[gbstewart]

Need some questions to those on Methotrexate:
1-Who has found that Metho. works to reduce joint pain and increase energy?
2-How long did it take to find a dosage that was effective?
3-Have flares been elimiated or reduced?
4-What side effects have you experienced?
Many thanks in advance for your answers!
Bernie

 

[mooks]

Hey Bernie,
right i was on mtx for about 8 months. i think it properly kicked in at about 3 months. my joint pains pretty much disappeared and i felt much more energetic..could even run up the stairs!! sadly the side effects were too much...the day or two after i took it (i was on 15mg a week) i felt like i had the worse hangover ever, really cold, tired and sick with a splitting headache. and my white cell count got too low and i kept getting infections everywhere even if i just had a tiny cut.
But if you are starting it i want to reassure you some people dont have any side effects and it did work wonders for me had it not been for side effects i would have stuck with it. i even managed to go travelling round america in the desert and everything!!! xxxx

 

[LolaLola]

Bernie,
I did get side effects for the first three months. At first every week I would be hot, sick and tired for a couple of days,then it got much easier but still caught me out sometimes. Now it is trouble free so long as I eat when I take it. I found it worth doing.
I can't really say how long it took me to improve as my condition is not very stable. What I do know is that it has definitely helped overall. I am on 17.5 mgms a week.

Hope this helps, don't forget , if necessary, you can be taught to inject once a week if nausea too bad via tablets.
x Lola

 

[keebler]

Hi Bernie,

I have been taking methotrexate for 2 weeks now. So far I have not had any side effects from it. I take 10mgs a week.

Here is my post on methotrexate that might be helpful to you.

http://www.thelupussite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73153

Take care and good luck with your methotrexate.

Lyn

 

[denalirat]

Hi Bernie,

I have found mtx to reduce my joint pain quite a bit. Energy is hit and miss, but I do think I've generally felt a LOT better since being on it. I have been on it for about a year and a half now. I started off working my way up to 10 mg/week and I am currently on 15 mg/week. I had some issues with a previous rheumy thinking my low white blood cell count was due to bone marrow suppression from the mtx, so he wanted to take me off of it. My newer rheumy (who I've been seeing for almost a year) recognized that my blood counts are often low in response to disease activity, so he upped my dosage and I've been doing well with that.

I think it took about 3 months for the mtx to fully kick in. I'm not sure that the mtx is responsible for reducing my flares...I tend to think that is more the plaquenil, but I don't really know. I certainly FEEL better with the mtx. As for side effects, I have had occasional nausea when I'm bumping up my dose. I also started getting mouth ulcers constantly, so I take Leucovorin 12 hours after my mtx dose and it counteracts that whole thing. No more mouth ulcers. I always make sure to eat well when I take the mtx and I like to think this helps prevent some side effects.

kit

 

[gbstewart]

Thanks to all for the info!

It helps to know that methotrexate is helping others. Currently I take 20mg. weekly and 400mg. of plaquinil daily. Started metho titration upwards a couple months ago. Will just give it more time and keep a close eye on the blood values.
So far side effects are flu-like symptoms for two days and mouth ulcers.
Thanks so much and please stay in contact. I