RECEIVED MY MEDS TODAY

[bottomrail]

I picked up my MTX and Folic Acid this morning. The label on the MTX says the MTX is 2.5 mg per tablet. There are 28 pills in the bottle and it says to take 6 pills at bed time once a week. The Folic Acid is 1 mg per pill and has 30 pills in the bottle;. the label says to take one pill daily. I think I am going to follow the multitude of advice given on this website and take the Folic Acid 6 times a week. Again thanks to all for the positive advice. Keep up the good work.

[Downtime]

See how you go with the 6 pills at bedtime. Some people find it better to split the dose throughout the day taking them after food and keeping well hydrated. I take mine 3 in morning after breakfast and 3 in the evening after dinner. I hope all goes well for you and things start improving soon.

[bottomrail in reply to Downtime]

Downtime....I took all six tablets at bedtime and took my Folic Acid this morning. It i9s evening here in L.A. and I am not "feeling too much worse for the wear".

[Downtime in reply to bottomrail]

That's great. i hope you start to feel the benefits soon. Best wishes .

[nomoreheels]

You should take as directed, that's 15mg at night once weekly but if you find that doesn't suit you you can always ask if you can split the dose. I started on 15mg & was advised by my Consultant to take them as 2 tablets with breakfast, midday meal & evening meal & had no side effects of note. I'd also take your folic acid as directed, 1mg each day, I take it you're not in the UK? Here we're advised to not take folic acid on MTX day but the difference is we're prescribed 5mg, which being a higher dose can alter the effectiveness of the MTX, it makes sense 1mg won't make much difference & probably why you can take it on the same day, conversely though it could make a difference to limiting side effects.

I know it's conflicting advice but it's important as you're only just starting your meds you should take them as advised by your Rheumy. I hope it helps, you are aware you won't notice improvement initially, like all DMARDs it takes a while to build up in your system, anything up to 12 weeks though you may notice subtle changes well before then. Good luck.

[bottomrail in reply to nomoreheels]

nomoreheels.....I took my first 6 MTX last night at bedtime and my first Folic Acid tablet this morning with my other medicines. In addition to the MTX and the Folic Acid my PCP told me to continue to take my Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquinal) 200mg. So far, thanks to you guys, I had somewhat forewarning on what side effects to expect. So far so good. Thanks.

[nomoreheels in reply to bottomrail]

Your treatment is imaging mine, I also started on HCQ (400mg though) & I then had 15mg MTX added. Wednesday is my MTX day too though I inject now. I hope it works as well for you as it does for me & if you do have any side effects they're tolerable.

[bottomrail in reply to nomoreheels]

nomoreheels.....Yes it does seem like our treatment mirrors each other. The questions I would like for you to answer is ....do you take a pain reliever for your RA? My PCP has me on acetaminophen/codeine #3 to deal with the pain. Another question....will the MTX eventually relieve the pain in my joints so that I can get off of the pain relievers?

[nomoreheels in reply to bottomrail]

No, not for RD but I have OA too & pain crosses over at times so I take the odd co-codamol (30/500mg) so the same pain relief as you but otherwise my pain relief (buprenorphine transdermal patch & pregabalin) are prescribed for OA.

I've sort of answered your second question, I use pain relief occasionally if it's RD poking through. If MTX is dampening down disease activity enough then ideally there should be no need for pain relief. That said NSAID's are often prescribed with DMARDs, they're intended to reduce inflammation & in turn pain.

[Eiram50]

I'd reiterate what has been said by NMHs- whilst we can advise of our own experiences and what has helped, we are not doctors. PleAse takes as directed and if issues, speak with doc before changing things.

Good luck

Marie

[bottomrail in reply to Eiram50]

Eiram50.....Again thanks for the "pull-up". I took my first 6 MTX tablets last night at bedtime and took my first Folic Acid this morning with my other meds. So far minimum side effects. A lot of good advice on this website.

[Gnarli]

Aaand breathe. First off, welcome to the MTX club. Second, try not to panic. Third, remember that the majority of those taking it have no or few side effects. If you drink loads on MTX day and remember your folic acid you should minimise the chances of any side effects. I started taking it in January this year going from 15 to 25mg and, apart from being a little icky and a little more tired the day after, I'm fine and I reckon you will be too. Let us know how you get on, won't you? Hugs

Jan

[bottomrail]

Gnarli.....Thanks for the email and the advice. I took my first six MTX last night at bedtime just as the instructions on the label stated. This morning I took my Folic Acid with my other meds. at 6:00am. It is almost five pm west coast (L.A.) and other than feeling somewhat shaky I think that I am dealing with it ok. Thanks for the advance warning on what to expect and to stay hydrated.

[Hidden]

Glad it's going well! I hope the Mtx helps you considerably.

[bottomrail in reply to Hidden]

postle2....Thanks for the care and concern. So far everything is going about the way those of you on this website informed me it would. Feel really fortunate that I stumbled upon this website! Peace.

[Artsymom69]

With the MTX take it all at once, but take the folic acid in am and pm. It does help with side effects. and drink plenty of water. :). I do injections once a week, and folic acid and also leucovorin calcium tablets directly after my injection each week. ( I was still getting sick.. and was losing hair badly). The tablets work for me.. each person is different. Some don't have hardly any side effects some are mild, some aren't. My body was rather off from so many other things before I started... so I'm being watched closely. I'm sure you will do well.. just take it as directed, eat well and drink enough.