Hi. It looks like u are or have gone thru alot of what I am going thru. I have RA and they are putting me on Plaquenil. I am trying to have a baby at the same time and am not having much luck. Just wanted to know if u had good things to say about Plaquenil? Any advice ect. Kinda new to this RA thing and honestly a little scared. Thanks, Hope to talk with u.
Candace

Hi Candace, nice to meet you,
i was dx last May and only now am i getting my head round all of this, it does take time. (im 33years old) When were you dx ?
i have been on Plaquinel now for about 12weeks, i was very scared at first due to the possible side effects but thought i really do have to take this otherwise my joints could end up deformed etc, also i was in a lot of pain!!! So far i have been ok, dodgy tummy in mornings but otherwise no problems. The flares have calmed down and am pleased i decided to start the drug. I am also on steroids but hope to decrease the amounts soon. Unfortunately no luck on the pregnancy front but fingers crossed one day it will happen! Goodluck if you decide to take it. Post back if you like, it's good to chat with people who are going through similar things. Takecare.
wenXXX.

It's nice to meet you too. I was diagnosed 08/07. I had never had any pain until I got in a rollover car accident 10/06. From then on I had pain, so one day when I was complaining to my doc about my hands still hurting she said let's go ahead and test for ra. The funny thing was I was sure she was wrong. I thought it was still something from the accident. Anyways it came back with a ra level of 19. From there I met with a rheumy that was aweful. Let's say he had no bedside manner. Here I was scared out of my mind and he was so mean and short with me. Finally found a rheumy I like that wanted to put me on some of the harder meds but I said no that I wanted to try for another child. I have been blessed with one child. Her name is Emilie and she is my whole life. I wanted to be able to give her a sibling but as of now we have not been able to get pregnant and we are now being sent to a fertility expert. I have this fear deep down that I wont be able to get pregnant because of the ra. I have basically been in a "flare" since 04/07. At one point I could barely walk but they gave me cortisone injections and have been doing better since then. Although I have to work on computer all day and I feel like my right hand has been pounded with a hammer on a daily basis. I am to start Plaquenil tomorrow and I am so scared. I had started taking in Sept and stopped after a week because I thought my depression was getting worse on it. Have u had any side effects with the plaquenil? I think I am still in denial about this and it's so wonderful to talk to someone about it. Thanks
Candigirl