Medication

Topcat64

I know everybody reacts to medication differently….. I was diagnosed in January 2022 ….. been on methotrexate 10 weeks and now sulfasalazine for 4 weeks ….. I’m still in a lot of pain everyday ….. carnt walk or stand very much , due to it in my feet also as every other joint ! I’m on my second course or steroids to help until the meds started to work …. But how long has most people found they were taking medication before they started to feel any better and more mobile ?

Thanks Tracy

Shell_H

Hi @Topcat64 - welcome to the online community!

I see you've been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis this year and you're waiting for your medication to kick in. You've been given Methotrexate and Sulfasalazine and you're wondering how long it can take to start working.

Methotrexate can take up to 12 weeks to start working - and some people have reported it taking a bit longer. So you do have some time left for it to kick in. You can also still take paracetamol for pain while on Methotrexate - check with your pharmacist what painkillers are safe to take with your prescriptions and they should be able to guide you. Sulfasalazine is even longer and can take 1-3 months before the effects start, so definitely hang in there.

Here's a couple of links which might help:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/#main

• Methotrexate
• Sulfasalazine

So have a look around and join in the rest of the online community - we welcome any questions or thoughts you may have. We've all got arthritis and it's really nice to be able to talk to others who have some experience of what we're going through.

Lovely to meet you!

Shell