guess what I just found - depression medications ?
Q.Now I'm wondering if I was hasty and it's one of those med-induced questions we have about Lupus? (the Lupus is there, it just gets worse on certain medications)? What do you or others think?
A.I took a look in my CPS. (1997) There is no mention of those side effects in there, so it must be something that was added after that. The list of adverse reactions states that none have been reported in this drug, but they must be considered because of the similarity among the tricyclic antidepressant drugs. So I guess any of the tricyclic antidepressants could do the same thing. So has he been on elavil as long as he's had symptoms (and the original positive ANA?) Elavil is also used to treat lupus pain and sleeplessness (and depression). So are other tricyclics. one of the problems with blaming a med for these things is that it can be just like a virus or other flare trigger - the med might trigger symptoms of a flare that might have stayed dormant - but not actually *cause* an unrelated "lupus-like syndrome". Hard to know without taking away the drug for several months. so they don't know if this lupus-like syndrome is associated with Elavil itself or has been seen with only other tricyclics. Also, the *implication* is that the lupus-like syndrome is limited in scope (ANA titre, RF, and arthritis/arthralgia). But there's not much data here so hard to tell if it would show up as kidney problems, rashes, etc. I'm not saying this isn't his problem. Frankly, it would be wonderful if it was. That way he could stop the drug perhaps and feel much better physically. Just that he needs to be careful about stopping a med like this. One must wean off tricyclics just as with other anti-depressants so make sure he doesn't just *stop*. Withdrawal can be pretty nasty (I know on this one - I had night terrors you wouldn't believe.) This drug is *not* my drug. It induced a condition very much like gestational diabetes. what a mess. But for some it's a lifesaver.
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