Methotrexate Flares

mosborn11

Hi everyone,

At the beginning of July I started on Methotrexate. The side effects were not fun but at first I felt like it was helping.

But in the last three weeks I've had three flares (I say flares, I'm in pain all the time so hardly in remission, but I mean it suddenly got worse for a few days). The first two were heat related and the one I'm having now I think I must have picked up a virus.

Has anyone else experienced this and how did you cope? How long did this phase go on for?

Thanks in advance for your help!

stickywicket

Personally, I'd say the meth hasn't fully kicked in yet. Flares have never been so brief for me. But a virus, of any kind, has always set off my RA for a while despite the meth and hydroxy. Actually, I've always been told to drop the meth for the duration of a cold, bug etc to allow my immune system to fire up and fight it. But you are new to this so do ring your rHeumatology helpline to see what's best for you.

jamieA

Hi @mosborn11

For me during the first year of my psoriatic arthritis - before it was controlled by drugs - my worst episodes/flares were when I had repeated chest infections/pneumonia. Once my rheumatology clinic found the right treatment for me at the end of that first year any bouts of colds, flues or chest infections have left my joints more aching than usual but nothing more than that. The only way I coped in that first year was with strong painkillers.

I suppose that as it's our immune systems that are attacking our joints then having another infection requiring the immune system to go into attack mode it's logical that your inflammatory arthritis is affected. When I was hospitalised with pneumonia my CRP level reached 340. Since CRP is a measure of both infection and inflammation the medics were unsure how much of that was inflammation from the PsA and how much was infection from the pneumonia.

mosborn11

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/725967#Comment_725967

Thank you - that's really helpful to know!

mosborn11

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/725984#Comment_725984

Yeah that makes sense. When I called the VA helpline yesterday they said that basically because it changes the way your immune system works you can have these up and downs!