Plaquinil + magnesium- bad combo

Hi- My rheumatologist suggested I see a neurologist for attacks of dizziness, blurred vision, foggy thinking. Attacks were relieved by taking 5mg prednisone. The neurologist thought it could be complex migraine. That made sense since for a few years I have had ocular migraines, or migraine auras but no headache. He said prednisone could relieve a migraine. His suggestion was first get off caffeine - I do drink coffee throughout the day, And to take supplements to "reduce inflammation and heal the nerves". Great- I love doing things naturally!
The supplements were fairly high doses of: magnesium, CoQ10, turmeric, Vit B2, Alpha Lipoic Acid. He said take the supplements twice a day with food. Well, I take Plaquinil daily also with food, so makes sense to take them at the same meal. right?

Within 3-4 days I was covered with bruises from the turmeric- its a blood thinner, so I stopped that. By day 6,7,8, I was feeling worse each day- getting neuropathy from head to toe, fatigue, chills. Finally on day 9 I realized I was in a Lupus flare and suspected my Plaquinil wasn't working. Googled the supplements with Plaquinil and there was some sketchy reference to magnesium perhaps binding with Plaquinil to make it ineffective. I immediately quit the supplements, took 10mg prednisone and increased my Plaquinil from 200mg to 300mg. Rheumy confirmed that magnesium will affect Plaquinil- of my 3 doctors (hemo also) I do wish someone would have told me! Actually I don't really blame them, perhaps they didn't know, it doesn't seem like common knowledge. I read that some people DO take magnesium with Plaquinil and have no problem (?) Anything is possible with Lupus I think.

Things got a better but very slowly. It takes time for Plaquinil to start working again. First week was bad, it took nearly 3 weeks to get back to feeling decent. I'm still on the higher dose of Plaquinil 300mg, I don't dare lower it. Gives me a new appreciation for the drugs- I won't be taking any more supplements soon. With Lupus you do have to figure out a LOT for yourself as you go along!

Posey - I've taken Plaquenil with Magnesium for years. I wouldn't even know if it caused a problem because with Lupus, so many random things happen that it's impossible to track or connect. I never know from one day to the next what causes what or what I might wake up to the next day. I can't even tell the difference between being sick and a Lupus flare. The only thing that I ever noticed that Plaquenil did for me was to lessen the joint pain a bit. I do notice that Magnesium (Malate) does help with the muscle pain some. I've been doing this for 12 years now and haven't figured any of it out yet!

One more thing that I've learned. I've gone to specialists for different problems and all they ever say is, "It's the Lupus". No answers, no fixes, no help. It gets discouraging. I started having problems using my hands about five years ago. My knuckles started to swell and it's permanent, but It seemed like a nerve problem because my forearms are weak so I saw my Neurologist. He did an EMG and said no, it's not nerves, so he sent me to a hand specialist. The hand specialist thought it was the nerves in my arms and didn't believe the results of the EMG based on the exam, so he sent me to a Physiatrist to do another EMG. Physiatrist said, "I don't know. I'd like you to see a different Neurologist". Went to another Neurologist who did another EMG and said, "No, it's not the nerves. You need the hand specialist. Back to the hand specialist who said, " This is typical Lupus joint swelling. I don't know why you even came here. There's nothing I can do". I'm just a hot potato. All of that took a year and a half and I just keep losing the use of my hands.

Sandi, Thanks for your reply! I was reading the FDA insert for Plaquinil and saw that magnesium is one of the inactive ingredients! what? haha
AND you might read about muscle weakness and atrophy as a side effect...

www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2007/009768s041lbl.pdf

Posey - since I've been on Prednisone for 12 years, I suspect that I have muscle atrophy from that also. At this point, it's impossible to tell what is doing what. I have a hard time doing any exercise due to Lupus because it causes muscle inflammation and then the pain is unbearable for days. That also doesn't help muscles. I really want to, but it's like my muscles release inflammation toxins that cause fever and flu-like symptoms. If I do to little, I get really stiff. If I do too much, I get really stiff. It's a definite balancing act.