Robyn here, new member

[Guest guest]

Hi out there,I'm Robyn. I started having joint problems about 3

years ago- just in my fingers. I'm 49 and have worked as a bartender

for almost 30 years. The pain in my fingers would be there after a

busy night at work. I just figured it was from gripping the bottles

all night long, probably age and maybe arthritis setting in. My

energy level sure had dropped in the last couple of years. As of the

first of this year I finally am covered by a decent health insurance

plan so I went to a rheumitologist beginning of March. He ordered

bloodwork done and then more bloodwork. Turns out I do have Lupus

and it was flaring pretty bad too- joint pain in fingers, wrists,

elbows, shoulders, extreme fatigue. I also have Cronic Hep C, so at

first the Dr thought that the Hep C was causing the problems. It's a

tricky situation treatmentwise and I'm waiting to see a hepitologist

in June. Meanwhile my rheumitologist put me on Plaquinel, 200 mg 2x

daily. It caused terrible intestinal cramps and the fun that goes

along with that, I was basically housebound. I'm wondering if

anyone has had those side effects form Plaquinel? I stopped taking

it until I can see discuss this with my Dr. There must be other meds

that I can take. I'm still have so much to learn. Thanks for

listening. Robyn

[Guest guest]

Hi Robyn, and welcome to the group. You sound like you have a good DR that is on top of things to get a dx so quickly. I have never taken plaqenil (can't spell that one) but have heard a lot of people here talking about it.

I am 35, have fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, thyroid problems and of course, lupus. My husband and I currently have 9 kids in our home, one nephew that's 17, four adopted, 15, 13, 12, and 11, three that we are supposed to adopt that are 9, 2, and 21 months and one foster baby that is three weeks. whew, I need to find a way to shorten that. Anyway, we are happy to have you and if you have any questions, ask away, someone on here will probably be able to help you,

a C