Methotrexate side effects- due to start soon

Im at exactly the same stage and have been so well on the steroids am very nervous of starting methotrexate in August. Look forward to hearing peoples responses but do believe its such an individual thing.

 

Hi I have been on Mtx for 10 years now.  I was also dreading it but I’ve been fine.  The highest dose I’ve taken is 15mg and that did leave me feeling a little nauseous for a couple of days a week so they reduced the dose to 12.5 and changed me onto injections which are very easy and painless to do yourself and dealt with the nausea.  I know its daunting taking this drug but it does help with the RA, or at least it did with mine.  Good luck.

My RA was pallindromic for a year or two, mostly feet, then knees, with the pain/flares  correlating with prolonged use/standing.  I was diagnosed after a more lengthy period of much pain and swelling, now in shoulder, hands, elbow, etc.  I cannot take steriods, and px NSAIDs helped a little in the beginning.  Soon thereafter, I took sulfasalazine for 3 weeks, then started on mex.  I have had only 2 doses of 15mg mex, with no side effects except great fatigue the following day.  But I have much fatigue anyway.  I recently started taking 2mg folate daily, and am hoping this wil combat the fatigue.  Overall, I have a bit less pain, but knees and especially hands are stiff and weak, even when not paining.  Perhaps the pain would have lessened without the meds?  I still have periods of fairly intense pain in some joint at least once per day, and pains still wake me during sleep.  I lwonder if there will ever be a time when I can forget, at leat temporarily, that I have RA.

PS, my current, self- help regimen involves drinking lots of water and caloric restriction, and I eschew alcohol altogether.

hello michelle,

i currently take 20mg of mtx and although the pain is less severe it is still there. it tends to differ from day to day. my main side effect is mouth ulcers, which i have constant and sometimes can be as apinful as the flares themselves. i do also have fatigue and am very stiff in the morning. hope it helps hun xx

Hi

reading about the possible side effects with all these drugs is off putting  but they explained  it was important to have a drug to hold back the progression of the disease  (DMARD ) ie methotrexate and not just have symptom relief ie steroid.

I ve been taking methotrexate for 15 months now and don't have any nausea at all.  My dose went up to 25 mg over 3 months. It may have given me some brain fog, but I m not sure if that was a symptom of RAor methotrexate! It helps a lot of people. For me , other drugs have had to be added before I ve had a good level of relief but everyone is different. Also you tend to have to try methotrexate before other things are considered. It takes quite a few weeks before you can tell if it's helping. I kept a pain and disease progression diary saying if there were new joints affected, for that time and let my rheumy nurse know if it was still getting worse.

People respond very differently to MTX, so the best is to try it and see.

I've been on it for 9 years. At first I had digestive problems from it and then injected (very easy with a fine diabetic needle). But now I take it orally, no side effects except some hair loss over time.

It takes quite a few weeks to take effect, so be patient.

Be sure to take folic acid during the week, a few days after the MTX (not at the same time). Your docs will have told you that, too.

Don't worry. It's far better than the pain and possible disfigurement you would get from not taking it.

Good luck!

Hello  Michelle I started Methatrexate like you gradually and now take 8 per week. At the beginning I felt fatigued but have had no other bad side effects. I was frightened at the beginning but now 5 years on realise they are used to slow RA down from progressing fast. 

I wish you well and hope when it is in your system as it takes time you will get some releif

Hi Michelle. I have been on 25mg methotrexate in injection form for 6 weeks. I was diagnosed with ser negative arthriis 2 days before my 28th birthday in January. I started on 12.5 mg as my hands were so swollen and painful. Side effects were mainly tiredness and nausea but I combatted that with ginger tea and early nights. Methotrexate hasn't worked for me so I'm now on hydroxychloroquine as well at 400mg per day. I got up to max dose within 3 months. The side effects do reduce and whilst methotrexate hasn't worked for me yet it is a drug which can also work in conjunction with others. I've been told That I should be moved onto biologics within the next 4 months. Ive been monitored constantly since I've been on methotrexate and you get a lot of care from your rheumy team.