Opinions needed please! | Arthritis Information

Hi everyone,

im currently on plaq and to me it seems its working as i can bend my fingers, and although they are tight and sore at times, i remember the days i could not bend them one bit for ages at a time, so to me i have come along way. Doc is pushing for me to try mtx, i think only small dose at first, 10 or 12mg if i remember, im so used to the type of pain that i feel, that its like become 'normal' to me, and i think i can put up with what 'pain i know' than be forced with new side effect pain from mtx, which i have heard can be nasty. Im already so tired now, i cant imagine being any tireder, i heard mtx does this as well? Also its winter down here, is this not the best time to do this? (or am i just makiing tonnes of excuses here!). I have raynauds and with the cold weather its really playing up, how do you know what pain the raynauds brings and what pain the arthritis brings?! its so confusing at times, i dont know what is what! any sugg? I dont want to start mtx if the paiin is raynauds related. My blood tests are all good and my xrays are pretty good too, so im thinking do i really need to start this? Then i think, what if it takes away pain and i didnt realise there was a better kind of normal out there??!! So confiused, would greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions. Take care.

Well, I understand that delimma. I would probably give it another month to just consider it. And then, if you decide to try the MTX, set a firm date for reassessment (maybe 6 months) and if you don't think it has helped, you can always stop. I'm sort of resistant to moving to stronger meds myself, so I see where you are coming from....

Lorin
Myself, I'm a believer in starting to treat aggressively at the begining. But that is due to my own experience. I was dx'ed when children were not treated aggressively. Due to that, I have damage that might have been prevented had they been more aggressive. This is just my opinion. My opinion on MTX is that there is more known about the risks of it versus the newer biologic DMARDs. Like any med, some have none or little side effects from it, while others can't tolerate it. I am ambivalent about it for me as I don't see that it helped. I had mild side effects that were combated by taking it before bed and then taking what I call my nighty night meds. Then I'd sleep as much as possible the next day just in case of the icky stomach. Other people I know have no icky stomach feeling.
About labs....mine have been in the normal range for 21 years of battling arthur. My x-rays present a different story. they show years of damage done when the disease was active and treated only with ibuprofen and naprosyn. thankfully i did go into remission like some teens do. and while in remission, i still had problems due to the damage. then when i gave birth, my Ra came back strong, still negative in labwork. but now in addition to damage from Ra only, i have OA changes in many joints as well as osteoporosis. Would i have less damage had I been treated more aggressively? Most likely.
I don't mean to sound like my way is the right way for you. Just what I wish had been available to me all those years ago.

hugs, wayney

I have raynauds along with ra pa and oa, I can tell when it is raynauds acting up, because of the inflammation of my hands makes them so hot I can melt chocolate in them!! When the raynauds is acting up they go stone cold and my fingers can barely move. I hope this helps.

meme

thanks for the replies guys, appreciate it. I would have hoped for more but i guess people are busy or not yet in the group.

meme, do you take anything for the raynauds? what do you do when they go stone cold? mine appears to do that all day and if water goes on them they burn like fire. I thought when my hands locked up that it was the arthritis?? Pred worked to unlock them. How do i know if its the raynauds or the arthritis then? Very confused. Thanks for trying to help.

Hi Leah,

I have RA and raynauds. I find that the raynauds causes my fingers to go white, numb and cold. For me it's nothing like the pain I get in my hands from the RA.

I've been on Plaquenil and MTX for over 10 years now and never found that the MTX made me tired. I put off taking MTX for a while (I was afraid to take it) but so glad that I ended up taking it. Of course I've had to increase it over the years and now have had to add other meds, but it helped me so much when plaquenil just wasn't enough.

Kelly

Hi Leah, and welcome!

I was diagnosed about 3 months ago and have been
on MTX for about 2 months. At first it did make me
really, really tired. But now it is much better. i do get
tired some still, but not like before. And I really think
it's helping.

Take care,
Tara

Leah; I too take MTX and now Humira, but for quite a while I just took MTX alone. Once I got up to 22.5mg we had to add the Humira.

I'm a big fan, of all the meds I've been on in the past I truely believe this one has given me what is closer to a "normal" life than I've had since my diagnosis. I'm usually tired the day after or so; but compaired to the way I was before it's a small price to pay.

Good Luck to you with your choice. I know it's not an easy one...but try not to let all of those things on the warning label scare you away. They have to list all of that stuff; the majority of those symptoms are so unlikely to happen.

Leah

I am going into my fourth week on mtx and I don't think I am experiencing any drastic side effects. I have been tired, but I hear that will go away. I got some mouth sores, doubled my folic acid dose because of the good advice I received here, and they went away - right away. Tonight I take my fourth dose. I was really nervous right before taking mtx in the past but now I am feeling much more comfortable with it. My pain is not as extreme as it used to be and I am trying to be patient with the tiredness. I really don't want to keep doing prednisone which I have been on for about a year.

Tara - It is good to read your post. I think mtx is not as scary as I had thought.

By the way Leah - There is a really good thread on MTX with like 9 pages that was started a couple weeks ago. You might get some good information from that.