New Guy with Questions | Arthritis Information

My doc wants to put me on MTX but i was unsure of side efects and so and asked if there were other things we could try first. He put me on prednisone for a month. This is all new to me im used to being in pain had a micro in 11-13-08 still gaining strength and so on after that. One day my left knee just balooned up and then the right knee started to hurt like well about a level 8 xrays all clear so on blood work clear but knees both swollen. have psoriasis on left knee. My doc says ive probanbly had this since i was a kid witch explains alot of the pain ive always felt. Im only 37 so ihve the steroids work to calm it back down i would rather wait to start the mtx or other stuff do to the sideeffects. What have other people experienced on MTX my wife is very concerned and would like me to take embril but the cost is outta this world i know there is help out there but the side effects seem about the same. Well ive taken the prednisone for 3 days and feel a difference so i hopoe this does the trick for awhile. Hve a good days all and thanks for any advise for the new guy lolWell i looked alittle further and found info on meds in this forum. Anyone else worry about mtx and taking it at an early age and if you take how did itt work for you? Hello magnumtagen! And welcome to the forum! I've been on mtx for about 6 years now and haven't had any major side effects. I'm taking 1ml inection once a week now, started on the pills first (4) then gradually increased to 8 before going to the shot. My Dr. also started me on Enbrel shots once a week and I have never felt better! You just have to be careful about infections and endure a liver biopsy about every 4-5 years, and take folic acid tabs every day. I have never regretted started taking these meds, the quality of life I have now is so much greater than the risk of side effects!SO how did it change your life my scoriosis isnt that bad but the arthritis is killing my knees. So was the benifiyts you so from the arthritis or scoriasis?

glad to heawr that it helped you so much when i go back to rhymy on the 23or march we'll see what he says im sure hell say mtx. thanks for your coment.

hey new guy I am on MTX,naprosen,leflunomide and still have to take pain meds occaisionally. The MTX started working in 4 weeks for me and got rid of 80% of my knee pain and sacral pain. My disease has progressed in the last 2 years and I just had my first knee replacement. I can hardly wait to have the other one done and I am only at week 5. I have had good results with the MTX but it was the lef that really made the difference. I used to get up in the mornings and could hardly walk for an hour or more and the same by night time 4 weeks of leflunomide and I was a new person. good luck Before the meds it would take almost 20-30 minutes to be able to get my stiff body to move in the morning. My knees weren't bad, the arthritis was mainly in the feet. It was very painful to walk long distances. I didn't have a lot of psoriasis, but the meds helped clear up 99% ot the lesions and walking doesn't bother me any more. I've been on MTX for 16 years now - works for me. Would love to take Enbrel but am latent-TB so Enbrel or the biologics are out of the question for me.

Other than corticosteroid injections into flaring joints, I do no use pred.

I'm one of the few people who has never had psoriasis of the skin.

So Im on MTX and have had some relief at 3 pills going to 4 pills this month. But i still have realy bad days level 8-9 on pain scale rhmy gave me tramagol 5mg one in morn and 1 at night now on my bad days this does nothing for me. I just hope the mtx takes startes helping more soon. What do other people take for pain. Im a 37 yr old male. I do believe in my area this is one reason why im not given other things for pain. Mobic made my neck quit hurting but not my knees. From what i know you cannt ake mobic while on MTX. My PA hit hard one yr after l5-s1 micrdisektomy for a ruptured disk this atleast healed very well. Thanks for all commentsTramadol did absolutely nothing for me. Mobic made my stomach feel rotten.

I still take MTX and max dose of Celebrex twice a day. That keeps the pain at bay.

Sometimes you just have to try different NSAIDS to see which one works for you.

It took a good couple months before the MTX kicked in for me. I started on small dose and gradually worked up over the years.