Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives AS Pharmacy Will Methotrexate help?

Hi, I’m new to this forum and would like some advice please. I was diagnosed with A.S. in October last year and have been on various medications that did not help. My Rheumatologist has put me on Methotrexate and today I will be taking my seventh dose. My question is: will it eventually help? To date I have felt no pain relief whatsoever and it makes me feel absolutely terrible, but my Rheumatologist says to give it another month. I take my pills on Friday and the nausea carries on through the whole week, I might start feeling slightly normal again on Thursday just to have to take my pills again on Friday. Please help, any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.

gday melly,

welcome the nut house

Im not a fan of MTX - in my opinion if you need MTX, an anti-TNF is safer & more effective. Here is Australia, MTX is a stepping stone drug which you have to have tried min. 6 weeks to get the anti-TNFs. The day my 6 weeks was up the rheumy switched me straight to Enbrel, that was 2.5 years ago.

Having said that others have gotten relief but I dont hear too many lauding it as the best thing theyve tried. More people are getting better results with the injectable form and experiencing less side effects, than the tablet form. Naturally this varies according to you & your dosage.

A long timer here says that 'friends dont let friends take methotrexate' (i said long timer ben, not old )

best of luck to you and hang around, there will be more along shortly with more MTX experience than me.

Take care,
Patrick

My ankles were causing me some problems and becoming inflammed again. My rheumy suggested methotrexate but I wanted to give Sulfasalazine another chance (and it's all good now).

He said if I was going to take methotrexate I would also have to take something else with it...a vitamin I think?... Do you take anything else with it? Is the nausea a normal side affect?

You should be careful using MTX expecially if it is not working for you. Alone MTX did little for me. It helped with my smaller joints like hands and fingers but did nothing for my spine. In the end my liver went south and I had to stop taking it. He should have you taking labs every 8 weeks. There is something you can take to decrease the side affects but it also reduces the affectiveness of the MTX. I also took diclofenac with it.

friends don't let friends take methotrexate

it's horrible, awful, vile, toxic stuff...don't do much even if it works
and i agree, i think it's more danegerous than the aTNF meds

this is chemo therapy drug...you know like cancer chemo...
it obilterates your immune system, can lead to low grade infections
in like rotting out your teeth, mtx lung- a prepneumonia type adventure,
lose your hair, puke a lot, feel recked, glow in the dark, and in the end
it only 'works' about half the time if at all.

and don't forget your folic acid.

Methotrexate BLOWS.

run like heck, is my honest opinion. I stuck it out for 6 months before putting my wee foot down . . . and I honestly lost those months to fatigue, fever, diarrhea, puking, pain, mouth blisters, more fever, fatigue, hair loss, puking, severe red chile withdrawals (because of the mouth blisters), more pain, more diarrhea . . . and now, I'm stuck with the ulcer.

It just ain't worth it, hun.

look into www.lowdosenaltrexone.org I'm on it, and it's WONDERFUL!

*hugs*
(being careful not to pull out any more of your hair)
Bridget

Didn't do a thing for me, except for make me ill. Give anything else a try before this one! I honestly have no idea why docs still prescribe this for AS, when there are many better meds to try first.

Yea, I felt some better.
But I kept complaining about a sever headache.
The Dr. said, take it if you can stand it.
I finally quite, and he said, well it can cause your brain to swell!!!!!

Try NSD first. record what you eat and how it affects you
Nice to meet you

thanks all-

I was just prescribed this today too. I resisted the dr but then she made it sound lovely eventually. I think I'll hold off until I see her again in a few weeks and see what else can be done...

Oh, and I forgot to mention one of the lovelier side effects - it's an abortifacient. (as in, kills babies)

it's just such a wonderful, wonderful creation . . .