I took Thalidomide 100 mgs a day for several months. It isn't used for treating SLE, but for skin lupus, SCLE as in my case, or Discoid Lupus.
It brought about an amazing complete clearing of my skin within about ten days.
The side effects were considerable : I slept 10-11 hours solid a night which didn't bother me because I didn't work & had no kids at home; very distressing disabling cognitive impairment, sometimes described as 'amnesia'; initially I suffered bowel urgency or incontinence which thankfully wore off after a week or so.
I was thinking that I would have to choose between brains or beauty, :hehe: , when the effects began to wear off. At the same time I developed a quite common clinically unacceptable side effect, peripheral neuropathy in my feet, numbness and tingling and to a lesser extent in my hands.
So I was quite glad that I had to stop it.
Another huge potential problem with Thalidomide is the absolute need for 100% effective birth control because it causes severe fetal abnormalities. Since I was post menopausal I didn't have that worry.
Clare
It brought about an amazing complete clearing of my skin within about ten days.
The side effects were considerable : I slept 10-11 hours solid a night which didn't bother me because I didn't work & had no kids at home; very distressing disabling cognitive impairment, sometimes described as 'amnesia'; initially I suffered bowel urgency or incontinence which thankfully wore off after a week or so.
I was thinking that I would have to choose between brains or beauty, :hehe: , when the effects began to wear off. At the same time I developed a quite common clinically unacceptable side effect, peripheral neuropathy in my feet, numbness and tingling and to a lesser extent in my hands.
So I was quite glad that I had to stop it.
Another huge potential problem with Thalidomide is the absolute need for 100% effective birth control because it causes severe fetal abnormalities. Since I was post menopausal I didn't have that worry.
Clare
