Hi -
My didagnosis was confirmed in July of RA. Rheumy put me on methotrexate, with a followup appt in 3 months. The worst side effect has been feeling like I have morning sickness for approx 3.5 days... with the thought of most foods - gagging me. But i'm dealing with that.
My question is - is the meth med an ongoing medicine or do you (hopefully) start feeling better from it and go off of it? I forgot to ask Doc that question.
THANKS!
Hi, my understanding of mtx is that it is an ongoing treatment. sometimes the dose is adjusted if major improvements are seen. i don't know what strengh you take. i take 20mg every monday. i have found however, that taking it after lunch is easier on my system. maybe because i take everything else in the a.m. anyway it seems that food on my stomach really helps.
hope you feel better!
It's an ongoing thing. I take mine in the morning and have never had any trouble, but then I'm only on 5 mg now, but it was up to 10 mg at one point.
Susan
Milo~It is a continuous treatment. I've been on it for years now and I'm up to 25mg. I was doing real well for a while and we tried to reduce it to 20mg; but I started having problems because I had to go off my other meds due to an unrelated infection. That was a slight setback for me.
If all goes well I will start to reduce it again soon. The thing with DMARD treatments is that they are meant to slow the progression of the disease. As you improve it may take less to acheive that goal; but if you are like the majority of us you will be on some sort of DMARD treatment for the rest of your life.
If you stop taking it your symptoms will return....and chances are they will be worse.
I'm on 15 mg. I had a few, slight side effects from it in the beginning, but they're mostly gone. I had to add Arava to the mix to get better results, but I'm doing fine right now. You start taking it, it becomes routine, and then you kind of forget about it. It's just what you do.MTX and a biologic seem to be the way most RD's start treating this disease. I was on MTX from October to June with the dose frequently decreasing. My liver could not handle it and was finally pulled off in June. I started Planquenil and I am still on Enbril. I haven't had a flare up since Christmas. I hope it stays that way. I also stopped getting my period when I started the MTX.
Hope it works for you...the folic acid should help.
Gene~How old are you? I stopped getting my period too after maybe a year on MTX. They say I'm in menopause now....but I wonder if I didn't take MTX would that be the case?
My hormone levels test that I am indeed in menopause....but I wonder if it's only due to MTX? Have they tested your hormone levels to see if you are in menopause?
I'm 35. This happened when I was 32.
My dr. started me on Plaquenil in June and 10 mgs of mtx in July. I'd get very sick to my stomach for the first 2-3 days to the point where I couldn't even eat. He then lowered my dosage to 7.5 mgs of mtx and 200 mgs of plaquenil down from 300. I'm much better. I was also extremely dizzy and had constant headaches. Both are gone now.HIYUH MILOBEAN,
I'VE BEEN ON MTX FOR SOME TIME NOW. IT DOES TAKE SOME TIME BUT USUALLY THE SIDE AFFECTS LESSEN. I SOMETIMES WILL GET HEADACHES AND OCCASIONAL NAUSEA ALONG WITH SOME FATIGUE AND FEELING GROGGY. WHAT HAS HELPED IS TO SPLIT YOUR DOSAGE ON THE DAY YOU NORMALLY TAKE IT. ASK YOUR DOC IF IT'S OK FOR YOU TO TAKE HALF YOUR DOSAGE IN THE MORNING AND THE OTHER HALF AT BED TIME. WORKS FOR ME.
GOOD LUCK,
DON
You may want to try shots.Hi... I take 25mg of MTX, and plaquenil and prednisone and humira. I didn't get the sickness from it, but I am having the sores in the mouth and my hair is thinning rapidly! Other than that.. wish I could find something that would curb my appetite
Also, listen to everyone about the folic acid, it helps alot! take it everymorning. Maybe you won't have the sores and hair falling out like me... if you start right away.
My stomach was very upset in the beginning. Now, I have a little discomfort the day after I take it. I take mine on Saturday so that if I feel sick, I don't have to maintain so many responsibilities.
Also, the doctor might be able to give you something for nausea. Pain itself can cause nausea as do a lot of the pain meds that we take. Taking meds with food does help.
I take 25 mg a week and have been on it 6 years. Part of my problem early on is that I actually picked up a bacteria and it was causing me terrible problems. Once that was taken care, the MTX because significantly less of a problem.
Here's where checking with your GP as well as your Rheumy might help.
I don't know if I can blame this on the MTX or not but I have the worst diarrhea. Most of the time I can't make it to the bathroom. It just gives me a terrible cramp & BINGO!!! I go several times a day. I SHOULD be losing weight. ( but I'm not ) ANybody else having this problem? I hope not. lol
Trisha ( stays close to a bathroom )
So you have Fibro also, that's what was causing my diarrhea. The prednisone was definitely increasing my appetite, I was on it for 1 1/2 years, I've been on 20mg of MTX for 1 1/2 yrs, Mobic, Folic Acid, Vicoden for breakthru pain, methylprednisole, protonix (for stomach) Atarax(to sleep) Provigil ( to give me energy) and 6 vials fo Remicade every 6 weeks. Was on Humira but it didn't work for me. Good Luck with your "trips" Melodie I think that is a standard side effect of the MTX. How bad it is might be determined on other health problems. For instance, stomach problems, IBS, etc. I eat different on the weekends to compensate for the problem. But if it is happening too often or too extreme, or uncontrollably to where you're afraid to leave the house -- then, it is definitely time to discuss with the doctor. I did not know FM could cause diarrhea. Hi Milobean My Dr. started me on MTX a month ago and I do experience some nausea and every now and then diarreah. I was also having some stomach pains off and on the first two weeks. Dr. had me skip a week and then start back up and so far no more pains. So hopefully that's it. It really upset me to have to start taking MTX but sometimes we just have to do what we have to do. Do you have any trouble with less energy since starting the med. or being down in the dumps. I seem to feel blue more often lately and I sure don't like it. Rocxy Everyone has been SO helpful! Thankyou - I have choosen to "hang in there" as Friday night starts my 5th dose. Last dose wasn't quite as bad as prior - so hopefully it'll keep getting better. I was put on Lexipro BEFORE I started the MTX. I've experienced depression several times in the past 4-5 years. Was on zoloft but wasn't satisfied. The Lexipro has made a HUGE difference, however, I am too tired from all this RA stuff to figure out the reason for the depression...smile. I'm coping ok with the RA - just wish I had a crystall ball & knew were I was headed with it. All the unknown and what's ahead. Yes - I am mostly tired and low on energy. I think that's a combination of both the RA & the Mtx. Hard to tell sometimes what is causing what. This whole ride since Feb has been very frustrating for me - but I'm hanging in there! Take care!
i had problems with mtx at first too...for about the first
5 weeks. My doc was going to take me off of it, but
we thought we'd try just a bit longer. A couple of
weeks later things settled down, and I have very few,
if any, problems now.
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