"Discontinuing it for a while" would mean at least several months as the half life is pretty long at about 30-60 days.

I personally have never heard anyone report neuropathy from Plaquenil and it's use is wide spread among Sjogren's patients (probably 75% of members on our Sjogren's forum)...this group though, is a very small % of the general population.

Did you have any of these symptoms 'before' starting the Plaquenil or shortly after? Just as it takes a long time to get out of the system, it also takes a long time to build up. Most (use for autoimmune disease) don't get benefit from it for 4-6 months. The percentages of side-effects is pretty low (even in the link)...as for why it's widely used in Sjogren's treatment. Keep in mind, dosing is different for malaria then it is for RA, Lupus or Sjogren's (even these AI diseases vary). How much are you taking?