How quickly was your Mtx increased? | Arthritis Information

I have been on 10 mg of Mtx for three weeks now. Can not say i see much improvement. I will call the Rd tommorrow. Argg i want to go out of town Tuesday. Not go to the doctor. Maybe he can call something in? I am very frustrated. I am sure the rest of you find this disease to be frustrating also. I am just really , really tired of this. I know it is a low dose. I know i am starting other meds soon. I know, I know Patience. I think i have run out of patience. I guess i need someone to call in some more patience for me with lots of refills. LOL As i guess i am stuck with this.My dr. always says that it can take up to 3 months for an increase in MTX to show. 10mg isn't a huge amount but your dr. will probably add the other stuff first and then increase. They like to keep the MTX as low as possible. Maybe a quick pred pack would help.

Sorry you are feeling so rotten.

Becky Milly

I had to look back in my records but it looks like I was told to increase by an additional pill per week every 2 weeks til I got up to 6 -2.5 mg pills where I have stayed at. I started with 4 per week. It did not kick in right away. When my doctor increased my prednisone from 30 to 40 mgs a day is when overnight I felt better.

It took about 2 months to increase to 20mg at which point it kicked in and worked well...before that at a lower dose, nothing.

Alan

Put on 12.5, increased to 15 at 3 months, then 3 months later to 17.5 and have been at this amount for a year. He just increased it to 20 but I'm holding off to give Humira another few weeks to stop the PsA flare. It is getting better, so I'm holding off on starting 20. The word of the day PATIENCE! LindyYesterday i took an extra 5 mg of pred. I had been taking 10 mg mantanance dose but also had a Depomedral shot. So he said combined that was equal to 30 mg of pred daily. It is a few days short of a month and that is how long the Depomedral shot was supposed to last. Well this morning my ankles looked a lot better. My knees a little better. Shoulders looked horrid when i put my bathing suit on and elbow not so good. Then tonight ankles and knees are back where they started. After i took Mtx seemed like i swelled worse. Probably just because i am flaring.

If i was just fighting off one or two swelling places i would probably still fuss. But this is everything at once. I am a very lumpy lady. LOL Even my fingers and toes. My face and jaw i guess i will not talk about.

Actually after i took the Arava that i was allergic to. Then i took 20 mg of pred for a few weeks. My ankles would be good in the morning and i would have trouble walking at night to the bathroom. The swelling bounced up and down for at least a week before finally leaving. So maybe scince it went down some last night it is a good sign.

Just the increase of 5 mg of pred has sent me into heartburn city. I can apperantly handle 10mg alot better than 15mg.

I started on 10 mg last week. Wouldn't know I was on it, for better or worse. I go back to the RD in three weeks. I think at that point (after a month) he will kick up dose to 20 mg. Maybe just 15 first though, since I don't have lots and lots of joints involved. He also sounds like he wouldn't add plaquenil until I am at 20 mg for a while. I don't have widespread inflammation though.

I wonder how doctors decide between prednisone and NSAIDS? I was only on pred for 7 days back in December. That is when I got so much worse because I WAY over did it while on pred. I have been on Mobic since. Would be in a lot more pain without it, it has been a lifesaver for me.

I am allergic to NSAID'S. That would be a deciding factor. Katie G NSAIDS did nothing for me-thus prednisone

Milly do you take the prednisone only after you have eaten? Do you take something like Prilosec as a preventative for tummy troubles? That was what my doctor told me to do and I have has no problems.

hi milly wheni was on mtx started at 15mg went up to 17.5 after a couple of mths
it can take many months before it kicks in.. i allso took folic acid daily which
reduced the sicky feeling. and i have read isgood for the heart.
i alls took metoclopramide a anti sickness pill .. Boney
forgot to say whith my pred i take in the mornings along whith omeprazole
for the stomach... allso recently found out that different manufactures of pred
different effects.. as ihave usedthe same chemist for many years but this time
i put my prescipt into a new one.. all the boxes were a different colour and for the first
timein 13yrs they upset my stomach a lot... Boney
Not sure if my recall is correct, but I think I started at 12.5, increased one month later to 17.5, increase again one month later to 20 and then a final increase to 25. So, in four months time went up to my max. I started at 10 mg in Feb '07 and by Thanksgiving I was at the limit, 25 mg.November 07 started at 10mg... was increased in January to 20mg where I remain. Meeting w/ RD on Friday so we'll see what he does from there. I have improvement. RD was actually pleased w/ a 10% increase in mobility and reduction of pain.I started on 7.5 mg and was on that dosage for two months. Then I increased by one pill every two weeks until I reached 15 mg.I was started on 4, 2.5 mg. tablets which I increased every two weeks until I was at 20 mg. My last appointment I was bumped to 25 mg. injectible. It took several months for the oral 20 mg. to kick in so don't be discouraged that you aren't getting results yet. Hang in there.
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