Infliximab and Methotrexate

[mtmunster]

Hi -I just want to ask people's experience of being on these 2 drugs together and how long they take to work? I've been on infliximab since March and on Methotrexate since June -I was told it would take at least 6 months for the infliximab to work. I was put on these meds after my last major flare up in March and taken off cellcept which didn't work for me. I've also been on and off steroids for the past 2 years since diagnosis. I was put on 120mgs in Marcb and am now down to 7mgs, the thinking being to bring me down to a maintenance dose of 5mgs and the other meds should kick in. The problem is over the past 10 days or so I've been extremely tired ie worse than before and very down/depressed-bursting into tears etc. I'm also sleeping very badly. Is this steroid withdrawal or the disease I wonder -has anyone experienced this? I've been very positive all along but now the disease and everything seems to be overwhelming me and I can't cope. My family are getting impatient with me saying I am not thinking clearly. Sorry for long post I'm just a bit lost with this. If I thought it was just steroid withdrawal I might suffer on with it. Even though I managed to escape major organ damage despite being in a life threatening condition twice I still feel rubbish every day and it's getting to me. Again apologies for moaning I just wonder if people have had success with these drugs after a time. Thanks

[Hidden]

Hi,

I have been on Infliximab since last November ( 8 weekly ). It worked very well for me at first but once I finished the loading doses and went to 8 weekly the effectiveness wore off after around 4 weeks.

My Rheumy started me on Methotrexate alongside in July ( 15mg injection ). I am feeling the benefits but still not as good as I was on the Infliximab loading doses.

The body naturally produces around 7.5 mg of cortisone a day, when we take pred the adrenals get lazy and stop producing, they need to be kick started in action again. The majority of patients on pred have difficulty around the 7mg mark because of this. Pred withdrawal can mimic the symptoms of a flare but usually improves in 10 to 14 days. Methotrexate can take 8 weeks at the correct dose to become effective as well.

Hang on in there, reduce the pred very slowly, perhaps 0.5 to 1 mg at a time. Only time will tell whether these meds will work for you. To reduce from 120mg of pred to 7mg in 6 months is a very rapid taper!

[mtmunster in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for taking the trouble to come back to me I thought it might be the steroids. There's great detail in your reply so thank you. I hope you are feeling a little better now yourself🙂