MTX and Gastritis

williamlargs

Hello all

I usually come on bragging about how well I'm doing on MTX and how it is keeping my RA totally under control but I have one gripe and just wondered if anyone else had similar experience.

I have been on Meth now for almost 2 years. It took the obligatory 3 months to kick in but has worked tremendously well. I was up to 20mg per week but now on a maintenance dose of 10mg. About 4 or 5 months after starting on the drug I started to get a bit of stomach discomfort. No pain just what you might call an awareness. After consoltation with my GP I was sent for an endoscope about a year ago and result came back saying I had inflamation of the gut (gastritis) and to immediately stop taking diclofenic which I already had done 6 months previously and was given omeprazole to take.

Another week down the line I got a call saying I had h-pylori bacteria in the gut and would have to take double dose antibiotics to kill them off.

To cut a long story short this relieved the symptoms for a while but they have come back again. As I said already I don't experience pain just discomfort and a bit of burning. I had a further endoscope in April past and was told I still had the inflamation of the gut (gastritis) but it was no worse and a sliding hiatis hernia.

Where I am getting to with this you might ask?

Last weekend I (yes I know) over indulged in the grape juice and decided to give my weekly dose of Meth a miss and lo and behold my gut feels almost normal!

Could it be the Meth all along? This was suggested by one of the surgeon guys at the hospital where I had the endoscope.

Anyone with similar experiences on Meth?

Regards to all

dreamdaisy

Oh dear WL, this doesn't sound good. I am sorry you are having this trouble, even if it isn't that uncomfy it's still a nuisance. As for the 'Ribena' - norty norty boy! (I know, pot, kettle etc )

The one thought that I have is that meth suppresses the immune system so it may well be allowing this gut trouble to rear its less-than-pretty head. We are not docs (although between us I reckon we would make a pretty good one!) and I think the surgeon who thought this could be the cause is on the right track. Have you been in touch with your rheumatologist? I think he may be able to shed more light on this - maybe a meds review is on the cards. I am sorry I cannot help any further. DD

williamlargs

Cheers DD.

I am thinking of giving them a ring and see what the score is. As I say its a bit of discomfort more than anything.

Could be a legacy of washing down the diclos with booze on occasion in the early days of my RA but not convinced as they were supposed to be coated :shock:

I find that the omeprazole doesn't do much!

Don't get me wrong its a minor gripe in the grand sheme of things and hee haw compared with other folks like your good self's issues.

x

dreamdaisy

Omep is a gut-protector but if the damage is already done (coated tablets just mean longer to be digested I think, hence longer in the guts hence longer to cause trouble) they won't be doing much to relieve matters. Ideally you should have had the omep with the diclo but hindsight is a wondrous gift. As for washing them down with alchohol well, I reckon you're not alone in that.

Apologies are not necessary for the 'low level' of gripe - any discomfort is un-necessary, unpleasant and unwanted. I think it's best to have a chat with those who know you and your medical history and I hope something can be sorted out for you. Now, go and get back to being revoltingly healthy! DD

stickywicket

Don’t apologise about the ‘usual bragging’, WL. I always enjoy your positivity.

I do think this needs a medical opinion, not just ours on here. For what it’s worth, years of anti-inflams before stomach protectors wrecked my stomach. When I had an endoscopy, years ago, the gut lining was all eroded. I’d had ulcers that had healed up and a hiatus hernia. I’ve been on stomach protectors ever since and I’m not allowed anti-inflams any more. However, I now (some 20 odd years later) have GORD though the stomach itself seemed much better at my last endoscopy. (Still got the HH though.) And meth usually doesn’t bother it unless the GORD’s kicking in. And I’ve been known to take my omeprazole with a glass of Chenin Blanc :oops:

Get thee to a doc, WL, and I shall look forward to seeing you bragging again soon.

williamlargs

Good advice DD and Sticky thanks.

Sticky could it be the sliding HH I have like you causing the discomfort do you think or is that another one for the doc?

stickywicket

The sliding HH certainly won't help as my understanding is that they allow the gastric juices to rise up into the oesophagus. Bearing in mind that gastric juices contain hydrochloric acid and that the oesophagus, unlike the stomach, has no protective lining, this is not a good thing :roll:

I'm not saying you should do this but I'd be tempted to try another week of meth, take it with food, take all meds, apart from the stomach protector, with food (I do. Even a small biscuit helps) and see how it goes. If the problem only arises after meth then it would seem to be the culprit. You may prefer to see the doc straight away and who could blame you? I'm not renowned for taking the sensible course and, according to my husband, my default position is to overdo the self-diagnosis and prescribing.

dreamdaisy

Listen to her Willie, she knows her stuff. And is a dab hand with a rolling pin. DD

williamlargs

Cheers

I was thinking the same myself. I always do take the meth with food at the same time on a Tuesday so come next week I'll try it and see what happens. It seems that the discomfort lasts till Friday/Saturday.

This usually coinsides with my first 'ribena' of the weekend! Coincidence or what? :?

Regards

williamlargs

dreamdaisy wrote:

Listen to her Willie, she knows her stuff. And is a dab hand with a rolling pin. DD

So I believe