Plaquenil - The good, the bad & the freakishly itchy

Yes, this is my back.  Can you see all those fabulous red spots?  Not only does my back look like this, my entire body looks like this.  I am ready to skin myself - that or rip my skin off one fingernail slice at a time.  When I say my entire body looks like this, I mean my ENTIRE body looks like this!  My scalp to my ankles.  Not an inch spared.

It all started back on May 21st when I went to see the rheumatologist.  I had my appointment and explained all the symptoms I'd been having (excruciating joint pain since February).  We did x-rays of my hands & knees and some blood work.  About a week later he called me back & said everything had come back normal (no Parvo infection, no rheumatoid marker & not sufficiently low vitamin D levels).  Dr. Walker said other than joint pain he had no idea what was wrong with me.  He wanted to start me on a medication called Plaquenil.  It use to be used as an antibiotic but is now used to treat rheumatoid (yes, rheumatoid arthritis & yes, I said I didn't have the rheumatoid marker - don't ask).  He told me that this particular medication has a tendency to make you very nauseous so to start taking it just once a day.  If I could handle taking it once a day then increase to twice a day.  He told me that it would take about 4 months to really get into my system & start working so I made a follow up appointment for the end of September.  

I started taking Plaquenil on May 30th.  I decided that if it was going to make me sick, I would just take it at night before bed.  I took it faithfully every night for a week with no new symptoms.  In fact, I noticed an extreme improvement in my joint pain.  I was excited!  So, on June 6th (1 week after starting Plaquenil) I started taking it once in the morning & once at night.

On Sunday night I was getting ready to get in the shower & I noticed a small red rash on my chest.  At first I thought it was maybe just an eczema break out from perfume or something and just brushed it off.  Monday morning came & I was itching like nuts but I thought maybe it was eczema.  By Monday night I was dying!  I wanted to itch until I would bleed!  Flash backs to swim lessons when I was a kid & couldn't wash the chlorine off & I'd break out like this.  I called the pharmacy where I got the prescription filled & told the pharmacist what was going on.  He said that it sounded like an allergic reaction & to stop taking the prescription immediately and to call the dr. in the morning.  Fortunately for me, my mom had some extra benadryl she was willing to part with so I could make it through the night.

This morning I called the dr.'s office at 9 am.  I told the medical assistant what was going on & she felt so bad for me (and she didn't even see the rash!).  She told me she'd talk to Dr. Walker and see what he wanted to do & get back to me.  I finally got a call back at about 2 pm.  The verdict: Stop taking the Plaquenil until the rash disappears entirely.  Then, start taking the Plaquenil again, but only take it once a day & see if I break out in a rash again.  Seriously?!  What part of I want to rip my skin off don't you people understand here?!

So here I sit Tuesday night, 3 prescription times passed without taking the prescription, and the rash is continuing to get worse.  Not awesome.  I totally understand why bears scratch their backs against trees!  In fact, truth be told, I was doing carpet angels at my girlfriend's house today in order to itch the backs of my arms without making them bleed!  And yes, she thought it was funny!