Methotrexate

dreamdaisy

Hi Elaine, please try to stick with it, you are still in the very early stages of it and it could well be that your body will adjust. If you are currently poorly then that is not going to help matters, does your rheumatology department have a helpline you can contact for advice? Mine does and they usually ring back within 48 hours (or sooner if it's something urgent).

Hello Brampe, it's nice to meet you and I am pleased you have found us, I hope we can help with information and support. I am one of the lucky ones who doesn't struggle too much with the meth but if nausea is a side effect for you then yes, feeling sick without being so could be the norm. The meth etc will help to control the arthritis but that may not last for ever. All long-term medication carries associated risks but I think that the quality of life it gives now is what counts. I am on meth and a few other things, my life is not as I want but it's better than not taking the drugs. I wish you well. DD

fowls48

Hi Elaine


I take my folic the day after my meth , i am nearly coming upto a year since taking this drug , all is ok i do feel sick of late though , a friend told me to take it in the evening opposed to the morning and eat plenty of carbs when taking them , which i have not done of late so not sure if i have experiance the vomiting sickness or the meth .

Good luck

Fowls xx

stickywicket

Hello from me, too, brampe. I have RA and I, too, take meth and plaquenil and a few cocos (but not the sulph). I’m glad you feel a little better than previously.

People’s experiences of meth differ as you can tell from reading through this thread. I’m lucky as I have no sickness problems with it.

I really don’t know if your cramp is related to the arthritis as I don’t get that either. Perhaps you could start a new thread to ask others if they get it.

None of us can say if your condition will remain stabilized once under control. Most of us find that we can stay stable for varying lengths of time until something alters eg I used to flare after my sons were born, or in times of great stress or after operations.

No one can predict whether or not the medication you take will have long term side-effects. Provided you have your regular blood tests you will be well monitored while on it so any potential problems can be picked up straight away. The disease, on the other hand, unchecked by the meds, would definitely pose long, and short, term problems.

Brampe

Thank you stickywicket and DD for responding to my post, I wish I had found this site years ago. I consider myself lucky overall with good quality of life but had some upsetting news regarding a friend with RA and just needed to throw some questions out. Thank you again. Brampe

trepolpen

hi Brampe

been on both Mtx & sulpha for 15 years & dont get any side effects & long term dont think you got anything to worry about , only problems had with Mtx is raised liver results & hair thinning but both were sorted with increased folic acid , never had the sickness problems with it

as stickywicket said , the people starting RA today dont need to suffer the joint damage that people did 15-20 years ago , mainly because of Mtx & the new bio drugs

stickywicket

Brampe wrote:

Thank you stickywicket and DD for responding to my post, I wish I had found this site years ago. I consider myself lucky overall with good quality of life but had some upsetting news regarding a friend with RA and just needed to throw some questions out. Thank you again. Brampe

I'm sorry about the bad news. RA, and the meds, can produce more rare problems but they are just that - rare - and the vast majority of us will not get them. We are here for both you and your friend any time we can be of help, Brampe.

ElaineRD

Sorry I've not been on here for a couple of days but it's so nice to have some good positive responses on here, I appreciate all the advice and comments that you have given since I started on the Metho. Also, big hello to you too Brampe. This forum is absolutely brilliant and will give you so much good advice and support!

As an update, I've now been taken off of Metho until my Chest Infection/Asthma has stabilised. Before taking me off he has taken bloods to try and establish if there has been any adverse effects in the drug. He suspects not, just that my immune system has been compromised, although he did say that if there were any discrepancies he would probably refer me for a chest x-ray just to be on the safe side. I'm now hoping to knock this bad bout of asthma on the head, though it's an uphill struggle, Steroids for another week and more Anti-biotics. Then I can restart!

Thanks guys, you've all been so supportive

Elaine x

stickywicket

I don't know if this is any help, Elaine, but I got a particularly nasty cold on N Y Eve. I'm on meth and have mild asthma and I ended up methless and asthmatic for about 5 weeks with antibios instead of the meth :roll: At that time, my health centre were referring for chest x-ray anyone who'd had a cough for over 2 weeks. My x-ray came back 'normal' so, although all hell had broken out there was no lasting damage.

ElaineRD

Well, looks like I'm off Metho for the time being :-(.

I've been in and out of the surgery/out of hours service all week with my shortness of breath. After having numerous blood tests last week, my consultant came back to me telling me to come off Metho. Apparently my White Blood Cell count came back alarmingly high. My glands are really swollen including my spleen, which is very tender to touch. So, this is being tackled as an infection but I need to have bloods taken each week to ensure the numbers are coming down. If not, I need to have some viral tests carried out..... Once I'm all clear, I can restart the Metho.

My consultant has now told me that if I suffer with any infection and need ABs then I must come off immediately until the illness has passed.

So, once again, thank you all for your fab advice and hopefully I can get back on the medication soon.

Elaine x

stickywicket

I hope you can too, Elaine, but it sounds as if you're in safe hands and they're monitoring you well. These are safe meds as long as we are sensible with them. Unfortunately, it seems like this is one of those times when you have to be sensible :roll: Never mind, at least you can drown your sorrows while off meth

dreamdaisy

That sounds about par for the course to me (I don't mind stopping the meth etc as I always feel 'better' in myself when off it) and this should help your body get rid of the infection sooner rather than later. We teeter along our personal meds tightrope which has varying widths, yours sounds a little narrow at the moment but it will widen again. I hope you feel better soon and be conscientious about the blood tests - they are a necessary nuisance. DD