Methotrexate

[Mark-f]

Evening fellow huffers and puffers .... After a visit to the Royal Brompton today for my monthly xolair, and the past months steroid reduction of 5mg (now currently on 20mg) my stats were significantly lower than last month .. Peak flow, spirometry and o2 saturation .. It's looking more and more likely that for me xolair isn't working and I will taken off in the near future .... There's Been a mention of adding methotrexate to my already rather large list of meds !!

Was wondering if any members had tried this, and to what success and side affects ???

I have steroid dependent refractory astmha and bronchiectasis

Many thanks

[Jacey15]

I am on methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis and have noticed that my asthma is much improved.

[Steven9818]

Methotrexate is rarely used in asthma now. Most audits/reviews of it's use have shown that it rarely makes any difference.

[angievere]

Hi Mark, Really sorry to hear Xolair hasn't worked for you. xx

[Mark-f in reply to angievere]

Dissapoining to say the least .... 12 months trying to get the treatment and 8 months on it. My specialist is going to try one more taper or reduction of prednisone and if my symptoms return I'm sure xolair will be dropped ...... no point taking medication if it isn't working ??

[Hidden]

I'm a mild asthmatic but I had methotrexate for a different reason - arthritis - and it didn't agree with me at all and I was very unwell with it but..... I know others who it works wonders for! Hope it works for you.

[cliffhopper]

I've been taking it for difficult to control allergic asthma since last October, it's made a huge difference to me. My asthma control is much better, even a couple of really bad colds haven't resulted in the usual antibiotics/steroids, and I've managed to get my maintenance steroids down to 7.5 mg. I've had very few side effects apart from being very tired the day after I take it and a bit of nausea. I find the side effects are much less if I take the methotrexate at night rather than in the morning, so that I sleep through some of the side effects.

Hope it works as well for you.

[Matman]

Hi

The following extract is from a 2014 Medline Article, the link for the full Article appears at the end of this comment:

''....Methotrexate may cause very serious, life-threatening side effects. You should only take methotrexate to treat cancer or certain other conditions that are very severe and that cannot be treated with other medications. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking methotrexate for your condition....''

medlineplus.gov/druginfo/me...

[Mark-f in reply to Matman]

Scary stuff .... but I'm in the hands of my consultant and his team ... I need to get of prednisone some how ?? My baseline is 25mg daily, I only dropped by 5mg daily and have been really struggling, I'm back up to 30mg for a week then back to 25mg... we are going to try one more taper or reduction and if stil uncessful there's a good chance my xolair treatment will be dropped ...... dissapoining but no point in taking medication that isn't working ??

[Matman]

Understand your reluctance to continually take oral steroids like Pred but keep in mind that some folks are on Pred for tens of years. The expression 'frying Pan fire' comes to mind. You must do what you believe is best for you, but - if you haven't already done so - please consider doing some online research and maybe get a second opinion on the Methorexate before committing to it. Longer Term side effects of Pred can - to some extent - be mitigated by taking supplements that help prevent calcium deficiency issues (e. g. Vit D, Vit K2 etc). Also, by having a calcium rich diet. Good luck with whatever treatment you opt for.