Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group methotrexate

hi everyone:

have you had good experiences with methotrexate?

several years ago, i didnt' tolerate methotrexate well because of the nausea. stopped using it since remicade was working so well.

now the pain is back in my si joints, spine and shoulders. it's so bad, i can't sleep. last week i was put back on methotrexate. still waiting to see if it works.

thanks, leslie

Hey Leslie
Check out Wendy's post in the RA Forum - there is an ongoing discussion on the subject.
Hope you get your pain under control soon, hon.

Leslie, it is my understanding that methotrexate works on the peripheral joints, so I wouldn't expect it to do much for the SI, spine and shoulders. also, it does take several weeks, to months to feel the effects.

hi tinkerbell:

thanks for the helpful tip!

hi micki:

thanks for responding.

have you always taken 25 mg/week? that seems like a very large dosage. i hope it is helping you.

leslie

Hello,

I am 23 yr old female, currently on 25 mg/week of MTX injectable. i have AS and also psoriasis. I have been on MTX for about 6 months in total. I began with 12 mg/week (tablet form) with not much result and upped the dosage to 25 mg/week. I was having good results except I couldn't tolerate the nausea so my rheum switched me to the injectable. I had great results for a few months but I feel that it's not working as well. Could also be that I am down from 2000 mg of Naproxen before to about 500 mg Naproxen per day currently.

My suggestion is to try the injectable MTX if you can, it's just a small injection into the fat in your tummy or your thigh. I have no nausea, the only side effects I have had are small sores inside my nose. Pain in the butt.

Good luck to you, truly. Keep with it and have faith!

i have AS and fibro. took mtx for 5 mos. once a week up to 12mg i think. it brought blood numbers to normal but my body felt worse. i was taken off of it. good luck to u

Hi leslie, I've been on MTX for the last two years, it's prescribed to me as a 'booster', for lack of the proper term, to Enbrel. I have a lot of stomach issues with it, the nausea has been bad and my GERD symptoms have just gotten so out of control, that my doctor has me on 2 Omeprazole/a.m. and 2/p.m...the normal dose is 1 pill a day. Wendy posted about having the same issue and that's where I learned about MTX injections... I've been following Wendy's progress to see how the injectable works for her, if it works for her, I'm going to call my rheumy and ask for the same, until then...it's me, a box of Omeprazole and a bottle of Pepto Bismol(I sip on that throughout the day...)

So far, Michelle, I'm doing fine after the injection on Friday - no nausea. But of course, it wasn't at the full dose so it'll be a couple more weeks at least before I know whether it'll be ok.

hi susanna: thanks for the tip about injectables.

i would consider injecting myself if i can't handle the nausea.

leslie