Methotrexate and covid jab

[maxdog191]

Have been given my date for my first jab 😎 for this coming Sunday. Has anyone had any advice regarding taking their MTX before the jab? I.e, I would normally take them on a Friday night and my vaccination is on Sunday morning. Just curious if someone has already asked the question before I contact my doc unnecessarily.

Thanks all x

[allanah]

Hi max dog. Press the search magnifying glass above as theres lots of advice on this there or go onto nras.org.uk lots of stuff there .

[maxdog191 in reply to allanah]

Lol, I did that initially and scared myself with the amount of topics that came up 😅

[allanah in reply to maxdog191]

Indeed lots on it. Personally I was told unless it was rituximab you go ahead with all other RA drugs by my rheumy nurse. You will see on the search bar, lots of ideas 😂😍

[helixhelix]

The most important thing is that it is completely safe to carry on taking your drugs. All authorities say this. So there is no absolute need to pause drugs.

Some of us have been advised to miss a week or so to help the response to the vaccine. But that very much depends on the individual, on the advice of their own medical team. It is not generic advice.

So if you are completely stable and that is something that you are interested in then talk to your rheumy. Otherwise carry on as normal and enjoy the relief of being protected!

Personally I wouldn’t bother to speak to my GP as mine doesn’t really have much expertise in this. I spoke to my rheumy as I am in remission and have been for a while, and risk nothing by pausing, and she said for me it is a good idea. So I did.

[MoniqueB]

Some info here (found on Creaky Joints):

"Should You Pause Methotrexate After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine?

There is not yet direct data on methotrexate and the COVID-19 vaccine to know whether, or to what degree, people who take methotrexate have a lower response to the vaccine. This has led to conflicting suggestions among both medical organizations and individual doctors. Some have been recommending that their patients hold methotrexate after getting the vaccine and others have not.

The American College of Rheumatology’s COVID-19 Vaccine guidance recommends that patients with well-controlled disease hold methotrexate for one week after each COVID-19 vaccine dose (for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines).

The National Psoriasis Foundation’s COVID-19 Task Force Guidance recommends “that patients who are to receive a mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine continue their biologic or oral therapies for psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis in most cases.”

Experts who recommend pausing methotrexate temporarily after getting a COVID-19 vaccine suggest this because it may help the vaccine protect you as much as possible.

Experts who recommend continuing to take methotrexate after getting a COVID-19 vaccine may have concerns that patients could flare if they stop taking it, or are not as worried about the potential decrease in vaccine effectiveness."

As a result of the above information, I didn't take my MTX a week before my shot and didn't take it this week either. However, it should be noted that I am not flaring right now and I think it's important to speak to one's rheumy. All the best with your vaccination day!

[bubblyalex]

Personally I would check with your rheumy to see what is advised for you and what’s going on with you. Most are finding that’s it’s ok to keep taking as usual but hey you never know.

[dawkin_S]

I was told, if your jab is on methotrexate day then skip the pills for that week only but if it's on a non-methotrexate day don't worry. For reference I am on a stable dose, and have very few flares, so that may be a factor in what was recommended to me.

[LisaJ42]

I asked my Rheumy and had a standard reply saying they ‘suggest’ you take it as normal. I chose to skip a week to give the vaccine the best chance to work, plus I felt a bit tired after the vaccine and methotrexate would only have made that worse. Started back on it the next week.

[JulieMBrown]

I’ve been in a flare for a couple of months that has been affecting my feet. As a result of this my doctor added Hydroxychloroquine to my existing Methotrexate prescription. Having weighed all the conflicting advice that is referenced in the other answers, I decided to continue taking my medications whilst I had my jab. I took Methotrexate on the Tuesday as normal and had the Pfizer jab on the Thursday. My GP couldn’t really advise on what was best so the decision was mine to make. If I hadn’t been in a flare I would have probably stopped my meds for the week that I had the vaccine.

[achyknitter]

There is so much conflicting advice as to whether to take methotrexate or not after Covid vaccine, I decided not to take it for a week afterwards. However, I flared the day after the vaccine and had to keep taking it. I shall try again with the second dose.

[JEM95]

I take my MXT on a Thursday and as my covid vaccine was on Friday morning I decided to skip my MXT for one week. I’m pretty stable at the moment, so one week won’t hurt and I want to give my vaccine the very best chance.

I watched the NRAS webinar by Prof Galway and found it so informative and very assuring.

I think the key here is that nobody really knows - Covid 19 is still so new and in the relatively early days of research.

I did what I thought was best based on information I have and how my RA is at this moment.

The important thing to me is to have the vaccine.

[dippyd09]

Hi, I contacted Rheumatologist to ask, they advised that I should not take a break from methotrexate as it would most likely cause a flare and that there was no necessity to stop it. I suppose it’s entirely your decision but I took mine and I have had no problems since my vaccination apart from a sore arm, headache etc. Good luck.

[Tia53]

I inject MTX on a Tues night. I had my Pfizer vaccine last Friday. My arm ached that evening and the next day then I've been fine. My next MTX injection is tonight. I'm on 10mg and haven't had a bad flare since Jan 2019 just the occasional carpal tunnel issue. Therefore it was my own decision to continue with my MTX 😊👍💉

[maxdog191 in reply to Tia53]

Thanks, for me this was more aimed at maximising the efficiency of the covid jab to its greatest strength possible and not having it effected by the intake of MTX. As situations vary so much its very much down to the individuals current situation and history to make that decision as to which route to go down.

Best wishes x

[Tia53 in reply to maxdog191]

Agreed - we all have vastly different medical history on here and it's interesting to hear everyone's story especially regarding the vaccine. All the best with yours 👍💉😊

[Hidden]

Advice I've had from rheumatologist: Take the MTX as normal up to having vaccine, up to me if I wanted to miss next two doses to give it the best chance of working. As my RA is very stable at the moment, that is what I did - same as for flu jab. There is no fixed policy as yet. It would be a good idea to contact your doctor if you plan on skipping any doses.