have some questions regarding MTX. I've been taking it since the end of March. I never experienced anything strange, just tiredness, & once, I had mouth sores.
I take MTX on Monday am. I had a colonoscopy a few weeks ago & had problems afterward.The reason for the test was that I RAN FAST to the bathroom as soon as I ate. (sometimes, not lucky enough to reach the b/r.)After test, I had bleeding ( black blood ) & terrible pain in left side. Dr. put me on Cipro, 500mg twice daily. He said I have Colitis. My RA took me off of MTX. He said he wanted to see how my b/r problems would act. Well, so far, no problems. I feel like crap though.. My hands, neck, in fact my whole body hurts from RA. I was wondering ( after reading a commet from Crunchy) if maybe I could take MTX by injection. If & when I go back on MTX, will I start all over again or start with 20mg. a week?I'm now on 2 1/2mg. of Prednisone now. Oh yes, I'm also on Celebrex.
Trisha
Trish,
I had a lot of problems with that same thing while I was taking MTX by mouth. Mine was not as bad as yours but there were several foods that just seem to go straight through me as soon as I ate them. I did not have any bleeding though and did not have colonoscope or anything like that. I switched to injectible MTX and the problem stopped almost immediately. Now I can eat anything I want without any problems. My MTX dose is 17.5 mg., not quite as strong as yours but not much difference. Hope this helps and I hope you get your problem resolved quickly!
Jamie
You might talk to your RD about Humira or Enbrel instead of MTX. I switched from MTX to Humira and it's kept my RA under control with a lot fewer side effects. There's other risks to consider of course, but it never hurts to ask. Good luck!
Jamie, when I see my RD again, I will discuss the injections with the MTX. He has mentioned in the past about Humira.
I dearly love salad & haven't had any for about 2 months now. I had big problems with other food but the salad was WOW! I told my husband that I was going to have some salad this weekend. He said to make sure I have it at home. lol
Trisha
I understand the bathroom issues. I just had crohn's ruled out. They are calling it good ole IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. I have had IBS since I was 16, I'm 36 now but was always constipated to the point of taking a prescription laxatives daily. This past winter, it switched to diarrhea. The run to the potty, butt checks clenched, get out of the way, gotta go RIGHT NOW sorta thing. Sometimes this would happen 15-20 times a day! And, yes, I had a few accidents. I carry a spare change of clothes in the car now!
Even after they ruled out UC and Crohns, my rheumy isn't 100% convinced there isn't something more than ibs going on. However, since starting the humira injections, it has helped the diarrhea! I do my weekly injection on Thursday and I'm usually diarrhea free until Sunday night or Monday.
Another thing to remember is their is a difference between soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Lettuce, beans, fruits and veggies are mostly insoluble fiber and can make diarrhea worse. Soluble fiber, such as rice, potatoes without the skin, graham crackers, white bread, that sort of thing will help with the diarrhea. If you just gotta have a salad as I do once in a while, try eating some white bread first to buffer your tummy.
Check out http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/ it will explain the diet and there is a message board there as well! I have found it to be very helpful!
Micheleb, that you for the info. I will check out the site. I also carry extra clothes with me. It is very upsetting.
Were you ever on MTX? I'm still off of it but I will have to be getting something besides just Celebrex & Prednisone. I will check about the MTX shots.
I will also try the bread before the salad. I never thought about that before.
Wishing you well,
Trisha
I just started the mtx injections this past Friday. I was a bit sick a few hours after but seem to tolerate it ok so far. Its too soon to tell if it helps any or not!
The potty accidents ARE very upsetting but try not to let it bother you too much. Sometimes, it just can not be controlled.
I see you are on a pretty low dose of the prednisone, has your rheumy talked about upping that for a short while to help get things under control? Also, have you talked about starting the humira at all? It is in the process of being approved by the fda for crohns so I've got to imagine it will also help with UC as well as the RA.
Micheleb.....my husband (who does not have RA) had very similar problems. They did a endoscopy on him and found that he has Celiac disease. Basically he can not have gluten...which is in so many things.