Methotrexate sickness- is this normal?

Lollipop51

Hello everyone,

Our 15 year old son has JIA- he's been on Methotrexate injections since Jan 2020. It's helped a fair bit,but the sickness affects him badly,even with anti- emetics. He has the injection on a Sat eve and doesn't want to go out at all over the weekend and is off school every Monday due to the sickness. The team are aware+ he's now on Humira,with a view to reducing the Methotrexate to a tablet once a week when it's working.

Does anyone else have these issues with their child who is on Methotrexate? It is extremely tough for all the family.

Thanks,

Lorraine.

Kazza52

Hi Lorraine,

So sorry to hear about your Son and it is sad when he is so young too.

I have been taking Methotrexate tablets since 2016 (I am 53) and I can relate to your Son's side effects. I too have the feeling of nausea about an hour after taking my medication on a Friday evening and this lasts until Sunday evening. I find that having a glass of lemonade settles my stomach perhaps this might help settle his tummy.

Teemac34

My daughter has the same issue and has been on MTX six years. We have to write off a day a week. Consultant recommended three lots of ondansetron- the evening of the injection and the next morning and evening. Can’t say we’ve seen a huge difference as yet.

Sorry to not be more positive or helpful but I just wanted you to know it was pretty normal.

Lottie1238

Hi Sorry to hear your son is struggling with the sickness. My daughter 19 started on methotrexate in October last year initially she felt really sick but it has definitely improved to the point where she doesn’t notice it that much now. Sometimes she can get indigestion and we’ve found gaviscon / rennie or similar helps. Also she can get a headache so needs to keep well hydrated.

JW1970

Hi. Not sure if I can add to this old thread or whether I should start a new one, but I'm looking for help in the same area.

My 16 year old son has JIA and has been injecting Methotrexate since the latter end of last year. At first he didn't have any side effects, but after about 8-10 weeks he started getting nausea - same as you guys are reporting - he does his injection Friday night and feels nauseous about an hour later, all over the weekend, and gradually improved early into the new week. He's never actually been sick, but just feels ill.

Anyhow, this has steadily got worse week after week and for the last 6-7 weeks he's been getting anticipatory nausea as well, so as soon as he starts preparing for the injection he feels really sick and has to have a bucket "just in case". He then feels terrible all through Friday night. He says the anticipatory nausea is worse than the real thing.

Consultant has prescribed ondansetron before the jab then twice each Saturday and Sunday. Slightly helps over the weekend but nothing is helping the anticipatory nausea and it's getting worse each week. We can't even easily discuss it with him as talking about it makes him feel ill.

Added complication is that son has Asperger's Syndrome so his sensory systems are muddled and his ability to understand and communicate how he's feeling is impaired.

Any help greatly appreciated.

noddingtonpete

Hello @JW1970 and welcome to the Community. We are friendly and supportive and I hope you can get the support you need. Hopefully others with direct experience will connect and comment but in the meantime have a look at the following from our website.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/your-experiences/your-questions-answered/your-questions-on-methotrexate/

I do hope you get something that helps your son cope.

Best wishes

Peter