Hi, sorry to hear you've joined the club! I've taken Plaquenil in the past in my early twenties, only minor side effects like nausea and occasional dizziness. I stopped after 5 years because I worried that it was an immune suppressant and wanted to try natural methods. This time around (5 months ago) my Rheumy says they now understand the drug to be able to slow or stop progression of disease (I now have full blown Lupus) so she said benefits outweigh risks. See an opthamologist every 6-12 months for checkups, but mine told me the drug usually has to be taken for at least 10 years before any eye damage shows up; even then if they catch it early it can reverse when the meds are stopped. I have been having anxiety issues recently, which may or may not be related to Plaquenil. Sorry this isn't really an answer, just information, but hope it helps. Hang in there!

I've been on plaquenil for 20 years, 200 mg twice a day. I get regular eye tests and my eyes are fine. As far as treatments go, I think that plaquenil has been the best for me with no side effects. As long as get regular eye checks I would definitely recommend plaquenil.

I was diagnosed in May 2016 and placed on plaquenil at that time. I’ve had my eyes checked every six months. The eye doctor told me that Eye damage usually occurs on high doses. As far as I know I don’t have any side effects at all from the medication. I feel the same as I always did at my eyes haven’t changed much either

I know this is really late, but I just wanted to share I'm in a similar boat and I've had good luck with plaquenil and I've been on it several months now. I believe it's helping a lot. And I've actually had a retina detachment before so I was pretty scared too but I asked about that and I also get my eye exam. From everything I've read it comes on slowly and is reversible should it occur so as long as you're monitoring it it should be okay.

I've been taking plaquenil for many years, 200mg 2x a day and my eyes are fine. This dose, supposedly is safe. I get an eye exam every year though.

I wasn't sure it was doing anything until my hand surgeon told me to go off of it. I was amazed at how awful I felt immediately. I told him and my doc and got right back on it. All of the awful pain subsided right away.

Good luck with your decision. 😇