Methotrexate Concerns

Hi Teslagirl,

As I understand it yes Methotrexate is used to treat cancer as well BUT it is used in very low dosage in comparison when treating RA. I have taken it in the past in pill form and I am currently taking it as an injection once a week.

When I took it in pill form I had very bad nausea and even while taking folic acid to help counteract it I had a heck of a time with it. I have been taking it as an injection now for the last 3 months or so and I have no nausea at all but do notice that fatigue can be an issue usually for the next 48 hours or so. Folic acid is your friend for this as well and I have increased my dosage of it to 3 mg daily and it has helped immensely.

Many people get a lot of benefit using it to treat RA and I have talked to many people on a FB group for RA I belong to who have been on it for very long periods of time. I have read a few studies which have shown that its effectiveness rivals that of biologics over time. Remember that while many of these medications can have some scary side effects many of them we are already at increased chance of due to RA.

-Don

Hi Teslagirl -

You've got lots of good info above. I just wanted to chime in as someone who was also very scared to take MTX. I started on 6 pills per week, adjusted to 8/week, and this weekend am going down to 5/week. The only side effect I've had is a metallic taste in my mouth. Make sure you get a prescription for folic acid along with the MTX. My understanding is that the FDA doesn't oversee the quality of supplements, so the only guarantee that you're getting the correct amount of folic acid is by prescription. (Of course that's US-centric; other countries have different laws.)

(I'm decreasing the dose because I started Enbrel on Jan 1, and it made the metallic taste much worse. It's helping my other RA symptoms, though, so my rheumy said I could back off the MTX.)

Good luck and keep us posted.
Carole

Don what group do you follow on FB? Thanks!

There are 3; Rheumatoid arthritis managed naturally, Rheumatoid arthritis support group and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Squeaky joints. Lots of really good info, support and good people just like here. They are also closed groups so your posts will not show up to anyone who is not a member of that group. :)

The downside to FB groups though is that it is not easy to search the posts there to find things like your concerns on MTX. Either you need to post it as a question or read back through previous posts. Boards like this are far better for searches because search sites will return that info. -Don

Ty for the information.. After researching I decided to have the dr put me on plaquenil I know this also has crazy side effects, but I was on this for a bit before they knew what was the issue.

Yup dr has me set up to have them checked. I was on it a few years ago, but I don't think I took it right and not for long. So hopefully it works out this time. Thanks!