Lupus and medication

As this is a blog about Lupus and Me I thought I'd give y'all a little insight into my world of medication.

I often bang on about steroids and how much I hate them but I take other things too....

Here are my boxes of meds...


This pretty box...

is filled with this stuff...

and then I have ANOTHER box filled with MORE stuff....

Then I put all that into this...

Nice and organised hey?

That's my little daily tablet wheel as otherwise I have no idea what I've taken, what I haven't and what I should have taken...It's a nightmare! Especially during bad Lupus Brain Fog times!  This pic doesn't include painkillers or vitamins so this isn't actually EVERYTHING I take.  I try to avoid painkillers where possible as I have to take so many other things, if I can reduce my tablet intake then I will.

So the medication I am currently on is:

400mg (maximum dose) of Plaquinil which is an anti-malarial drug.  Doctors aren't sure why but for some reason it helps people with Lupus by reducing joint pain and fatigue.  It also acts as an immune suppressant so dampens down the over active immune system.

50mg of Mepacrine 3 times a week (the yellow one, I have to cut it in half and tastes DISGUSTING) This is another type of anti-malarial that helps to boost the plaquinil.  It is an un-licensed drug in the UK but they still give it to people with Lupus.  Side effects include yellowing of the skin and pink tears.  I haven't had any of these yet as I am taking a relatively low dose but after long term use this will probably happen.  Hopefully I just look tanned.

75mg of Asprin

To prevent blood clots as I have 'sticky blood'

30mg Prednisolone (steroids)

I am currently on quite a high dose but usually take 15mg during a flare up

Vitamin D

My vitamin D levels were very low last time I had blood tests so I now have to take it everyday, it's also meant to help reduce Lupus symptoms

When I am not on steroids I take anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen for joint pain and when I'm having a bad flare I take tramadol or very strong co-codomol (35/100mg) for pain relief.

So there you have it - that's me and my meds.  

Prior to Lupus I was one of those people that would not take tablets.  If I had a headache I'd just go to bed or deal with it, I literally HATE taking tablets so to go from that to this was quite a shock! I'm used to it now but still part of me does hate it.  Its just weird putting stuff like this in your body.  

I asked my Lupus doc what would happen if I didn't take my medication and he told me I would die so I guess I don't really have a choice!!!!