1. < Autoimmune Diseases

Strange arm tingling while taking Plaquanil

Posted by lisabeans @lisabeans, Jan 5, 2018

Hope everyone had a happy new year. My rheumatoligist added plaquanil to my medication. While this pill has helped my pain quite a bit, I have been catching every cold out there. I did start a position as a substitute paraprofessional at my kids school so I am around germs all day. On top of getting colds, I have this strange symptom. It is hard to describe. I get it mostly in my right arm. It almost feels like a vibration through the entire arm but kind of painful. Not extreme pain. It happens if I have an itch and scratch it and sometimes if I type of use my right hand to hold the phone. It is very weird and only lasts a few seconds. Anyone experience anything like this?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Autoimmune Diseases Support Group.

Poppy73 | @poppy73 | Jan 5, 2018

It is probably means you have a pinched nerve somewhere.Have you talked to your doctor?

REPLY
lisabeans | @lisabeans | Jan 5, 2018

Not yet. I started noticing it during the new year weekend. I do have a pinched nerve in my lower right back from a car accident years ago but that area hasn't bothered me too much.

REPLY
oldkarl | @oldkarl | Jan 5, 2018

@lisabeans Hi, again, friend. May I take a guess? I don't have exactly the same issue as your arm shaking, but might be similar. With my hATTRwt, the fibrils get into the nerve fibers and can short it out, either lasting just a moment, or for several seconds, or even minutes. During that time I may have a sort of neuropathy, or just no feeling or movement. And everyone with cardiac Amyloidosis knows that if this gets into one's sensori-motor nerve from brain to heart, and interrupts the flow of messages between the two, you only have a few seconds left. Now, it that gets into the muscle nerves to the arm from the brain, I can see that it could readily cause the shaking and the pain. It would be no surprise. How is your ANA? Your SERUM FreeLiteChain, from http://www.thebindingssite.com done by ARUP or Mayo? is your sFLC over 1.2 mg/dL? How about your urinary protein? Any liver or kidney trouble? If any of these are outside the reference range, this would be a strong clue, because it would fit the symptom.

REPLY
lisabeans | @lisabeans | Jan 5, 2018

Hope you had a great new year @oldkarl . The last blood work I had my ana was negative. When it was positive it was low 1:160 homogenous. The only time I had liver problems was when I took sulfasalizene. I don't recall the last time my urine protein was testes. My creatine serum is always a little low but the doctors never mention it. I never heard of the sFLC. The shaking isn't extreme - more like a vibration like you would feel in a massage chair but a bit painful. My arms shake a lot after aqua therapy and sometimes in the morning. How would I find out if I have neuropathy?

REPLY
2 replies
oldkarl | @oldkarl | Jan 5, 2018

@lisabeans Probably the best way was the way I did. I believe it was called an EMG. The tech or doc ---I don't remember which after 40 years-- had a little machine like a lie detector. Your doc will know. Best to you and yours.

REPLY
1 reply
lisabeans | @lisabeans | Jan 5, 2018
In reply to @oldkarl "@lisabeans Probably the best way was the way I did. I believe it was called an..." + (show)
@oldkarl

@lisabeans Probably the best way was the way I did. I believe it was called an EMG. The tech or doc ---I don't remember which after 40 years-- had a little machine like a lie detector. Your doc will know. Best to you and yours.

Jump to this post

Thank you

REPLY
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jan 5, 2018
In reply to @lisabeans "Hope you had a great new year @oldkarl . The last blood work I had my..." + (show)
@lisabeans

Hope you had a great new year @oldkarl . The last blood work I had my ana was negative. When it was positive it was low 1:160 homogenous. The only time I had liver problems was when I took sulfasalizene. I don't recall the last time my urine protein was testes. My creatine serum is always a little low but the doctors never mention it. I never heard of the sFLC. The shaking isn't extreme - more like a vibration like you would feel in a massage chair but a bit painful. My arms shake a lot after aqua therapy and sometimes in the morning. How would I find out if I have neuropathy?

Jump to this post

Hi @lisabeans -- @oldkarl is right about the EMG (Electromyography test) to diagnose nerve damage. You can find a good overview of the EMG here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/emg/basics/definition/prc-20014183. Your doctor may want to order blood tests and other tests before referring you to a neurologist (I think). Here's the diagnosis information for peripheral neuropathy from the Mayo Clinic:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352067
John

REPLY
lisabeans | @lisabeans | Jan 5, 2018
In reply to @lisabeans "Hope you had a great new year @oldkarl . The last blood work I had my..." + (show)
@lisabeans

Hope you had a great new year @oldkarl . The last blood work I had my ana was negative. When it was positive it was low 1:160 homogenous. The only time I had liver problems was when I took sulfasalizene. I don't recall the last time my urine protein was testes. My creatine serum is always a little low but the doctors never mention it. I never heard of the sFLC. The shaking isn't extreme - more like a vibration like you would feel in a massage chair but a bit painful. My arms shake a lot after aqua therapy and sometimes in the morning. How would I find out if I have neuropathy?

Jump to this post

Thanks. I will bring it up to my doctor.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.