My rheumy wants to try and take me off mtx. I'm doing well. Have been on it and sulphasalazine for quite awhile. Am down to 5 mgs/mtx a week and will taper off and see how I do. Hopefully, all will go well.
Susan I can't help you with the hair question, but the intention to go off mtx is a bit of a concern. About six months ago I had done so well on Plaquenil 400/day and .3 mtx by injection for 2+ years (I was getting nauseous on .5 and .3 is not even really a therapeutic dose) that I too seriously thought about asking my rheumatologist if I could go off the mtx. In researching the subject on this Web site and others like it, I came across several posts from people who had gone off their meds because they were doing so well, and who then went on to seriously regret it. My rheumatologist confirmed that. They (and he) said that the fact that you feel so go good is because the mtx and anything else you're on is actually holding your autoimmune system at bay, as it were. It doesn't mean that you are 'cured' and don't need to take them anymore. Once you go off them, and do alright for a while, it is possible if not more than likely that the RA will come back with avengeance. The second time around, it is often true that the mtx will not work as well in counteracting the RA. I do not have first hand experience with that happening, because once I read some posts from people who seriously regretted going off and were having major problems with the next round of the disease, I decided to learn from their mistake and listen to my doctor and just stay on what was working. I'm told telling you this to be alarmist. I am just reporting what conclusions I came to when considering doing the same thing that you are doing. In the last month or so, even with continuing on the mtx and plaquenil, I have some new symptoms (a new nodule on my back, anemia and new problem joints) so the RA is never really 'gone'. I wish you good luck in whatever you decide to do. Each of us has to ultimately make our own decisions and hope they're the right ones. I hate to say it....but I agree with Marigold. I do have some experience with it and would hesitant to go off of a treatment that's getting good results. 5mg of MTX is next to nothing. If it was me and I was doing so well I'd enjoy it for a while. What the rush to make changes at this point? It's so hard to say really. I can see that the hair loss is a concern for you so you are probable hoping that once you stop that problem will go away. I can't comment on that due to the fact that I take 25mg a week and really don't have anything other than normal hairloss that we all face. It's not alarming....though I know some do have that. Like Marigold I know of so many that have jumped the gun trying to reduce their meds too quickly and that causes more harm in the end than good. If your doctor is pushing it though he obviously feels it's the best thing to do.....I hope he's right. Best of luck to you.
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