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What the Dr Said - About Pred. and now Methotrex...

Posted , 8 users are following.

DebbieHurts
DebbieHurts

So I wrote a thread awhile ago in which the dr was reducing my prednisone even though my SED rate was going up.  Well, I decided to try his way and reduced this past month down to 12.5.  My inflammation rate went up 6 points, from 45 to 51.  I'm in constant pain which is not relieved by my pain pills very much.  Today when he saw the 51 result he muttered, "Am I missing something?"  Because he had been trying to get me to believe I was having fibro problems, which I didn't believe, because I've had fibro for years and it never felt like this!  So anyway, he's still too worried to let me go up on the pred. and is starting me on a chemo type drug called methotrexlene (sp?).  Anybody else take that?  Know what I did when I came home today?  I took an extra 5mg of pred just to spite him! hahahaha.  

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • DebbieHurts
    DebbieHurts

    Posted

    I just read a little on methotrexate, and it sounds like it will help me.  Any experience with it among you all?
  • Anhaga
    Anhaga DebbieHurts

    Posted

    Provided you have the correct diagnosis of PMR it is puzzling that your doctor is not supporting you in the dosage of pred, as you are the only one who knows whether your dose is helping to control your symptoms.  Now that you've upped your dose by 5 mg, what are you going to do next?  Hope you feel a whole lot better tomorrow - that will really show him!
  • FlipDover_Aust
    FlipDover_Aust DebbieHurts

    Posted

    You rebel!!!

    Personally I'd give the pred a few days at a higher dose and see if I couldn't knock the pain on it's head. If it's PMR the pred will work where nothing else will.

  • gillian_25383
    gillian_25383 DebbieHurts

    Posted

    Hi Debbie,I had to come off pred so am back under rheumatologist.She has put me on methotrexate but warned me that it could take up to 14 weeks to really do its job.Have now been on it for 7weeks and at last am able to cut down slightly on the painkiller(was told to play analgesic reduction by how I felt).Started on 15mg and up a couple of weeks ago to 20mg/week.Hope your GP has also given you folic acid tablets as they will reduce side effects especially nausea.So far that is the only downside and fingers crossed was not a problem last week.Good luck and hope it works for you

  • EileenH
    EileenH DebbieHurts

    Posted

    Pred is the drug of choice for PMR - and methotrexate does not do anything for PMR pain. In some people - and by no means all - it changes the way the body processes pred so that you get the same effect for a lower dose - or a better effect for the same dose whichever way you like to look at it.

    Yes, the silly man IS missing something: you have PMR where the underlying autoimmune disorder is still active and he hasn't cleared out the existing inflammation properly before trying to reduce the dose you are on. Until that has gone altogether you can't find a lower dose that will clear out that new daily amount of inflammation that is characteristic of PMR. It's like a bucket of water with water flowing into it through a pipe into the bottom: you can scoop out a bit of the water every so often and it wont overflow for a while but the only way to sort it out is to empty the bucket of water and close off the pipe. In PMR you need long enough at high enough to clear out the inflammation - and then you can reduce to a much lower dose since all it has to do is deal with one day at a time!

    You need a new doctor who CAN see the wood for the trees - this one doesn't.

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