Starting On Methotrexate

Bangkoktim

I have suffered from RA for 18 months and have been taking 4 x Sulfasulazine tabs daily recently went to see my RA consultant and decided to add Methotrexate to the treatment . I had my first weekly dose this morning at 6am and am due to take the Folic Acid tomorrow its now 1900 hours and have never felt so ill in my life has anyone else had this experience .............

tillytop

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I am so sorry you are feeling so poorly on the meth. You don't say in what way you are feeling so ill so the first thing I would say is that, if you are worried in any way, or concerned that what you are experiencing is an allergic type reaction, then I would advise you to phone NHS direct or your out of hours medical service for advice.

In my experience, meth can make you feel extremely nauseous and I know from posts on here that it does make some people very sick. It can take a while for your body to adjust to a new med, so things might improve as you get used to it but, if you feel you are not going to be able to tolerate it, maybe a call to the rheumatology nurse next week would be a good idea. Some people find that they tolerate injected meth better than the tablets and sometimes the doc can prescribe anti-sickness meds to help.

I know there are lots of forum members who take meth so I know you will get some more replies soon.

Thinking of you and really hope you start to feel better very soon.

Tillyxxx

Bangkoktim

Hi and many thanks for your reply. I was slightly concerned when the doctor said I can continue with both tablets
Hopefully the folic acid will make a difference tomorrow
Have a good weekend
Tim

resusjan

Hi TIm,

So sorry to hear you're feeling so ill with the Methotrexate. You've got enough to cope with already. Tilly has already given you some good advice which I can't really add to. If you are concerned, don't improve or start to feel worse please call the out of hours GP service or NHS direct for some advice.
I take Meth and Sulpha and have been lucky so far with no serious side effects. I know there are quite a few on here who feel incredibly nauseous with the methotrexate. Is this how you're feeling right now? I really hope some of you symptoms have started to ease now. Definately worth getting checked out if not though.

Hope you start to feel better soon
Take care
Jan

emsjane

Hi,

Try taking the methotrexate just before you go to bed, then you sleep through some of the side effects ie nausea and i have found that after about 3 weeks, you do start to adjust. Don't forget to take the folic acid, very important, it really helps with the nausea!! Good Luck

dreamdaisy

Hello Bangkoktim, it's lovely to meet you but I am sorry you have had to find us. Meth is a powerful drug and for some it can cause all kinds of problems until their bodies adjust. I had no trouble with the tablets until I developed a rash, now I have meth injections (which I do for myself) and so far, so good. Arthritis is a powerful disease and it needs powerful meds to fight back, meth can be a very effective treatment and please try to stick with it to give it enough time to work. It may help you to take the dose last thing at night so that you sleep through the worst of the side effects - I do that with another drug for my PsA. FA is important in helping to 'soften' the side effects but it may not have an immediate effect: life may be tough now but please try to stick with it for a little longer because you never know - the meth may help. I wish you well. DD

PS. I take 2 x 3 sulph per day and have done for some time: I don't have RA, just PsA but it helps to keep the P bit at bay.

ELAINE55555

HI.
I would agree with all the others on this post. I have been on the mtx for 6 months now. The first 3 weeks I felt extremely sick, and the drug actually took about 14 weeks to work, but now I feel 100 per cent better than I did 6 months ago. I know it does not work for everyone, but you should give it your best shot.
take care. x

Cez

Sorry to hear you feel I'll after your Meth dose. I'm exactly the same, I'm sure you'll feel better once you introduce Folic acid and if your side effects persist, they may increase the dose/frequency of Folic.

I find that taking mine just before bed means that I miss the majority of side effects. I've recently starting taking a tablet called Domperidone an hour before my meth as it's an anti-sickness medication. It has helped a bit. There are plenty of options so if it doesn't agree with you straight away, there are adjustments that can be made! :-)

Good luck x

DebraKelly

Hi there,

I have been on Meth for the past couple of years now.
First on the tablets and now on the injections.

I started on the smallest dose of tablets and I was very ill for the first month or so, it does settle down after a few weeks so don't panic.

Folic acid does help, but I also found when I was feeling sick that having a mint or ginger helps too.

Good luck.

Aimer66

Hi Tim, I have been reading this ( and any thread on meth) for a while now as it seems I am heading that way.

Good luck and keep us up to date with your progress please?

Cheers,

Mark.

Bangkoktim

Many thanks for all your advice sorry have not replied had problems with the site crashing.
About to start my second week will take the 4x2.5 dose tonight instead of tomorrow morning and hopefully not feel so bad at work tomorrow
It is really comforting to know you can share your experiences
Fondest Regards
Tim

tjt6768

Hi Tim. Let us know how you go on with changing to a night time routine..
Best of luck rkid

Bangkoktim

Can anyone help me with Meth treatment booklet and the blood teat results page is 8 CRP a high indicator of inflamation

MrDJ

8 is great. it varies from hospital to hospital but anything for esr or crp below 10 are within normal limits.
when mine was bad i had esr of 122 and crp of 97 so it gives an idea and i know quite a lot of patients on a much higher reading than them and were still alive and kicking.

ive been off my meth for 2 weeks now as ive just got back from ibiza and had all inclusive so i had to take advantage of the endless alcohol abuse for a week. back to tea total now and start 15mg meth tomorrow and then blood test on tuesday. hopefully the alcohol is out of my system now and my reading wont be too high. :roll:

dreamdaisy

A CRP of 8 is nothing to fret about, my inflammatory measures were always considerably higher until I began the humira/meth combo. Everyone is different and you will soon get to know what is a better or worse level for you. You can have low markers and feel horrid or high markers and feel fine! Is the help that you needed re: the meth booklet? I hope you are feeling OK today. DD