Mtx

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Susan Minto - 13 Jul 2006 01:30 GMT

Hi Everyone,
Its been a while since I last posted, but have been having a hard time with
the RA and just life in general. My Question is I am about to start on Mtx
so any or all advice on side affects, how long the mtx might take to kick in
and anything else relevant to taking mtx would be appreciated.
I'm Starting on 1 tablet mtx then 3days later Folic acid plus have to wait a
while then start to wen myself off prednisone I'm on 20mg a day.

Regards
Susan

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Plantmistress - 13 Jul 2006 16:19 GMT

Hi, Susan!

When I first started MTX, I was terribly nauseous & sickly feeling
after I took it. Because of this, I take mine with food, usually
dinner (since the instructions say you have to sit upright for a
minimum of 30 minutes after taking it). I also arranged to take it on
Fridays, so it doesn't interfere with my work schedule. I usually
spend part of Saturday feeling tired from taking it, but that has
lessened with time.

Shannon

> Hi Everyone,
> Its been a while since I last posted, but have been having a hard time with
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Regards
> Susan

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Charrlygrl1 - 13 Jul 2006 21:03 GMT

Hi Susan!

I also experienced nausea and dizziness when I first started MTX. It
wore off as I got used to it...but I few things did help me.

I took the dose (pills or now, injections) at night. This, I do
believe, helped me a lot...letting me sleep through the worst of it.
Try to drink a lot of fluids while on MTX. I do believe that this has
helped me as well.
Watch out for taking extra folic acid...it could be included in complex
B vitamins and some other things as well. You may want to check with
your RD if you are already taking vitamins with folic acid in them.
Finally, I would rec. familiarizing yourself with the side effects...in
case something does happen, you hopefully will recognize the symptoms.
Many of them apply to very high doses of mtx which is used for
chemotherapy, but some will apply to us using the lower dosages as
well.

MTX didn't help me as much when I was first diagnosed as it does now. I
think, perhaps, because I am now on Enbrel, and it does seem that a lot
of people report a tnf inhibitor combined with MTX seems to work a lot
better than just MTX alone. I do certainly think that has been the case
with me. By the same token, a lot of people do seem to get relief by
using the MTX alone..which is certainly much less expensive!!

I hope that it works well for you!

Char

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Troeller - 14 Jul 2006 04:10 GMT

Alot of the ill effects have been listed. let me tell you the opposite.
when the Dr. started me on mxt (60 mg daily) I could barely walk. sleeping
was impossible because the pain when i turned over was unbearable. i could
go on and on on how bad a shape i was in , but i wont. Mxtg helped
tremendously that very night. I couldent believe it helped so fast. It gave
me my life back, being able to walk upstairs again..... walk at all. i
actually lead a somewhat normal life thanks to it. I am in the process of
getting off it now and am down to 7 mg a day. and still fine.

the best to you Kathy

> Hi Everyone,
> Its been a while since I last posted, but have been having a hard time with
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Regards
> Susan

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Joan Carter - 14 Jul 2006 16:22 GMT

>Alot of the ill effects have been listed. let me tell you the opposite.
>when the Dr. started me on mxt (60 mg daily) I could barely walk. sleeping
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>actually lead a somewhat normal life thanks to it. I am in the process of
>getting off it now and am down to 7 mg a day. and still fine.

Kathy, are you certain you are talking about MTX and not Prednisone. Prednisone
often shows results quickly, especially at 60 mg. A dose of 60 mg. of MTX sounds
extremely high. And the way you are decreasing your med sounds more like
Prednisone.
---
Joan

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Nann Bell - 14 Jul 2006 04:58 GMT

> Hi Everyone,
> Its been a while since I last posted, but have been having a hard time with
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Regards
> Susan

Hi Susan,

The RD who started me on mtx started me on 3 pills (7.5 mg total) per week.
We slowly increased the dose to watch for side effects. I first started
noticing some immprovement after I'd been on 15 mg for about 1 month. For
me, the fatigue improved before the joints did - and it was soooooo nice!
LOL
Meanwhile though, the only side effect I had from the mtx was fatigue -
actually more like sleepiness. I slept 16-20 hours out of 24 after taking
it, then would be cruising again until the next dose. Ultimately, I took it
in the early afternoon as that timing had the least effect on my usualy
sleeping patterns. We finally kept me at 20 mg for some time and over time
that sleepiness eased up and I rarely had that effect anymore.

I'm sure you've been told by your RD about alcohol and monitoring for any
possible liver complications. Listen to him and keep up with your labs. I
had one RD who wouldn't write for more than 3 months worth of mtx at a time
so you'd be cut off quickly if you failed to get your blood drawn. Many of us
take milk thistle extract (check the viamin/supplement section of a local
store) to help our livers help themselves.

Also, be sure you drink lots of fluids on the day you take the mtx. I rarely
paid any attention to that because I normally drink lots of fluids thanks to
siunus issues. Then one week I was very busy on mtx day and couldn't figure
out why I was getting such a headache. It suddenly hit me that I'd had
nothing to drink since taking my mtx. I swallowed A LOT of water on my way
out the door and could feel my headache easing over the next hour. I was
amazed at the rapid and obvious effect.

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Nann
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