MTX and Allergies | Arthritis Information

Can MTX make allergies worse? Is that counter-intuitive? I was convinced I had a cold but my family hasn't gotten it and apparently ragweed pollen is really high. I've never had allergies this bad (although I do have outdoor allergies). My eyes are bothered, and I am sneezing/blowing my nose constantly. Any experience?

Thanks!

[QUOTE=KatieG]Can MTX make allergies worse? Is that counter-intuitive? I was convinced I had a cold but my family hasn't gotten it and apparently ragweed pollen is really high. I've never had allergies this bad (although I do have outdoor allergies). My eyes are bothered, and I am sneezing/blowing my nose constantly. Any experience? Thanks. I have never had allergies this severe before! I don't know what is going on...Allergy drops are not good if you have dry eyes. If you are inside and have central air running and you are having this problem it more likely a cold.You just had all of that swelling in your jaw. That may have promted a sinus infection.

Wow my memory is bad. I just remembered that i had allergy shots a few years back. So just because it is allergy season does not mean i have allergies. I use Nasonex daily religiously.

Last year about this time was when my RF showed up positive. I talked the doc into running it because i had a nodual on my finger. I told him that my eyes hurt and he thought it was from allergies. They hurt because they were dry but i was just starting a flare and had no idea what i was in for. So it really was awful. I was wanting cortisone eye drops.

You may very well be having hayfever. But here is the problem i run into. If i get severlly dry i get bronchitis and eye infections. So i have to be very careful. It is almost impossible to know what to do sometimes. So I take low dose antihistamines when i need them. Because it does not take as much some days to dry me up.

Sorry you are miserable. excuse my spelling I am on a low dose antihystamine and other meds.

The winds from Ike and Gustav really kicked up the allergans all over east of the Mississppi..Reports are saying that this is a bad allergy season across the boardThey also say you either grow out of allergies, or you grow into them. So just because you never had them before does not mean you won't get them now. I had an allergic reaction when I tried MTX. Huge hives on my face, neck, arms, legs everywhere. Dr. took me off the mtx and after a shot of pred I finally cleared up my itchy hives. Some where huge!

So no more mtx for me and also allergic to sulfa.

I'm allergic to being allergic. lol

Oh it was definitely allergies. Just taking one benadryl made me feel WONDERFUL yesterday. Not too sleepy either. But I'm holding off today until later in the day, in case I do get sleepy. I had so much energy! I have asthma and allergies. MTX makes my allergies better -- and, actually, is used to treat very severe asthma. FWIW.
Yeah, that's why I was thinking it would be counterintuitive. Thing is, MTX is not working for me at the moment (it's been months). So I will probably be switching to more/something different soon. I lived here in TN until I was 18 and then lived around New Orleans for about 10 years. While I was in TN I was on Seldane for outdoor allergies. I think it was pulled from the market while I was in LA. Down there, my allergies weren't nearly as bad--they are mainly to pollen, trees, etc. Up here in allergy country they are usually worse. I've been back 3 years but this is the first time it's hit me so hard that I may consider allegra, claritin, zyrtec, etc.

My body has been like "whatever" about MTX for a while now. On about 3 occasions it has wiped me out but I think my body just ignores it!