I'm not sure if that is a real symptom, but I am going to my RD next week and we are going to be discussing reducing my MTX. He started me out on 15mg, with the hopes of lowering me to 7.5 after my swelling and pain got under control. The first attept to taper put me in a huge flare. We decided to wait 6 months and try it again. I was almost completely symptom free for about 3 months, but now I am having what I call mini flares. I woke up the other morning and did the arthritis shufful to the bathroom for the first time in recent history. My hands were stiff, ect for a little over an hour. I also noticed soreness in the joints. I just dismissed it, but then another day during the week my hands were so stiff and uncomfortable I ended up leaving work early because I was having trouble bending my fingers. That same week I was laying in bed and my big toe was hurting me terribly. I pulled back the cover only to see that the joint was red,swollen, and hot to the touch. The thing is, these flare-ups only last for a few hours and then go away like nothing ever happened. I am not visually swollen but I am starting to have these mini-flares a couple times a week. I am afraid that if I taper, I will go into a full blown flare. Is this over reacting? Also, does this mean that the MTX is not working as well as it was before? Should I just give it time and see what happens? I don't know what to do Thanks. I guess I'll tell him about symptoms. I was hoping that if I ignored it, it would go away. Maybe an anti-inflammatory will do the trick. I am not someone who likes taking too many meds, and I hate the thought of adding another one!Hi Caprice: