Methotrexate

[Mumof4]

My son was doing well in remission on 100mg of azathioprine but then his metabolites went through the roof and his appetite disappeared completely. He was taken off it then put on a lower dose but it is not enough to put him in remission and he has benn flaring for a few weeks now. His GI gave us the choice of methotrexate injections or imixiflab infusions. After much thought we chose methotrexate. He is to stop azathioprine today and gets his first injection tomorrow. He continues with omeprazole. He has not been at all good lately going three times a day with lots of pain and bleeding and most distressingly he has been suffering leaks, which started infrequently but now three times yesterday. What can we expect from methotrexate? How soon will it kick in? Will he be able to get to school each day? Will his hair fall out? If anyone has experience I would be grateful, thanks. He is 14 and coming up to important exams in school.

 

[dodie74]

Sorry to hear this Mumof4. My son started mxt injections four weeks ago with no problems so far at all, no nausea or tiredness. His 1st two injections were done in hospital then the nurse came to our house on Friday just to have a look where we are keeping it etc. Kian does his own injections now so he does them on a Friday. He was also prescribed folic acid tabs which he takes the day before his shot, we also have antisickness tabs, just incase but we haven't needed them, touch wood. He had bloods done last week and already his inflammation level has come down from 14 to 4 . We are hoping the mxt works for him too as it will be surgery if not but im keeping positive about the mxt. He started on 6mp at the very beginning, he was 7years old then and has just turned 11 last week so the 6mp does its job for a few years, hope the mxt does the trick too. All the best with the mxt too hun. xx

 

[crohnsinct]

My daughter is on oral mtx and does not have any problems with side effects. They say that orally you feel more side effects than injections. Our GI also feels that supplementing with folic acid a) helps to keep folate levels in check as mtx is a folic antagonist and b) helps with nausea. My daughter takes it at night so if she were to experience side effects she would sleep through the worst of it.

My daughter experiences a bit of hair loss but nothing too bad.

It can take up to 12 weeks to become fully effective but hopefully you will see a little bit of improvement each week.

Good Luck to you and your son!

 

[Willowcat05]

Hi mumof4, my son has also been on azathioprine since being diagnoised two years past. he was taken off it in october last year due to it not being effective any more. He had narrowing of the small bowel and strictures had surgery to remove 35cm of small bowel 10 cm of colon and his apendix after the op he was put on methotrexate injections which has put him into remission he did have nausea at begining but since the weeks have been going on it has been less and less . Hope the mtx does the trick and your son goes into remission soon.xx

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

Hi Mum, my son has been on MTX injections since last July. I gave him the 1st injection at the hospital, under the nurse's supervision, then the following week at home with a nurse-friend watching me, then we were on our own! It takes a bit of getting used to, but is pretty straight forward. MTX can cause fatigue and nausea. My son did not have any nausea, but did have some fatigue for the first few doses. Like the others, we do the injections on Fri night to avoid any interruption in school. I recommend a prscription for an anti-nausea med, just in case. My son is also on folic acid, which is thought to help with nausea. It also helps replace folate in the body that MTX is thought to block. The only other side effect in my son is that it did loosen his bowels a bit. That was a good thing for him as he is usually constipated, it might be something to watch for in your son if he is already suffering from diarrhea. It took about 8-10 wks for the med to fully take affect, but I would say we started seeing some benefit within 3 wks or so. Bloodwork was done biweekly at first, but we are now getting it done every two months. It has worked well for us, and I hope your son has good success with it too. Take care!

 

[Farmwife]

Hi sorry late to this thread.

How's your son doing?

Grace is on injections of Mtx and Humira.
Her Mtx never caused any problems but it never worked as well as we had hoped.

I hope all improves soon.

Oh and it also loosed Grace's bowels for a few weeks.