Sulfasalazine side effects

keith1971

Hi all,

As of Friday just gone I'm up to 2g of Sulfasalazine & I've been experiencing 24/7 nausea, headaches, dizziness & general 'yuck' feeling.

I'm not due to see the rheumatologist until the 20th - just wondering what the advice is, should I stick it out in the hope that these will all pass?

x

frogmorton

HI Keith

poor poor you :sad:

I haven't tried sulfa am on hydroxy instead, but l have read thsi sort of thing fairly frequently and l am pretty sure it should pass for you once your body adjusts.

If it persists it may be that your GP might consider prescribing an aniemetic (anti sickness) mediaction to counter it for you.

HUGE hugs for you

love
#
Toni xx

(my only advice having had nausea on other meds is that you get EXTRA sleep - it may help and eat regular snacks throughout the day)

keith1971

Thanks for the tips Toni.......though I'm currently sleeping from 9pm 'til 7 or 8 already!

I'm seeing my GP tomorrow so will see what he has to say about it all.

xx

jillydog61

Hello Keith, i tried Sulfasalazine and it was awful. Had the most violent headaches and was taken off it, if i was you i would phone your nurse and see what she says? dont wait till 20th when you see the rhuemy good luck
Gill

julie47

hi keith

I am not on sulpha but when I feel nausea I suck a mint and drink sweet tea.....not good for everyone i know, it could make you feel worse.
Also like toni says sleep is good too.

I hope it wears off soon. Hope the doc can help tomorrow.

Take care
juliepf x

tillytop

Hi Keith

Sorry you are struggling so much with the sulpha side effects. I felt truly dreadful when I started sulpha and nearly gave up but I did stick with it and the side effects disappeared completely once I got used to the full dose (2g daily in my case). If you can stick with it, you may find that things improve but, if you feel you can't cope with it, then it might be worth speaking to the rheumatologist for advice.

Thinking of you.

Love Tilly xxx

frogmorton

keith1971 wrote:

Thanks for the tips Toni.......though I'm currently sleeping from 9pm 'til 7 or 8 already!

I'm seeing my GP tomorrow so will see what he has to say about it all.

xx

Well done Keith!

the fact you are sleeping so much says a lot doesn't it :sad:

You take care and do let us know how you get on

Love

toni xx

donnas

I had recurrent vomiting with sulfasalazine, still mildly nauseous on my dose of 1g, it's really common apparently. Hopefully it will wear off for you. I thought I just had recurrent stomach bugs PLUS nausea but the rheumatologist said that it was probably the sulfa.

Good luck. I know how that nausea feels, horrible.

keith1971

Toni - sleep is the only time I get any relief lately.....though it is fairly broken (that's having a 3yr old as well as the arthritis!).

Ladies, thanks for the advice & tips - I'll speak to the doc tomorrow & see what he says - I do feel like I've got the flu or something but no coughing or sneezing. If needs be I can speak to the rheumatologist on the phone tomorrow also.

Headache is 7 on a 10 scale, nausea varies between 6 & 8. Today is my fourth day on the full dose so I'd like to stick with it to see if everything passes & it improves my ever increasing symptoms.

We've just come back from a weekend away in Eastbourne & despite being very lethargic, tired & achey, it really took my mind off things for a bit......then this!

Oh well, such is life......I'm thinking of changing my name to Victor Meldrew!

x

dreamdaisy

Lethargic, tired and achey? That sounds familiar, it could either be payback for the week-end or the onset of a flare. I hope it passes over soon. DD

gizmobabe

I have been on Sulfasalazine for about 5 weeks now, and for a couple of days after each increase in dose I felt really queasy. I found that if i had a glass of chocolate milk after taking them it really helped. stick with it, for the last 2 weeks the horrible feeling is now gone.

good luck

tillytop

Morning Victor Meldrew!

Glad you had a nice time in Eastbourne at the weekend.

Just wanted to say good luck with docs appt and poss speaking to the rheumatologist today. Please do post if you can to let us know how it went.

Thinking of you.

Tillyxxx

keith1971

Hello!

Doc was very understanding & told me to stick with it as hopefully the feeling will pass (and it may not even be related as my glands are up a little). Also put the sulfa on my NHS prescription & said he'd do his best to add any other drugs privately prescribed to it also but that some were trickier than others.

I was out of it last night but woke up feeling less sick & spacey......but am now back to feeling crap after my morning sulfa dose.

Thanks for the support ladies, hugely appreciated.

x x

tillytop

Hi Keith

Glad gp was understanding and I think that, if you are anything like me, you would be annoyed with yourself if you stopped the Sulph now, having got to this point. It was a long time ago now for me but I think I remember that it took a few weeks at full dose before I felt better so I think it does take time for the body to adjust to the meds. It's still horrible to feel so rough all the time though and, having been there I really do understand.

Pleased that the GP can put your meds on an NHS prescription for now Keith. At least that's one less thing to worry about.

Thinking of you and hoping you feel less Meldrew-ish soon.

Tilly xxx

keith1971

Hey Tilly,

Nope, I don't intend to stop taking it unless I'm told to by the rheumatologist. Have to give it enough time to at least see if it has any benefit for me.

I'd describe how I feel right now like having a stinking hangover every day but without the fun of the night out before! This is of course combined with all the arthritis pains.

Makes me an absolute joy to live with I'm sure my wife will agree!



xx

frogmorton

HI Keith

sounds like me on co-cos or tramadol!!!

If your wife had morning sickness then she may be able to liken it to that feeling.

Well done for sticky at it Good that you were a wee bit better first thing as you may JUST be adjusting.

Love and hope

Toni xx