Reduced methotrexate and feeling a little tired with a dry mouth 🤔

[kyliexc]

Hi friends!

Diagnosed with lupus in March 2017, and have been doing pretty well on 2 plaquenil (1 morning, 1 night), 20mg methotrexate and 10mg folic acid weekly. Recently saw my rheumy a couple of weeks ago and finally get to reduce my meds (woo!)

Reduced my methotrexate from 20mg to 15mg. My joints (which were the main problem) have been doing okay, but I've been feeling more tired than usual with a bit of a dry mouth. Not sure whether this is to do with the meds? I've been sleeping pretty well (7-8 hours) by the way. Anyone else have any experience or advice with this?

Thanks!

[Chanpreet_Walia LUPUS UK]

Hi kyliexc,

I am glad to hear about your health improvements.

I have had a look in The Lupus Encyclopedia about the potential side effects methotrexate. I could not find any information on 'tiredness' being a side effect not experiencing dry mouth. However, 'mouth sores' are a common side effect of taking this medication. You can learn more about the drug in our factsheet 'LUPUS: and Medication' at lupusuk.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of lupus; it affects around 90% of lupus patients. We published an article on our blog about 'managing fatigue' which contains helpful tips and information which you can read here lupusuk.org.uk/managing-fat...

Also, you may like to read our blog article on coping with dry eyes and mouth at lupusuk.org.uk/dry-eyes-and...

Please let us know how you get on, wishing you all the best.