Long Term use of Methotrexate

Have anyone experience of having taken Methotrexate long term ,15 years or more , at a dose of 15 mgs and remaining healthy without detrimental effects to their organs and living an active life.

I am 71 and have lived with this disturbance of the immune system since I was 19 on and off but now and thinking I should start medication consistently to ease pains and stop more deformity .

It looks as if the possible bad effects of the drug could be worse than the long term effects of Rh a on the heart and lungs which seem to be the worst .

Many thanks for any information

Comments

  • alexander1
    alexander1 Member Posts: 70

    Hi I have been living with chronic pain for the last 5 years. I am on maximum pain killers and have had treatments for spinal damaged and hips replaced etc.

    if I were you give the meds a go and see how you get on I have just been diagnosed and didn’t waste a second getting the steroids and first dose of methotrexate are there side effects many say yes and I have had sleepless nights and flushed hit face but it has reduced the 24/7 flare pain already

    i am 53 try it for a couple of months and very little to lose as unlikely to cause much damage in that time and they check your bloods every 4 weeks anyway


    take care

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764

    I'm astonished and deeply envious if you've managed 50 years of RA without DMARDS. They weren't on offer when I first started at 15 and, 20 years on, I needed my first new knees. Hip's and another knee followed.

    Just over 20 years ago I started on methotrexate. I've been on various doses. Started on about 10-15, up to 22.5, back down to 15 and now 10. All doses lasted some years.

    I've had no problems worth mentioning and they made a big difference. Interesting that I wasn't put on it until a few years after I'd had breast cancer. I noticed, while on chemo, post mastectomy, that my RA was much better. I didn't know at the time that meth was originally, at much higher doses, a chemo drug. Anyway, all has gone well for me and I hope it does for you too.

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