How it went
Did it last?
- 1 of 5 said the benefit wore off: the one who relapsed.
- 1 of 5 needed to keep doing it to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 0 | 0% |
| Near-full | 0 | 0% |
| Substantial | 3 | 60% |
| Partial | 0 | 0% |
| Relapsed | 1 | 20% |
| No benefit | 1 | 20% |
Only 5 accounts. Treat these percentages as anecdotes, not rates.
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | 2 | 0% | |
| Severe | 1 | 0% |
2 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention Hydroxychloroquine / Plaquenil, per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 184 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | 0 | 682 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 704 | 0.0 |
| 2012 | 2 | 1,491 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1,708 | 0.6 |
| 2014 | 0 | 2,352 | 0.0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 2,158 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | 0 | 1,431 | 0.0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 3,110 | 1.0 |
| 2018 | 26 | 2,201 | 11.8 |
| 2019 | 2 | 1,075 | 1.9 |
| 2020 | 11 | 2,581 | 4.3 |
| 2021 | 4 | 1,867 | 2.1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1,166 | 0.9 |
| 2023 | 0 | 1,000 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 1,237 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 0 | 1,019 | 0.0 |
| 2026 (so far) | 0 | 840 | 0.0 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
All 5 accounts
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Long-Term Daily mHBOT and Full Recoveries w/ Ongoing Maintenance
used_to_race combined daily hydroxychloroquine with mHBOT sessions 3-4 times a week for 45-90 minutes, plus fludrocortisone for POTS, and reported bad days becoming much less frequent, with capacity for 76-mile cycling weekends and full-time work plus…
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The Temporary Recovery Stories (Judith)
Commenter Judith described multiple remissions and relapses since childhood, including a Rituximab course that caused complications. She now manages with AHCC, magnesium, Plaquenil and colchicine, and describes the illness as progressive, each relapse…
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Plaquenil for ME/CFS: work for anybody?
Hydroxychloroquine at 400mg daily, started August 2018, brought substantial improvement within about two months. Before starting, symptoms were borderline mild-to-moderate ME/CFS with POTS-like dysautonomia, frequent GI symptoms, headaches and rashes. After…
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Plaquenil for ME/CFS: work for anybody?
Hydroxychloroquine was taken for four months by an ME/CFS patient with no dose specified. The account states only that it did absolutely nothing for their symptoms. No illness duration, severity, or side effects are given. There is no report of any benefit,…
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Plaquenil for ME/CFS: work for anybody?
Hydroxychloroquine, started at 200mg daily and increased to 200mg twice daily, was taken for about 18 months after being prescribed for an autoimmune skin condition (granuloma annulare). The person had severe ME at baseline and described the drug as…