Methotrexate

[beth]

So those people on Meth'(!) I have a few questions, if I may:

How long have you been on it?

Did get any side-effects, initially, or still are?
(and what were/are they?)

How long did it take for you to get any noticable good effects?


I've only been on it 3 weeks now. Feeling very tired the following day and a little tired the next. And to some extent I'm feeling I'm struggling to think clearly - like it's just too much effort, mentally. I've also got an itchy rash on my 'belt line' which is responding to an anti-itch cream, but it's tedium I could do without.

Thanks,
Beth

 

[beth]

Thanks for the data point Shantel.

And I should be having a good weekend when the Tramadol kicks in

 

[beth]

Tiredness does seem to be a common side effect, although not in all cases. Oh well, I'll just keep my fingers crossed I get used to it.

 

[violetcreams]

Hey Beth, my partner takes methotrexate for psoriatic arthritis. He used to experience the tiredness & nausea for a couple of days after each weekly dose. He's been on this drug for almost 2 years now & his body must've got used to it because he doesn't feel sick or fatigued now. As far as I can remember, he had difficulties for the first couple of months & then each time his consultant raised the dose. The only side effect that has continued is hair loss (but his consultant bangs on the same as mine "it's the inflammation, not the meds". I don't buy this though!). Hope it does the trick for you Beth.

 

[beth]

Hmmm, yeah, hair loss... I know it's silly, but that's the side effect I fear most. My hair is very thin and fly-away so any loss is going to be noticable. And my hair is part of who I am. I love my long fair hair!
Extrapolating how much luck I've had so far with this disease... it'll be what this drug does to me.

 

[violetcreams]

I can empathise with you on that Beth. My hair has been falling out steadily for about six months now, with no sign of slowing down. It's gone very thin. Like I said, my Dr says it's the disease but I think it's the meds. This condition has us by the you know whats!! We don't really have an alternative to these meds. Hope it works out for you Beth.

 

[beth]

Thanks violet.
Just had a run in with my neighbour who is on the same drug for arthritis. So a while back I asked he how she got on with it... Now of course she's the expert, and because I'm feeling tired which she didn't get that I should stop taking them and see the doctor. "Some people dont get on with them you know!" she insisted. No Sh*t dear, but this one is sooooooo much better than the last two. The alternative is Infliximab and friends which I and my Doc's are holding in reserve for the future. Arrrgghhhhhh! And relax.

If it was the inflammation causing hair loss I would have already lost it, as I went un-diagnosed at least a year before any treatment. You'ld have thought consultants and the like would be able to read up on these things. As an interested 'lay person' and enforced amateur pharmacologist, I presume that as hair is fairly fast growing that reducing the rate cells can divide/etc will impact on your hair. Let alone any other cytotoxic effects that would really push my limited scientific comprehension.