Originally posted by BigMackCam I take hydroxychloroquine for RA, and I've been wondering whether it leaves me slightly better or worse off in the current pandemic. On the one hand, it's reigning-in my apparently-over-active immune system to slow the progression of RA (which it seems to do rather well in my case, actually), but I'm curious as to whether my immune system is now reduced enough, too much, or not enough in relation to COVID-19. I believe the dosage I take is lower than is being trialled for the virus...
Sorta like the Goldilocks story, I reckon; the trick is being "just right". It seems to have slowed the progression of my own RA, though I limit the dose to 400mg/day because more than that creates more tinnatus than I can tolerate. Like you, I'm hoping that's the right amount for me.
Originally posted by biz-engineer I think the chemical is toxic for the body , so you need to have the exact prescription not to create more harm than benefits. That is what the debate is about to avoid people self medicating without controlling risk factors. Should only be decided and controlled by medical professionals to avoid the risks.
Which makes me think of another issue: since there really isn't an "immune system", but an immune system for each kind of leukocyte their body will produce, and because each person varies in the degree to which the excitatory neurotransmitters (glutamatic acid, aspartic acid, nicotinic acid & acetylcholine) affect the production of each, they've got to tailor the dose individually, and as far as I know, no one knows how to do that other than by titration. So I picture viral patients in a big 19'th C. "ward" being dosed with the same amount of 'chloroquine, in a sort of crap shoot betting it's close to what they actually need and not too much or too little.