Hi catbird4077,
I have just started my first dose of Methotrexate last Friday. I was put on the oral type and had to take 2.5 mg tablet/ every 8 hrs. The main side effect I suffered from on that day was drowsiness. I slept a lot. The next day I had fatigue and by day 3 things went to normal. This drowsniess issue is said to wear off by body adjustment to the dose.
As for Methotrexate itself, if you browse the net, you'll find that it it has been approved by the FDA in 1988 for the treatment of arthiritis and lower doses (lower or equal to 25mg) are recommended for Crohn's. The dose of methotrexate is a weekly dose and NOT an every day one as this could be fatal. Out of what I've read and other members' pieces of advice, side effects are minimal if the tablets are taken with food. The main side effects mentioned in the medicine pamphlet are nausea and vomiting. I suffer from GERD, gasrtitis and duodenitis so that's why I think the dose is divided among three times per day.
Methotrexate is called an antimetabolite and it functions by destroying folate which is a main component of cell growth, so one needs to increase folic acid intake.Folic acid deficiency is considered to be a type of anemia. Some people say 1mg per day, others say 5 mg. In the medicine pamphlet itself, it says don't take folic acid on the day of the dose. However, on another site, it was mentioned that they do not interact. I haven't asked my doc and won't see him before 3 weeks. I don't really know. Consult your doc.
Finally, I was prescribed this med as I failed for a year to get rid of pred. My doc is afraid that I might get either hypertension of diabetes, so he decided to try methotrexate, esp. that Azathioprine and Imuran were a torture for me.
Hope these pieces of information are of any help. Wishing your son all the best and wish he beecame better soon :)