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Methotrexate information please

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amkoffee
amkoffee

I have severe osteoporosis brought on by three and a half years of using steroids to treat my PMR so now my rheumatologist will only allow me to take 5 mg a day. The problem is my inflammation is still very high and my pain is significant . I also have other health issues that are causing me pain so PMR is not my only source of pain. My doctor offered me methotrexate and I turned her down because I took it a long time ago for about a month and I don't remember why I stopped it. Can you tell me what benefits Methotrexate offers?

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  • EileenH
    EileenH amkoffee

    Edited

    It MIGHT allow you to get more effect from a given dose of pred but you can't tell without trying whether you will be one of a fairly select group! I think it is worth trying once to see if it does help - especially if you have a complex diagnosis and PMR is tagging along with other less clear things. But I definitely do not think that if you have adverse effects that interfere with your quality of life that it is worth persevering with.

    It MAY potentiate the way the body processes pred and it MAY work on other inflammatory processes - but I don't think they really know how, they are so terrified of pred they will push anything!

    For me in well under a month I couldn't put one foot in front of the other, it made PMR fatigue look like kindergarten! I must be able to function - I couldn't so I stopped after 4 weeks. While on mtx I experienced so-called pred effects: ravenous hunger and weight gain, bruising, my hair fell out in clumps (mtx effect). I also ached all over like I did with PMR without pred - which is hardly the point! And a cardiac arrhythmia problem I already had seemed to worsen, increasing episodes of bradycardia (slow heart rate) which didn't improve once I stopped taking it and eventually I was given a pacemaker. The arrythmia is worse during a PMR flare so whether that links with the aches and pains I don't know.

    Can't have been horrendous first time round if you can't remember why you stopped????

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