[mscrzy1]

I'm currently taking Plaquinil, which is an antimalarial drug.

Antimalarials
Antimalarials are used in combination with steroids and other medications, in part to reduce the dose required of the other drugs. Antimalarials are most often prescribed for skin rashes, mouth ulcers, and joint pain, but also can be effective in mild forms of lupus where inflammation and blood clotting are a concern. Antimalarials improve lupus by decreasing autoantibody production, protecting against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light from the sun and other sources, and improving skin lesions.

The two types of antimalarials most often prescribed today for lupus are hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil®) and chloroquine (Aralen®). Unlike the rapid response seen with steroids, it may take months before antimalarial drugs improve your lupus symptoms.

Side effects from antimalarials are rare and usually mild; they include upset stomach and changes in skin color. These side effects usually go away after the body adjusts to the medication. In high doses certain antimalarial drugs may damage the retina of the eye, causing vision problems. With the low doses of antimalarials used in the treatment of lupus, the risk of this complication is extremely low. However, as a precaution, people treated with antimalarials should see an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) regularly.

It's also treated with these drugs....Some of these drugs will be familiar to you.

Immunosuppressives (Immune Modulators)

Immunosuppressive medications are used to control inflammation and the overactive immune system, especially when steroids have been unable to bring lupus symptoms under control, or when a person cannot tolerate high doses of steroids. However, there can be serious side effects from these drugs, so if you are being treated with immunosuppressives you should be carefully monitored by your physician. Immunosuppressive drugs reduce your body’s ability to fight off infections, and increase the chances that you could develop viral infections such as shingles (chicken pox, or herpes zoster). It is extremely important that you pay attention to even the smallest cut or wound, and let your doctor know if any sign of infection begins, such as redness, swelling, tenderness, or pain. These drugs may also increase your risk for developing cancer.

Each immunosuppressive drug has unique side effects. Therefore it is important that immunosuppressive drugs be given only by physicians who are experienced with the use of these medications.

Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan®) was developed to fight cancer. Although in its early years of use it was taken in pill form, today Cytoxan is taken through the vein (intravenously, or IV). It has been shown to improve kidney and lung disease, but can affect a woman’s menstrual cycle and can cause bladder problems, hair loss, and sterility.

Methotrexate (Rheumatrex™), also developed to fight cancer, is known as the "gold standard" -- the best drug -- for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It has also been shown to be very effective in treating skin lesions, arthritis, and pleuritis in people with lupus. However, the drug can cause sun-sensitivity, liver damage, including cirrhosis, and lung infections. If you are taking this drug you should not drink alcohol, especially if you have a history of kidney disease. If you are taking high-dose methotrexate you should not use NSAIDs; caution is also advised when taking aspirin. Nausea, mouth sores, and headaches are the most common side effects of methotrexate.

Azathioprine (Imuran®) was developed to prevent rejection of kidney transplants. It blocks inflammation pathways in lupus and helps to lower the steroid dosage and improve liver and kidney disease. However, it may cause pancreatitis and an allergic form of hepatitis, so liver function tests and blood counts should be done regularly.

Corticosteroids
Corticosteroids (also known as glucocorticoids, cortisone or steroids) are synthetic (man-made) drugs designed to work like the body’s naturally occurring hormones produced by the adrenal glands, in particular cortisol. Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers that regulate most of the body’s functions. Cortisol helps regulate blood pressure and the immune system, and it is the body’s most potent anti-inflammatory hormone. Corticosteroids prescribed for autoimmune diseases are different from the anabolic steroids that weightlifters and other athletes sometimes take to increase strength.

Steroid medications work quickly to decrease the swelling, warmth, tenderness, and pain that are associated with inflammation. They do this by lessening the immune system’s response. Prednisone is the most commonly prescribed steroid for lupus. Prednisolone and methyl-prednisolone (Medrol®) are similar to prednisone, and some physicians prefer to prescribe these if you have liver problems.

Most people take steroids in pill form, but topical creams or gels are often used for cutaneous (skin) lupus. Steroids in liquid form are sometimes injected into muscles or directly into joints, and in some cases into skin lesions. Pulse steroids are large liquid doses given intravenously (injected into a vein) over several hours; the beneficial effects can last for weeks so pulse steroids are sometimes prescribed to control a lupus flare, or for people who cannot tolerate steroids in pill form.

Your doctor will try to keep your steroid dosage at the lowest effective level. Once the symptoms of lupus have responded to treatment, the steroid dose is gradually reduced (tapered). As an alternative to tapering, or stepping down the steroid dose, your doctor may choose to have you take steroids on an every-other day basis -- one day on, one day off.

Steroids can produce a variety of side effects. The most common are changes in appearance (acne, a round or moon-shaped face, weight gain due to increased appetite, and hair growth). Steroids can cause fluid retention and a redistribution of fat, leading to a swollen face and abdomen, but thin arms and legs. Also, the skin becomes more fragile and bruises easily. Steroids can suppress growth in children. Steroids can also cause irritability, agitation, excitability, insomnia, or depression. These changes in appearance and mood are more apparent with high doses of steroids.

I got these quotes directly from the Lupus Foundation of America at http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/weba...246&zoneid=525