methotrexate injections

[dillie]

i am newly diagnosed with RA and have been told i need to inject MXT. i am due to see the RA nurse to be shown how to do this. does anyone have good advice on what to look out for? are there different ways on injecting? are the side effects worse or better? any questions i should ask the nurse? any advice would be so welcome - thanks!

[allanah]

The best place to start silliest is on nras.org.uk . It's full of advice on being newly diagnosed, what to expect at your appointment and all about your treatments. I hope it's as helpful to you as it was to me. Also they have a helpline number on the page and they are fantastic , very helpful and supportive .

Nice to see you here , everyone is do nice and helpful . I had methotrexate and found it easy to do once I had been shown. Hopefully it will suit you and help your pain very quickly. If not you can discuss with your Rheumy as there are lots of other drugs that can help . Xx

[dillie in reply to allanah]

thank you so much for replying! i am quite fazed by the RA. its a cocktail mix of drugs, which scares me a bit. the thought of injecting doesn't sound good but if it helps with the nausea and is more effective, its worth a go! thanks for the positive words xo

[allanah in reply to dillie]

I think it's really scary at first when you first find out what's wrong, but once you start the treatments they can really help.

Lots of people have no problems with the drugs and they only need a small dose initially . The main thing is to get the inflammation down to control the pain and prevent any joint damage.

Often mtx is the god standard drug and people stay on it without having to add further dugs, although you will probably take folic acid with the mtx.

Injecting can be scary of course, but the nurses not "leave you to it" until they know you are happy and competent at owing your own treatments. Often though they start on tablet form, did they not consider that or you?

Just noticed my typo in my reply ! , "silliest!lol"

But try to stay positive , that helps me, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Ok it doesn't go away, but you can get help and support in able to control it.

Things I would ask the nurse? Things like, how do I contact you if I have a question or worry, how do I control my pain, how long before I should feel the benefit, how often and where do I get my blood tests done, when do I see the consultant again. Can I see the rest of the team ie physio, podiatrist? These are the main questions I would ask.

Hope it goes well . But of course you can keep asking on here too.

Xxxx

[Hidden]

Hi dillie,

Welcome to the forum. As allanah has said you will find lots of support and help from the people on here. ( thank you for your kind words about helpline allanah!)

We are not medically trained on helpline so I can't give you information specifically about administering the injection, your rheumatology nurse will be the best person to give you advice about that.

As far as side effects are concerned, everybody is different and some people may experience them and others may not. However, if a person has been on MTX tablets and has been experiencing ongoing troublesome side effects of nausea, stomach upsets and diarrhoea, a doctor may consider transferring them over to the injection form as this doesn't go via the digestive system and therefore is less likely to cause those particular side effects.

It is also worth mentioning at this point that it may take between 3- 12 weeks before you notice any benefit from taking the MTX, however it is likely that the MTX will still working during this time.

If you need further information or support please do give us a call on the helpline.

We are here Monday - Friday 9.30am - 4.30pm and our freephone number is : 0800 298 7650

Best wishes

Sally

[dillie]

thank you allanah and sally for replying! sorry, should have made it clearer that i am on week 14 of MXT and not much sign of improvement, hence the injections! i have been SO tired this week and the nausea has hit me really hard. but - its been great to read the posts here, and realise i am not alone in this long journey. they always cheer me up! the nhs dept at my local hospital has had huge cut backs, so i feel the nurses and consultants don't have time to empathise so NRAS is so worthwhile. thank you !xo