Help, my boy's staring Methotrexate!!!

[Tracypoppins]

Hi, can anyone offer any advice about Methotrexate injections, my son (aged 9) has just started another course of prednisolone and is due to start Methotrexate in a couple of weeks. His Dr wants to change him from Azathioprine cos it's not really working.
I'm freaking out a little reading side effect lists etc and wondered if anyone had anything positive to say? lol.

 

[Jim (POPS)]

both the meds your talking about have about the same side effects. I to was freeking out when they put me on Imuran but as time goes by i find it not as hard to deal with.

 

[Clash]

My son is on MTX but the pill form not the shot. He started it in October of last year. I'm going to tag kwalker as I think he has been on the MTX shot.

 

[KWalker]

Thanks for the tag Clash. Despite the side effects listed I would probably say Methotrexate injections was the medicine that gave me the least side effects. I had trouble doing methotrexate orally with really bad flu like side effects that can happen as a result of the digestion but when you inject you skip that process. Actually, I think I was on methotrexate the longest too.

I did the injections myself in the top of the thigh with a very small needle once a week. I would occasionally get headaches the night of but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed with tylenol or similar. I did however get night sweats a few times, and from what I've heard it can be caused from methotrexate. Its not really a bad thing, just an inconvenience. It didn't happen very often though.

Hmm, I believe you're supposed to get monthly blood work while taking it but for some reason my doctor didn't make me do that. Luckily I was safe, but definitely talk to your doctor about that.

Are you planning on doing the shot for your son? I promise you it's a small needle, and I even have a fear of needles and I did it myself. It didn't hurt at all.

All in all, if I had to go on medicine right now, I would definitely do methotrexate injections before the others again. Remicade/humira did nothing for me. Methotrexate is classified as a chemotherapy drug because it is used for cancer patients in higher doses but don't let the side effects scare you. Everything had side effects, even simple pain relievers.

Your son will more than likely be closely monitored while on it so if anything starts to happen he will be taken off immediately. Please let me know if you have any questions

 

[AZMOM]

Tracypoppins - My daughter is 9 and on MTX injections. Overall little to no side effects. However, we did just increase to 0.8 injection from 0.6 and have seen more tiredness. BUT she is flaring some too so I can't completely blame it on the injection.

I hope things go well for your sweet boy. Let us know how we can help. Also, not sure if you have visited the parents forum but there are several kids on MTX.

J.

 

[jmckinley]

Tracy,

My son is 15 and I inject him weekly. We do it in the upper thigh, alternating legs, using an insulin syringe with a 28 gauge needle. I hated doing it at first, but it has gotten easier. I just pinch the skin up tight so that hopefully he feels the pinch more than the shot. He takes zofran right before the shot because the shot makes him nauseated. But he's good after a day or so. He is also tired after it and sometimes a headache, but most of these things are gone in a day &1/2.

Methotrexate has helped Ryan alot. It has helped him gain remission when even remicade failed him. It does put a little kink in our weekends, but with some planning about exactly what time to give it, he does pretty well. We give his shots about 5 pm on Saturdays so he can sleep off the nausea and have Sunday to rest.

Good luck with the meds. No matter which medicine, it's always hard and scary to start something new especially when it's for your child.

 

[Brian'sMom]

JmcKinley,
How did you know remicade failed your son? Did his inflammation/symptoms return? I wonder if we seem to be failing Humira...maybe. His numbers are creeping up even tho we are doing Humira every 10 days. GI wants to add methotrexate to the Humira instead of just doing either alone. What are your thoughts there?

 

[BoyMama2000]

How did your son do on methotrexate? I was curious if he had side effects and how it worked for him?