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Shortness of breath as related to MTX

Posted , 9 users are following.

bjmoen
bjmoen

I was diagnosed with PMR in July 2016.  My rheumatologist started me out with 20 mg Pred for 2 weeks then down to 10 and continued to go down until October 2016 I got down to 4 1/2 mg and symptoms came back.  He put me back to 8 mg and I eventually  got down to 5 mg in May 2017.  At that time he added 15 mg MTX and folic acid.  In Sept. 2017 I noticed slight symptoms coming back plus shortness of breath.  I am assuming the MTX is doing no good and is also causing shortness of breath.  No other side effects at this point.  Comments please.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • daniel08939
    daniel08939 bjmoen

    Posted

    I have had shortness of breath all four yearts on Prednisone and I have never taken MTX. I believe PMR causes shortness of breath.
  • nick67069
    nick67069 bjmoen

    Posted

    PMR/Pred can cause shortness of breath. I had that on high doses, not low.  Now that I am at 4mg, I would have to engage in very high level of effort to be short of breath. 

    Regarding pred, I believe that you may have reduced it too fast and then jumped to 8mg concluding that you have issue with pred reduction. I am still puzzled why you were put on MTX and did not continue just on pred. If I remember correctly I was reading here about some study that indicated very limited, if any long term help from MTX.

  • margaret89358
    margaret89358 bjmoen

    Posted

    Hi bjmoen, yes shortness of breath is one of the symptoms I have since I was diagnosed in March’17 I started on 20mg predesolone, only got down to 10mg then had a flare, so back upto 20mg, am now on 14mg. I joined a walking group, I can’t keep up with everyone  but that’s ok because I have to stop a few times to let my breathing settle. I also sweat I’m the one with the T’shirt everyone else are in jackets. Keeping mobile is important to me and I know so many more on this Forum it is too. At least you know you are not alone. Take care of yourself. 

  • EileenH
    EileenH bjmoen

    Posted

    As I have already said on the other thread:

    ...I were you I would say thanks but no thanks with regard to mtx. It is unlikely to benefit you at all and carried its own risks of side effects. At 5mg after a mere 9 months - why rock the boat?

    However - if you have symptoms it could well be because you are on slightly too low a dose. You are never reducing relentlessly to zero, you are looking for the lowest dose that manages the symptoms to stick at until the autoimmune cause of the PMR symptoms has burned out and gone into remission which, as I say, is unlikely to be less than 2 years and more likely to be longer.

    I will also add here that it is very possible your breathlessness is due to inadequately managed PMR - you say you have other symptoms too. If I develop breathlessness in a flare then a bit more pred almost always sorts it out - which if the breathlessness were due to pred would not be the case, it would get worse.

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