RA

[Hairbearbunch12]

Hi all i was diagnosed with RA about 10 weeks after a couple of painful flares it was put on methotrexate straight away 10mg i thought things were going ok i have and illness that makes you tired and taking meds is a shock to the body i work 3 days a week my days off i was worn out not much fun then bloods up my dose 15mg i developed a cough and become very ill spending days in bed i couldnt get hold of my consultant and GPs are not trained at spotting signs ive had a bad reaction to meds it took 2 weeks to find this out i feel let down and broke because i dont get paid sick from my 2 jobs still got to wait a week for an appointment to see consultant just listern to your body dont get so ill like me seek help

[manwithnoname]

I hope that you are feeling better now if only a bit I can understand how you must of felt as I have just got over a bad chest infection and it knocked me for 6. But don't be afraid to tell your consultant how angered this has made you fell. Try to keep smiling I know its very hard sometimes.

[nomoreheels]

Hiya Hairbearbunch & welcome. Sorry you've received the diagnosis & that you're not too well. It's unfortunate when Rheumys don't take time to explain when their patients start on a new med, particularly the newly diagnosed. Anyway, you should see in the Patient Information Leaflet that comes in the box if it's a dry cough, or really any cough when on MTX you need to report it as it can affect the lungs. Now that could be to your Rheumy team, you should have been given a Rheumy helpline that you can usually leave a message on & they should reply within 2 days, or, if your GP has signed a shared care agreement, he/she should be able to help. If you have your drug monitoring bloods done at your Practice then that means your GP has signed a shared care agreement. One of the conditions is he should educate himself in your meds & be able to respond to any problems arising from them. See below

"Report any adverse drug reactions to initiating specialist and the usual bodies (e.g. MHRA)

Respiratory function: infrequently, methotrexate can cause interstitial pneumonitis and fibrosis. Patients complaining of unexplained dyspnoea or unexplained non-productive cough should be referred immediately to the initiating specialist. If pneumonitis strongly suspected contact on-call medical registrar."

If your GP isn't taking responsibility then he's not adhering to the contract & really should be gently reminded it is his responsibility to respond to any side effects you report or any other issue regarding the meds initiated by your Rheumy.

I hope you're cough is just a cough & not related to MTX because it can be s very good med for many, myself included, I've been on it 8 years & you,d have to fight me to come off it! 😉