Why did I not get a warning...at the Dr Surgery..or the chemist..??????

[Hiissi]

Hi I'm new on this page but need some answers.15 years ago I had Reumatic Fever and it slightly did some damage to my kidneys and now I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromylgia and about 8 years ago I was put on Methrotrixate but was advised to always have Penicilan in case I ever got a sore throat . So this week I got a sore throat ,with a bad cough....and requested a prescription and took two pills then thought I better read the informatoion.......and surprise..surprise..I should NOT be taking these two together...NO WAY.....what to take now...??????

[Hidden]

I was always advised to never take methotrexate and antibiotics together.., recently advised not to take methotrexate with a heavy cold or virus as methotrexate is an an immune suppressant and could make things worse.

[KittyJ]

I have been told you can take methotrexate with some antibiotics. Check with your GP or pharmacy which ones. I’ve never stopped mtx when I’ve had an infection as my GP gives me an antibiotic that is ok with mtx. We all seem to be told different things though.

[helixhelix]

I have had antibiotics without stopping MTX. It’s a decision that needs to be taken on a case by case basis as it depends on whether the person is generally in good overall health or more fragile with other medical conditions, also on how bad the infection is, and on the antibiotic. There are a couple of antibiotics that you must not take with MTX, but apart from those ones (trimethoprim) it’s up to your doctor.

[oldtimer]

It seems that some doctors advise people to stop methotrexate while taking antibiotics.

Certainly that makes sense if you are going to have a long course, as the methotrexate, like other anti-arthritis drugs, are intended to reduce the activity of your immune system - which is attacking your joints etc.

But if you are only taking a short course, say 5-10 days, stopping methotrexate won't make a lot of difference to the level of it in your system over that period, considering that we are told it takes up to 12 weeks to get to a steady state. So I can never see the point, except that stopping the methotrexate might just allow your own immunity to recover enough to help with the infection, but in the short term, probably not...

So I think it's up to you and your own medical team. There's doesn't seem to be any evidence either way.