Hydroxychloroquine and Dizziness: What Users Say

• Wil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 16, 2019

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I welcome the chance to comment on my personal experience with Hydroxychloroquine (generic). Please keep in mind that these comments are based on my experience only. My rheumatologist prescribed two 200 mg tablets per day. After two months, I discontinued the medication because I was experiencing a number of nasty side effects, which included: dizziness, disorientation (even in familiar places and times), extreme fatigue (slept 16 hours per day), periodic shortness of breath, loss of cognitive abilities, blurred vision, headaches, metallic taste in mouth, excessive itching (but not hives), little improvement of inflamed joints, insomnia, nausea, extreme intestinal disruption, forgetfulness, and overall lack of energy. I realize some with RA praise the drug, and I am happy it works for them. But I found it a nasty, quality-of-life inhibiting drug. Thanks for reading!"

• Kit...
• March 26, 2017

Hydroxychloroquine for Rheumatoid Arthritis "I've been on Plaquenil for over 3 months now. It works wonderfully! I combine my treatment with Curcumin & Magnesium baths and I feel like a new woman :-) Side effects I experienced: Nausea & dizziness for the first week or two (I found I needed to take it after a full meal to prevent the nausea). I have also noticed since starting the Plaquenil I seem to sweat profusely. It's annoying, but the benefits far outweigh this little problem. I just wear my gym gear about now... which I did mostly beforehand anyhow :-) Also, it take take a couple months for the Plaquenil to kick in & for me to feel the effects! Don't give up, just give it some time."

• Hol...
• November 13, 2018

Hydroxychloroquine for Rheumatoid Arthritis "I've been on a roller coaster for years with Plaquenil for RA/Lupus. I take the name brand to prevent side effects of red, warm, swollen, painful hands, nausea, dizziness, hair loss, etc. Each time I try going back to generic, side effects return immediately. I'm not one to comment but I read so many reviews that sounded like either my ups or downs, so I want to encourage people to stick with this med and try the name brand (though expensive) if having bad side effects with generic. It could explain why some people have such opposite experiences. I get Plaquenil from an international pharmacy and it's much cheaper. It works better than biologics that contributed to or sped up the process leading to my cancer. I'm now 'cancer-free' and refuse to go back on them. I might have to get my vision checked and deal with other mild side effects, but pain and swelling are gone on Plaquenil. Anyway, please hang in there and give your body enough time to adjust to the med before stopping it. It's a risk versus reward scenario with meds."

• Cas...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 27, 2017

Hydroxychloroquine for Lupus "I'm in Australia, only just started this medication a week ago but I feel less fatigued already. I was stuck in bed most days, but now I can go longer without needing to go to bed or feeling like I'm going to collapse. I haven't noticed any bad side effects yet either which is good! As I get nauseated and dizzy on meds easily and haven't found that to be the case! I just wanted to point out that some people hear a lot of bad things that aren't necessarily reported or true. Like I noticed a woman on here said she needs to stop taking it because of the tinnitus side effect means she might go deaf. But deafness hasn't been reported, just tinnitus as a side effect whilst taking it. Don't be so afraid if it's going to give you your life back."

• Not...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 20, 2019

Hydroxychloroquine for Lupus "Started taking Plaquenil 5 days ago for bad butterfly rash caused by dermal lupus. I’m extremely dizzy, bad stomach pain, ringing in the ears, etc. I’ll deal with the rash, this is way too harsh. This is why pharma scares me so much. In bed on a beautiful sunny day, can’t even walk my dogs, so dizzy."

• Tjm...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2019

Hydroxychloroquine for Lupus "I am African American, 55 years of age. I developed sores on my leg, hearing loss problems, heart rate increased, dizziness all the time, balance problems while walking, mouth sores, weakness of lower legs. I had to use a mobile chair, I became so weak, made quality of life worse."

• Tjm...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2019

Hydroxychloroquine for Lupus "I am African American, 55 years of age. I developed sores on my leg, hearing loss problems, heart rate increased, dizziness all the time, balance problems while walking, mouth sores, weakness of lower legs. I had to use a mobile chair, I became so weak, made quality of life worse."

• che...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 13, 2022

Hydroxychloroquine for Rheumatoid Arthritis "I thought it might be helping, I thought I tolerated it well because my eyes were okay. I was wrong. My heart rate went up a couple of years into taking it. Doctors blamed pain, then fatigue got worse to the point that I lived in my recliner. Then I developed more problems that slowly got worse: dizziness, extreme fatigue to the point that I couldn't concentrate on basic tasks, racing heart and near fainting, uncontrollable sinus infections, daily migraines, and my skin was all messed up with rashes and rosacea. I started dropping weight fast, food went right through me. The heart had problems not caused by the heart, the gut had problems not caused by the gut. Finally, the blood doctor's tests showed hemolytic anemia was bad, I was reacting to the Plaquenil in other ways too. Three months off and I'm near recovered. Watch that stuff!! Eight years, GONE, I was near death with doctors blaming RA and misdiagnosing as other things!"

• Anonymous
• March 15, 2016

Hydroxychloroquine for Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease "I was on this medication for one day when I began to have severe vomiting 30 minutes after taking it and stomach bloating and uncontrollable gas. By day six, I called my doctor to tell him I had bilateral muscle weakness in my legs and could hardly walk a straight line without feeling like I was going to fall down. My doctor stopped the medication after six days when I presented with a known severe adverse side effect of this medication: muscle weakness and loss of coordination."

• Tor...
• October 6, 2018

For Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease "Hydroxychloroquine has been a miracle drug for me. I've been on it for 6 years. I first got sick in 2010. I struggled with strange, debilitating symptoms for 2 years before being put on Plaquenil by a rheumatologist. I had a high positive ANA (antinuclear antibody test), positive rheumatoid factor, and low complement levels. My symptoms were Raynaud's, extreme sensitivity to cold, all-over body pain (muscles, joints, skin, tendons, everything hurt), GERD, migraines with aura, heart palpitations, nausea and diarrhea, flu-like feelings, fatigue, dizziness and weakness, and tingling and numbness that would come and go. I was barely managing to function. I was put on Plaquenil finally when my rheumatologist looked at my nailfold capillaries-they were abnormal in a way that suggested connective tissue disease. Within 3-4 months, I started to feel better. I got better and better over the next 6 months. By the time I'd been on Plaquenil for a year, I felt almost normal again with only the occasional bad day."

• Kil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 14, 2017

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I am a 54-year-old female, just diagnosed with RA two months ago. I also suffer from fibromyalgia. Started taking Plaquenil exactly one month ago, along with Lyrica. Had only been taking the Plaquenil for two weeks when I had a severe reaction: dizziness, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Was hospitalized for 4 days and am still recovering from drug-induced vertigo. This is week three of vertigo, I can't drive or work and have no benefits. I was hopeful this drug might help me, now my future is uncertain because I can't work and have no income. It's Thursday, and tomorrow my mortgage and other bills are due, and here I am literally spinning out of control."

• bla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 4, 2019

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "This is the site, is where I found I am taking 3 other meds that are advised NOT to be on when taking hydroxychloroquine, when starting this one. Had 5 days of 200 mg 2x/day and have decided to stop. Severe vertigo this AM, followed with increased BP, irritability. The scary thing (beside heart & liver damage that could occur while on the other 3 meds) is the very long half-life of this drug. Cannot find out if it can be dialyzed. The pharmacy printout did not mention what I found on this site. My 'go-to' site for checking interactions did not mention my other drugs. Cannot really rate the drug as to RA, due to my short use of it. So, thank you for the info, it may have saved my life."

• Kik...
• August 16, 2016

For Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease "Not sure what I have. High anti-CCPs. Started with left hand finger and joint swelling that did not go away with some joint knuckle pain. Then having some knee and ankle joint pain in the mornings that would go away by afternoon. Stiff neck below the skull area to neck spinal area. I would get occasional calf and foot spasms. Muscle weakness and strength gone. Once I started the drug, I felt like the drug was doing nothing but giving me undesirable side effects. The nausea lessened with time along with the feeling of loss of balance. I felt like my brain was in a fog for quite a while, and my energy level is lower with some fatigue about half an hour after taking the drug and always with food. These side effects became more tolerable. Seventeen weeks before improvements."

• VB ...
• December 28, 2021

For Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease "I have been diagnosed with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) since July 2021 and was put on hydroxychloroquine. I don’t have the regular symptoms such as joint pain, rash, swelling around the joints, and sleeping a lot, so I’m not sure if my condition is UCTD. Instead, I am experiencing insomnia, burning sensation pain, mainly from my lower back to my thighs, hot flushes, chills, rapid weight loss, and weakness in my body for part of each day. For the first 2 months of taking the medication, pain was all over my body, dizzy, loss of appetite, so I guess it helps slightly with the pain since it's not so bad now and the earlier side effects are gone. It is difficult to rate it because I am feeling just a little better, but I don’t know if it contributes to the drastic weight loss and the GI issues I am experiencing. Dosage: 1st month, 1 tablet every other day, thereafter, a tablet daily—200 mg."

• Chu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 15, 2024

"22 months ago, while going through a horrible case of COVID-19, Hydroxychloroquine 200 mg, 2 a day for five days. After eight days, when I started to recover, I would put my progressive lens glasses on, and they made me very dizzy. After a day or two of trying to put them on, I had realized the prescription no longer worked for me. To this day, I have a few pairs of readers laying around here and there, other than that, I no longer wear glasses."

• Sie...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2022

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Headache, dizzy, slight vision issue, overall not feeling good-overall symptoms worse, not improving."