Mtx?

[Kathyem]

For those on mtx, when you went thru your initial 3 doses for every 2 weeks. . At the end of 6 weeks when you saw the specialist, what was you dose that you would stay on if everything went well? Did any stay on the lowest dose? Tks

[Hidden]

Stayed on highest dose I'd reached Kathy, is this what you meant? However later dropped down again as had problems with side effects, so that's an option i guess x

[Harvey0279]

Started on 20mg and then went up to 25mg (highest) and added sulfasalazine. They mentioned reducing mtx if my side effects got any worse x

[Nuttyshirlz]

I started on high but also had to go lower has my liver count kept being high but I also had sulfasalazine added to x

[Kathyem]

Thank you for the replies...my ? is were you told why you had to start with the higher dose, with the possibility ig going down if side effects too bad! Whereas , I want to start with the lower dose with the idea, if i get more flare ups then increase!

[AgedCrone in reply to Kathyem]

Your rheumatologist decides after having seen you & checked the way your disease is progressing the best way to start you on Mtx .

Some start low, & increase as necessary & some start on a higher dose & are able to reduce as the Mtx takes effect. Most people do well on it.......we very rarely near on HU what a great drug it can be....not everybody has side effects......but if you expect to have them you probably will!

To begin with I'd take your rheumy's considered advice. .....only then will you know the correct dose for you.

Good Luck!

[Kathyem]

I havent had a flare up and my wrist is whats been giving me yhr hardest time, and there hss been inprovement.

[helixhelix]

If your house is on fire, you don't start with little bits of water and increase the amount if the fire doesn't go out. You dump as much water as you can to start with, and then reduce it once the fire is under control, and then stop it.

Having uncontrolled RA is a bit like that and many doctors think it best to treat it aggressively until the fire goes out.

[Cheylann in reply to helixhelix]

U need to compare like with like. RA is not a fire. I think it depends on your pain. Why take the maximum dose if u can get away with minimum and risk all that damage to your liver etc. Just my opinion.

[Kathyem in reply to Cheylann]

See, that is how my thoughts about it is!

[helixhelix in reply to Cheylann]

I've been lucky enough to have a great rheumy that I trust. And she explained to me that the level of pain you experience may not reflect the damage that is being done to your joints and your organs.

In some cases you can feel a lot of pain, but there is no damage being done. And in other cases you aren't in a lot of pain, but the damage is happening unknown to you.

So I trusted her and accepted her advice that I needed aggressive treatment to get the RA controlled. And once that happened could look at reducing drugs. Pain is not the only measure to determine if your RA is out of control or not.

[Kathyem in reply to helixhelix]

Tks, well i know that i dont have damage in my wrist, my feet have slight. But yeah, i dont know about organs.

[Kathyem in reply to helixhelix]

Well, that is a good analogy!

[HappykindaGal]

I've been on 20mg for 2 years. I feel a little nauseous,but ginger tea works wonders. I still take 3mg of pred a day too. Without that, I can't function.

[sconnor10 in reply to HappykindaGal]

My GP is deferring to the Rheumy for prescribing Prednisone because she says she doesnt want to make that call. Two immunosupressors, and risk of infection. Im just doing MTX low dose 10mg a week. I did it for 8 weeks and didnt really see any change. Then my Rheumy started sending me new pills for muscle pain (non-narcotic) and recently Vit D2 weekly cause my Vit D was pretty low almost deficiency. But nothing to supplement the mtx. Is it too soon to try Pred. Most everyone ive seen on these forums say it works well, until you stop it.

But its kind of like that with many drugs esp Opiates and in some cases benzos.

[Gnarli]

We're all so different in our disease and reactions it would be impossible to predict any one person's experience. I started on 15mg and, over about 6 months, increased the dose to 25mg first as tablets then swapping to metoject. I was given sulphasalazine as an add-on but couldn't tolerate the side effects and the same when hydroxy was tried. My pain, stiffness and fatigue are increasing and I feel as if I'm tip toeing on the edge of a flare. The depression and irritability are also a major issue. I'm not medically trained so have to trust my lovely rheumy will do what's right for me. Hugs

J