Methtotrexate | Arthritis Information

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Hello, I am a newbie here.  I have been diagnosed with RA for about 8 years.  I have been taking methotrexate for many years.  I inject it once a week.  I was wondering if anyone had side effects, nausea, etc.  If so, has anything helped?  I do take folic acid, prescribed by doc, and have had methotrexate amount adjusted over the years.  I know I need it, RA gets worse without it, even with taking Rituxan, etc.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  I hope everyone is doing well.  May God bless you.   I originally was taking 1 mg Folic Acid daily but when I started having stomach issues my rheumatologist upped it to 2mg daily. That worked for me.

 
I, too, have found that over the years I have to have the MTX upped. In fact, for me it's upped 2.5mg every other year. Guess the body builds up a tolerance. I imagine some increase occurs for the injectable version of MTX, too.
 
Maybe it's not the MTX that's causing the nausea?
 
 
Hi and welcome.  I took the inj. MTX for 12 years and it did really well for me.  A couple of years ago, I started getting nodules from the MTX and ended up going off of it last spring. 

Do you take your injection at night?  I took mine in the evening, then went right to bed and this helped me get through the worst part of it.  I took folic acid for mouth sores - 1mg daily - but I could up the dose to as much as 5mg when they were bad.  I also took (and still take) biotin tabs to help with the hair loss issues. 

Thanks for replying.  I have never tried the biotin.  I don't have too much hair loss now, but I did in the past.  I will need to keep that in mind, just in case.  I am on the 2 mg folic acid.  I take the metho just before bed.  Maybe it is the increased dose mixed with others meds.  That's that hard part, is figuring out which med is causing what.  However, it seems like I start feeling yuckier on day 3 after taking the metho.  Then it eases up in a day to two until I take the metho again.  It got worse since I have increased the dose.  I think maybe I am just weird. lol I did start Savella recently for the fibromyalgia.  May need to look into that.    Again thanks for the replies and the ideas.   I take 800 mcg of folic acid each day. Do you know how many mg that is? My dr said to take folic acid but never told me how much. I'm on MTX 10mg once a week and they are pills. I'm also on  10 mg/day of predisone. I just started a week ago and I am very nauseaded and just blah. I figured I just needed to get used to the new meds.  Michelle I am sorry you have the methotrexate yuckies.  My doc switched from pills to weekly injections to see if that helped the nausea.  I think it did help some.  I just had to get used to giving myself shots.  Not such a big deal now that I have been doing for so long, but at first I didn't know if I could handle that. lol  I was a big baby. :) My Rx of Mtx is an injection of (.6ml)=15mg, each week.
My Rx of Folic Acid is 1mg, each day and it's doing it's job well to prevent problems. 
Good luck to you.
 
I forgot to answer some of your questions.
---I do take all my meds at night.
That way, the earlier reactions are easing off in the morning. I don't really think I have any though since I sleep well. I know several people who found their Niacin, for cholesterol control, causes bad itching, so are instructed to take it at night to hopefully not notice it. My cardiologist said I must take his Rx at bedtime since the holter monitor shows I skip many more beats when I sleep so that's when I need it at the strongest level. I do have some Rx that must be taken with a meal but those are not for RA. So, when the best time to take a med can be helpful. 
---I was on Prednisone for long periods off and on all through my twenties, but I was so sick with 2 conditions that I couldn't tell if it made me any worse or better unless tests showed improvements. I'm severely allergic now so can never take it again.
 
CathyMarie2010-04-20 17:24:36I am also having lots of nausea with MTX 15mg. I take 5mg Folic Acid 5 days a week..none on the night before and night of MTX ( tablets).
I saw my Dr yesterday and I am going to trial having a small evening meal followed by another small meal at bedtime, when I take MTX.
I have read on here I think about taking MTX with Porridge.. I'm going to have this Thursday night!! here's hoping..
I am nauseated Friday, Sat and Sunday until about mid day. I also take Maxalon for the nausea, it helps, but I still feel Yuk and Fatigued..
Gentle hugs, Lyn
LynM, thanks for sharing.  Please let me know if the small meals works.  I have never heard doing the 5mg folic five days.  May have to look into that.  Thanks again for sharing.  Gives me some more ideas to look at.  I hope you are doing very well and you feel better with the methotrexate.   I initially wanted to take the methotrexate at bedtime but the Rheumatologist advised against it.  he said I was more likely to experience problems if I took it at bedtime.  I also had to increase my folic acid in order to avoid the stomach upset with MTX.Hi Jancer,  Did your doc say why not to take at bedtime or what problems it would cause?  I inject at bedtime.  I wonder if trying the day might be better. hmmmmm..... I am willing to try almost anything. lol  
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