Methotrexate -

avalons

Can anyone who is taking methotrexate tell me how long it took before they saw a small improvement in their condition. I have been taking it for a month now and if anything my arthritis is worse.
Also - is it ok to take paracetamol for my joint pain whilst taking it?

Thanks

Ava

scattered

MTX can take anywhere between 3 and 6 months to take full effect, provided you are on the correct dose. A lot of rheumatologists have patients slowly build up the dose so it then takes longer to reach the optimum dose. Sometimes it also helps to switch from tablets to injection. I didn't respond to tablets at all, so on my 3rd try with MTX I began injecting it and have responded much better.

You can take paracetamol with MTX.

tillytop

Hello Ava and welcome to the forum!

As Scattered says mtx can take a while to get into your system and for the optimum dose to build up. I have been taking mtx for about 10 weeks now and have built up during that time from 7.5mg to 12.5mg per week. I have noticed an improvement which I am sure is due to the mtx but I know that I am not yet taking a high enough dose because I still need to rely on steroids and anti-inflammatories alongside the mtx.

What dose of mtx are you taking at the moment Ava?

Re paracetamol - I take paracetamol alongside the mtx with no problems but I would suggest that anti-iniflammatory drugs might be a better option for the joint pain so might be worth discussing this with your GP (and, if you go that route, don't forget to ask for stomach protecting drugs as well - in my experience GPs aren't good at remembering to prescribe these alongside and it is very important to protect your stomach if you are taking anti-inflamms regularly).

I do hope the mtx starts to work for you soon.

Love Tilly xxx

dreamdaisy

Morning avalons, welcome to our merry little band but I am sorry that you find yourself in the position of needing us. I have had both tablet meth and the injected form (I currently have 17.5ml injected weekly) and it's true that we all vary so widely in our response to it. Some find that meth alone is enough, but more need the support of other meds too. The doctors say that it can take up to three months before any effect can be felt, and possibly up to six for the full benefit to be realised. I have not had any side effects from it, but neither has it done a great deal for the arthritis. I wish you well and I hope it works for you. DD

alarkra

Hi Avalons,

Welcome to the forum. x:D

I have been on MTX for nearly 5 months and it took 12 weeks for my bloods to show that it was working and took around 4 months for me to actually start feeling the benefit. Try to stick with it - it took an age (well, it felt like it!) for mine to really start working as I was so very poorly with a crippling flare, but once it gets in your system properly and starts tackling the RA, you should start to feel the benefits. Try to stay strong. xx

ironic

Hi Ava,

I have been taking MTX for 10 weeks now and I think that it has started to work for me. My consultant told me that they do not expect to see significant improvements until 12 weeks. I was also told it was important to keep taking the full dose of anti-inflammatory meds. I missed taking a couple of them one day and boy did I feel the difference. I am now managing without having to take the paracetamol regularly now. So please don’t give up hope yet.

Lv, Ix

williamlargs

Hello

I'm the same as Ironic. I have been on mtx since July and began to be able to cut down the anti-inflams and pain killers after about 3 months. I more or less can do without them almost all the time now.

Being honest it has worked so well for me that at times I start to doubt the diagnosis. Luckily my wife reminds me often of the sleepless nights and moans and groans!!!

Stick with it

avalons

Thanks for the advice from everyone. I am taking 7.5mg - as yet I have felt no side effects, but no benefits, but I will keep it up. I was taking ibuprofen because it is the only anti inflammatory I can tolerate, but the hospital pharmacist told me I should not take this with mtx.
I have sero negative HLA B27 arthririts not RA.

scattered

7.5mg is a really low dose of MTX. You'll probably need to increase it to see any benefit. Generally speaking, clinically significant doses of MTX are above 15mg. There are some people that get good results with lower doses but that is quite rare. I'm on 20mg.

Good luck!