1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sulfasalazine to MTX

Posted , 4 users are following.

loladmarie
loladmarie

Hello everyone,

I have been on Sulfasalazine 2000 mg/day for 6 weeks. I went back to my rheumy for  my follow up and happened to have a really bad flare up that day, so she wanted to increase my dose to 3000 mg/day and add the prednisone. I had the normal side effects, the nausea and upset stomach every time I would increase my dose, but I am feeling AWFUL on the 3000 mg/day. My nausea is absurd, I feel like I need to throw up every 5 minutes. I am so tired, especially today, I can barely keep my eyes open even with sleeping very well. I started noticing bruises on my legs and arms from just bumping into things and I normally do not bruise easily. I have NO appetite at all. YEsterday I had to force myself to eat something finally. I did paint my living room a couple days ago and felt OK, but the next morning I was in horrible pain and my hand/knee was so stiff i could barely move.

My rheumy said if the increased dose doesn't help then my next option would be MTX and I really don't know how I feel about that. I am scared of it, and honestly I enjoy my wine with dinner (or when I want it).

Has anyone else had side effects like these with the sulfa at 3,000 mg, and is it something that I need to get use to? The tiredness is the worst, especially at work, I can barely keep my eyes open and the pain is just bad. I am tired of complainging all the time about being inflamed, or in pain, or nauseous etc. I don't want to be a burden/annoyance anymore. What are your experiences with switching to MTX or just being on MTX,??? especially for those wine-o-fanatics like myself. Anything would help. The fact that it is starting to interfere with work is why I am reaching out. 

Thanks all!

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • jo17130
    jo17130 loladmarie

    Posted

    everyone is different. I love my wine too and was told I could still have the odd glass or so with MTX but that made me feel so ill I didn't want to! Am off it for a break then starting again with the injectable version which might be better (and you can have a drink with it, lets just see if I feel like it!). I can cope with pain OR tiredness OR nausea, but the combination all three together is the total pits, isn't it!
    • loladmarie
      loladmarie jo17130

      Posted

      Exactly! Its the combination of all of them together. If I am just nauseous it is manageable, some with just being tired. When you throw all 3 in there its just frustrating. I know that the meds thing is basically trial and error (or success!) and I think I have sort of been in denial that my RA is actually there let alone how bad it is (I am 26 years old). I just need to find the right medicine that works for myself. Getting there is frustrating, thats for sure.
  • carol24346
    carol24346 loladmarie

    Posted

    i have been on Sulfasalazine 2000 mg a day for 4 weeks i have been pain free until today but now my fingers and wrists are so painful also pain in my left ankle i was hoping i had seen the last of the pain
  • jo17130
    jo17130 loladmarie

    Posted

    You do have choices, for sure. For me its about taking a long term approach. I'm lucky in that I have a number of friends with RA all at very different points in their journies. They reckon to give yourself 2 years to find the right meds balance and yes, alternatives are out there but if they aren't actually stopping the joint damage they can make things harder long term. Stopping long term joint damage is the key as then that means less (or no) joint replacements/continual pain in the future. For me, I'm accepting that the rheumy's are the experts but also keeping my eye online for options. Knowing what the criteria are for getting biologics, for example, made me feel very empowered. I'm not there yet but I know what to look out for incase I need to go there.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.