methatrixate injection

bevman

hi everbody hope you are all well i have posted a few times about my husband who has RA my question is he has been on MTX injections for well over a year now he was first on 50mg he was told to stop it about three months ago because his blood results showed it was effecting his liver.He was told to start again on 10mg and has been on this for about two months he had a phone call to tell him to stop again as his liver result has shot up again i wonderd if antbody else is having this problem.He has also just been told by his rummy doctor that because the rest of his bloods are ok they will not try anything else unless hid bloods go up again he is also on enbrel he is in constant pain and his mobility is very poor when asked the rummy said "well i think this is as good as he is going to get " i was so upset i no tht sounds really selfish but this illness has really upset all the family sorry for ranting.

best wishes to you all Alison

frogmorton

Hi Alison

I am so so sorry for you and your husband. 'as good as he's going to get' :shock: You must both be so upset!

I have no direct experienc of MTX affecting my liver as I'm not on it BUT I knwo it can and that is dangerous obvioulsy.So he cant stay on it, but...

I hate this business with the bloods when they are low (or negative) and yet someone is in pain.

I hope someone else will have some better ideas than me. the only one i have is to ask for referral to a pin clinic - they can be suprisingly good.

Love and best wishes to both of you

Toni xx

dreamdaisy

I too was on methotrexate and enbrel for psoriatic arthritis and disastrous it was. Liver function figures were in the high 700s and I was at risk of liver failure. I came off both, had nothing for three months and it was hell. It turned out it was the enbrel that did for me. I was put back on to methotrexate alone, and it did very little. Then they tried cyclosporin but it didn't do much. I couldn't tolerate the pill form of meth, now have weekly injections and have done for some time, then I started humira in July 2009. Your husband was on 50? That seems a very high figure, I know that my consultant calculates the dose on weight - how heavy is your husband?! Don't believe all that the docs tell you, individuals react differently to drugs and what happens to one person may not necessarily happen to your husband. Read my post on Hurray for alcohol and you'll see what I mean! So much of our treatment is trial and error and it can take a long time to find what combo of drugs works for you. I wish you and your husband well. Dreamdaisy

bevman

frogmorton wrote:

Hi Alison

I am so so sorry for you and your husband. 'as good as he's going to get' :shock: You must both be so upset!

I have no direct experienc of MTX affecting my liver as I'm not on it BUT I knwo it can and that is dangerous obvioulsy.So he cant stay on it, but...

I hate this business with the bloods when they are low (or negative) and yet someone is in pain.

I hope someone else will have some better ideas than me. the only one i have is to ask for referral to a pin clinic - they can be suprisingly good.
hi thank you so much for your advice sometimes it is just nice to here from other people who are having the same problems and you i think that maybe some of these rummy consultants and nurses should look at sites like these to see how people really are with RA and the trouble that many of you face (sorry rant over)
take care Alison x

Love and best wishes to both of you

Toni xx

dorcas

Hi Allison,

please do not think your are ranting or selfish....far from it...you are just sharing your worry and concern and hopefully we can support you.

so sorry your husband's illness is not under control and that you as a family are are having such a worrying time. I think other people don't realise the impact having arther has not only on the 'sufferer' but also on everyone else....it is a vicious debilitating disease. :roll:

I am concerned at the advice given by your husband's rheummy about not starting on other meds because the bloods are ok and therefore doesn't warrant it. His comment too 'as good as he is going to get' was all the more confusing and somewhat harsh and insensitive. If Mtx is causing such issues with the liver it seems reasonable that alternatives should be considered.

It's not unusual for Mtx to cause liver enzymes to go off the wall at times and personally I have had that happen to me too; once the Mtx was withdrawn the bloods do go back to 'normal' and re-introduced. however there is a point at which any med may be considered to have outlived it's usefulness.
Coupled with taking Mtx must surely be an assessment of it's effectiveness? and if your husband is having continuing issues, is in pain and has other symptoms of arther activity I cannot understand why changing to other meds would not be discussed.

Given all of your concerns could you speak with your gp about this? or you could ask for a second opinion from another rheummy.

Please consider speaking to the helpline here...the number is at the top of the page; it can be really helpful to talk through your concerns with someone other than family and the helpline peeps are very supportive and have a lot of experience. x

I wish there was more I could suggest that might be helpful :roll:

love and (((hugs)))

Iris x