First dose of methotrexate and questions??

I just abbreviate it to MTX so I don't have to spell it out, pure laziness on my part!! but I meant methotrexate.

Hi njcats,
Hope you don't mind me jumping in here, but wanted to share some thoughts with you. Of course you're scared and nervous, don't think it would be normal if you were'nt. None of us would choose this, and I know that if there was another way, we would all take it!! I wasn't diagnosed that long ago, this week I took my fourth dose of MTX and no, I still don't like that I have to take this med, However, I am so very, very thankful that there is something out there to help me, nd if this doesn't work, there are other options as well.
I, too, said that "this hit so fast", but after back-tracking a bit with my doctor, the signs had been creeping up for a while, just didn't recognize them until the swelling and pain got to certain level. We tried different anti-inflammatories, took ibuprophen like crazy, and yes, been on Celebrex as well. Celebrex did help the pain and swelling, but the doctor said I needed mtx as well. I asked if the Celebrex could handle it alone and I was told that Celebrex treats the symptoms, but mtx and the other meds treat the cause. But that is just my experience, and the people on this site have a lot of medical knowledge that will help you alot. I'm still trying to learn, myself.
There are so many people on this site that are so smart, helpful and supportive, it has been a lifeline for me, don't know what I would have done without them.
I tried to talk my doctor out of mtx., but she said that getting treatment early on was a very important part of trying to prevent further joint damage. In the end, I think you have to trust your doctor, your gut, and do what you need to do fight this.
Take care.

Please hang in there NJ..believe me, on my 4th dose I told my hubby I didn't think I could take anymore of it! I just felt so awful after taking it...I really just wanted to call it quits with the MTX. However, hubby encouraged me to keep taking it and this time wasn't so bad.

When I had my last flare and ended up in urgent care my doctors nurse asked me over the phone if I had thought anymore about taking the MTX because in my chart it said I was on the fence about it, and I still said NO! So it is difficult to say yes to something like MTX and even the name sounds scary! and for me my tests are NEGATIVE so I have all of this and the need for heavy duty meds without so much as a positive RA test..

I keep thinking one morning I will magically wake up and be normal again..haha!

Hello Bear. I have psoriatic arthritis & doing research on methotrexate [mtx] it is a drug used for some cancers. The list of "dangers" are bad so we are very reluctant to take this stuff but Drs say it will help us with RA & PsA with our pain & swelling. It lowers our white blood cell count to slow down the distruction of joint damage due to arthritis. [please do research to check my understanding. I could be misinterpreting. But that is how I understand it]. It's not for everyone..there are other drugs out there, but this is what we are taking. In MY case, since I have psoriasis, it's harder to control the arthritis since the psoriasis CAUSED the arthritis. So I have twofold problems..getting psoriasis undercontrol [almost impossible. It's very hard to "cure"] & control the pain & swelling & overall discomfort of arthritis. It's a very potent drug. Blood tests must be done to monitor Kidneys & Liver damage every 6 weeks or so because of mtx.

Hey Bear..

MTX is Methotrexate and it is actually a cancer drug and is used for a variety of cancers as well as severe RA. Obviously it is not taken in the quantities used for a cancer patient but it is enough to warrant monthly testing because it can damage the liver etc but once stopped the damage is reversible. Yes it does lower your white cell count etc.

Hey there,
I have been meaning to post and ask how you've been doing...sorry..how did the mtx go? As far as how long you'll need it, I can't answer that one..maybe someone who's been here longer knows that. I asked my doc, and she told me that once we got things under control, her goal was one year without flares, then we would talk about weaning off meds to see if we were able to get into a remission. But I don't know if that holds true for everyone. Like you, I've just started on this, this week will be week 5 for me. Wish I could be more help!
El Camino,
thanks for the thoughts on the biologics, never thought of it that way, my doc has talked about adding them at some point, and I read so many good reports about results from them, good to have input from someone who uses them. How long have you used the mtx and how long before they added the biologics?
Take care everyone!

Thank you babyplace & momto3 for your kind answers. I doing ok. Mtx has not really given me a hard time..by that I mean no upset tummy, fatique etc that others have had, just a blah feeling, not myself. More depressed than anything. So I guess I'll just have to take it one week at a time with the meds or not take them & take my chances hoping I don't get a horrible flare-up that sent me to the Drs. in the first place. So far I'm just experiencing aches & a few places that haven't been sore before, so I'll be thankfull that I haven't had a super flare-up. I seem to be in a much better place with this stuff than the rest of you, but I'm the one complaining the most!!! Thank you all so much for being here! I really need this group. I have noone else to "talk" to.

Hey Babyplace.  I actually started on the biologics first, and then when enbrel (after about 8 months) wasn't completely taking care of it, I added mtx.  From what I understand, mtx only works (as do most of the dmards) as long as you take it.  You stop taking it, the arthritis comes back, sometimes with a vengeance.  That doesn't mean that some people may not go into remission; I'm sure some people do.  For most of us, though, these drugs are just bandaids.  There is no cure for RA, and at least in my case, it seems to be slowly but surely progressive. 

Elcamino

aint it a b**** waiting to find the right combo though :( sry u hurt mom. i feel ur pain- literally lol not too loud though

Hello everyone! I have this sunday & next left, to take my initial doses of mtx. I've taken it twice already. I'm seriously thinking of stopping in two weeks because I haven't had a flare-up in weeks. I firmly believe the Naproxen [500mg] is keeping me from pain. It's discribed to me as a strong motrin w/ anitinflamatory properties. I don't think mtx has been keeping me from pain. I know, it's a band-aid, but I can't get past the idea of taking this for a looooong time. I want my wine darnit! [lol] I want my life back to normal! I want to stop worrying about side-effects. I still think you ladies [& gents] are more severly affected with RA & PsA then I am...am I in denial? Geez, this is so hard to deal with. I hate taking any meds. Is the mtx all your taking for arthritis or are you on an antiinflamatory also? Some of you have a list of meds your taking but I don't know what they are. Thank you.

nj i so hear you......... but you know it is about 16 months now for me and i still question and want things back to the way they were. yet i sit here with pain and know i need to keep looking forwards and not backwards. good luck i am with ya.

were ok.... many of us just chat on the good maonin thread. you can pick us up daily on that thread.

I also have to agree! I am sero-negative and I am terrified of what is going to become of my health later down the road if I don't get this under control now. I have not tested positive for RA, yet I can't even manage myself without 400 mg of plaquenil on top of 15 mg of methotrexate and mobic, that is SCARY!!! This is a reality that I had last night as I decided on my own of either refilling my prednisone prescription OR just taking my usual two plaquenils even though my doctor wants me to go down to one a day. It is terrifying to me that my pain and swelling are not managed by 6 pills, pills that are used for CHEMO..soooo having said that..I need to do what I have to, to get this under control now, because I'm afraid if I just let it go, that and I can't stand the pain it is just not bearable, what will I be like a few years from now? I'm a very small boned person, and have small fingers, I wear a size 5 ring, but some of my fingers are starting to look mishapen, just a bit, (my pointer fingers) they are not as thin as they once were, and are starting to curve, and the knuckles have small knots on them.

I know the medications are not pleasant...and I am afraid to go in and tell my doctor that the MTX is not quite working as we had hoped since he has said we have other options...I am sad that it has come to this point, I had what I thought was a virus that turned into some joint pain and here I am a year and a half later. My doctor had hoped it would go away, but now says it will not.

Nj..If you are in enough pain where you are needing the BIG GUNS, that is what I call them, then you need to take them at least for now. To prevent the joint damage from happening. My doctor waited a long time to prescribe MTX, over 18 months, but when you finally get to the point of needing it, its serious and time to take it.

Please hang in there, I know its hard!! At this point, I am trying to stay on the MTX and plaquenil only!!