at any beauty supply store. It's a colored stick I use like a crayon to cut the smooth shine of the balded area. Then I have my own style of comb over....and most people have no idea there's a huge bald spot under my hairdo.

Hi. I'm sorry that I have no advice to offer on your hair question, but I want to say WELCOME. I hope you check in often & hopefully get a real answer to your question soon. Sincerely, Vee