I told you guys about having a chest infection and being advised to stop my MTX for a few weeks. Well it ended up being 3 weeks because of the severity of my wheezing and cough. And sadly I have gone back into flare.
I feel so angry and so stupid. I had a year of good health. The odd ache and tiredness still but nothing that completely stopped me in my tracks.
Now I am back to where I was a year ago. Painful hands and wrists that wake me in the night. Aching shoulders. Terrible headache and such fatigue.
My RA nurse tried to reassure me that now I’m back taking the MTX that it would start feeling better again but that in some rate cases it didn’t work as well as before and might take longer to work.
So I’ve done it to myself. I’ve got 3 huge days of work and I feel terrible. Everything hurts. Why did I do it?
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Jules13
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Because you unfortunately needed to to deal with the chest infection is the easy answer but you know that! Sorry you had to halt your MTX, I've had to do it before too & the inevitable happened after 3 weeks to me too. Hopefully you'll be like me & most other people & once you restart injecting you'll be back on track. Try not to think of the minority of those who as your nurse said don't find it works as well, she's only giving you the info she needs to, it doesn't mean you will be one of them. Give it a couple of weeks & you should be fine, everything is crossed for you Jules.
In an ideal world if you're restarting your MTX any time soon you'd try not to do much to allow it to work best but back in the real world you're unable to so if it was me I'd not plan anything for the weekend & rest. Take care of yourself. x
Try it, but treat your hands with care too. Good old Epsom Salts in a bowl of warm water whilst you're relaxing could help? Then apply some lovely moisturiser whilst they're still damp, straight after drying them, or if mess allow some anti inflammatory gel. No need to reiterate but do take care of yourself, with living alone it's not as easy but worth reminding. x
Because that is what you were advised to do. It's not stupid to follow professional advice and take heed of others' experience. Your rheumy nurse had to warn you of the possibility of a lessened efficacy but that doesn't mean you are certainly going to experience that. There are times when you can't do right for doing wrong and I feel for you. Rock and hard place, eh? I do hope things calm down for you very soon. Hugs
I think you’ll have to grin and bear it a bit longer to see if the mtx takes hold, I’m the same been off mines for a month due to chest infections and cough but luckily been abroad the last week so able to start my mtx tonight before I start flairing xxx
I had about four weeks off mtx and sulphasalazine over Christmas for a chest infection and sure as anything the wrist pain returned waking me up in the mornings. I had forgotten how bad this could be. Anyway after just a week back on Sulphasalazine things are getting back to normal, so this time it hasn't taken so long to kick back in. Hope that gives some reassurance.
Apparently our body doesn’t have a memory for pain. It always shocks me when it comes back because I wondered how on earth I could bare it for so long before. X
Your options were limited. Don't beat yourself up over it.
I was tipping into chest infection around Nov last year and did not take my MTX for 2 weeks. The consultant had told me I had done the right thing. But had I not started to recover at that point .......
Can you not take painkillers to see you through? A trip to a sauna? 20 mins soak in a warm bath with Epsom Salts?
Sorry can't think of a solution re the fatigue especially as you need to plough on through with work. Hopefully the MTX will spring into action and knock the fatigue on the head tout suite!
Please don’t beat yourself up about it Jules, our RA does that enough already. We do what we have to do and what we think is best, sometimes it doesn’t help us in the end but a severe chest infection can not be ignored. I really hope that now you are back on mtx that you soon start to feel an improvement and get back to where you were x
I can imagine you've rattled all your joints too, coughing with the chest infection. I know I have as I have had it since 26th December. My joints felt they were flaring but a blood test I had done a week ago for my thyroid check up showed a perfect CRP. I expected it to be high. Finally had to give in to AB's this morning as the catarrh and wheeze is still rather awful and my doc doesn't want me any weaker. As far as Mtx not working if you come off it for 3 weeks ... I had to do that for various reasons in the past and it never failed me due to stopping and starting. I think that's definitely the minority of people and a small minority at that.
Impossible to avoid all viruses Jules & that's just one of the difficulties with immuno suppressant meds. I think you are being too tough on yourself to think you are responsible in any way for how you now feel. It's all a gamble.
I thought MTX lingered in the system for many weeks, once its been built built up.
Maybe midwinter post viral rundown-ness played a part in causing such a bad flare ?
Anyway hope it kicks back in for you very soon & you get back to at least where you were.
I have been in a similar state ( between meds ) this winter and & felt the same as you describe... like being back to the beginning at it's very worst.
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