HI guys, last Sunday I was sitting here saying I am not going to take 15mg of MTX again, I will go back to 12.5mg, but did I, no I didn't, and now Sunday is here and I know why I said that to myself!!!!!!
Just like last week, my tummy is unbearable, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, feeling of general yuckiness. Also I had 2 days without Endone as the MTX is working, but the payoff isn't worth it, it has been 4.5 hours now of running to the toilet. (Also the pain came back today too) never mind two days is better than none. It was great going walking with my boys and my doggy. I take my folic acid, etc etc so I reckon its back to 12.5mg this week. Also I took an antiinflammatory suppositry today (I am not allowed to take antiinflamm by mouth anymore, they have damaged my oesophagus, and I think that has not helped the tummy probs at all as I used to feel like this with them also.
I am so disappointed but not surprised as I have been battling the doses of MTX for 8 years and have always had to come off of it or reduce it for whatever reasons, have tried almost every other drug but allergies or intolerance keep me from them. So 12.5mg mtx it is, but the aim was to get my ESR under control it keeps getting around the 60 mark at present but has been steadily climbing for about the last 6 months. Blood pressure is up even tho I am on meds for it, so I am on a new eating plan to try and reduce my weight and maybe my blood pressure too. I lost 2.5mg in the first week, and I think I have now lost 4.5 kilos in 2 weeks!!!!!! I have almost cut out all carbs except for porridge in the morning (good for cholesterol), fruit and yoghurt or soup for lunch, and normal meal for dinner but no carbs or very little as in spag bol etc.
Sorry for rambling on but it beats sitting in the toilet!
Regards Janie.
You are not rambling Janie, I know exactly how you feel. I could never get used to methotrexate,it just didnt agree with me. I started on plaquenil about 4 weeks ago and the first 2 I spent most of the time on the loo. I kept saying I have had enough , that I would stop taking them but luckily I didnt the stomach problems settled down. So hopefully it will for you also.I just had this same conversation with my RD. He wants to up my MTX to 20mg. Everytime I get about 17.5 my stomach is horrible. I lost a ton of weight before--positive result but they method of getting there was not worth it. Anyway, he said that the MTX does it's work in the first 24hrs. in your system. So, I am to take the MTX one night and the next night, take 10mg of folic acid. This is to stop the side effects at that point. I will take 3mg of mtx every other day. Has anybody else ever heard of this method? I just had this same conversation with my RD. He wants to up my MTX to 20mg. Everytime I get about 17.5 my stomach is horrible. I lost a ton of weight before--positive result but they method of getting there was not worth it. Anyway, he said that the MTX does it's work in the first 24hrs. in your system. So, I am to take the MTX one night and the next night, take 10mg of folic acid. This is to stop the side effects at that point. I will take 3mg of folic acid every other day. Has anybody else ever heard of this method? AARRGGHH...I tried to edit the first one from MTX is the last line, to folic acid. Now you get double the fun!
Switch to the injectable. It is so easy, it doesn't hurt, I mean not even a tiny bit, and you'll bypass the nausea. How awful to feel so sick from something that's supposed to make you feel better. If you've already tried splitting up the dose, and you're making sure you have plenty of food in your stomach with the pills, and you've also tried taking the medication at bedtime, then the injectible might be the only thing left. A bonus of that is, it might even be more effective than the pills that are giving you so much trouble. I'm thinking of switching to injectible myself even though I have no more MTX problems with the pills since I started splitting the dose during the day and bedtime. Since you seem to have a history of difficulty with MTX, injectible may very well be the answer for you. I sure hope so. Hi guys, I should have mentioned I am on the injectible. I take 20mg folic acid on day after mtx, and 10mg next day followed by 5mg daily after that. Regards Janie.
[QUOTE=janiefx]Hi guys, I should have mentioned I am on the injectible. I take 20mg folic acid on day after mtx, and 10mg next day followed by 5mg daily after that. Regards Janie. [/QUOTE]
I was advised to take a daily Prilosec when they started me on my MTX & Prednisone. Also Folic Acid and 1200 Calcium , 1000 Vitamin D.