Glad that you are getting off the prednisone, and that the higher dose of MTX is making a difference.

Thanks Micki.

Well, if you are going to have to be losing any hair (or not having it regrow), at least it's because the mtx is working. Hope you are able to continue getting off the pred. And hope your shoulder gets better quickly. Hugs!!

Thanks Rumble. I noticed my old post and thought it would be right to update it so that new people with RA could find out what the longer term use of mtx did for me. Given the further improvement, it didn't seem right to leave the original post without an update.

Just noticed you've been on mtx for a while as well. How has it worked for you?

Well, it did at first. It definitely helps. Started it in October last year and took it for 3 months. Last winter I had a bad spell of infection (sinus) that lasted most of the winter. Ended up having to stop the mtx for 3 months in order to get well. While off mtx, I realized it had been working pretty well, but not completely. Started back at end of March. In May, I told rheumy that it wasn't working as well, so he bumped dose to 20mg/week. After a month, there was no real change and my hair started falling out.

I told him last month I wasn't going to put myself through the side-effects if it wasn't giving me any results. I'm back to 15mg/week and starting Remicade in 2 weeks. For now, it's going to be dual therapy, but my DH is very anxious about Remicade, especially with mtx. So, I'll probably stop the mtx and add it back if the Remicade isn't enough alone.

Going to make DH come with me to first infusion so he can ask all the questions he wants. He thinks it's gene therapy and that I'll die of cancer as a result of taking this med. I can't convince him it's a rare side-effect and that it's not gene therapy. <sigh>

I was told that mtx might BEGIN to work after three months but it could take up to a year for the full effects and I must admit that seems to be about right. I would say it was more than three months before I had any improvement but I started very very slowly on 2.5 mg per week! I was completely paranoid about mtx and convinced I would have horrific side effects. So it took me months to even get to 15 mg per week. I've been on 25 mg for quite a few months now and the improvement continues steadily.

I guess the real test for me is whether I can come off pred entirely. I'm in the middle of reducing from 4mg to 3mg now. I'm doing a week of 4mg one day, 3 1/2 mg the next, then back to 4mg again. Next week, I'll try 3 1/2 mg daily.