HI everyone, thank you so much for all your answers and kind words. I spoke with my rheumy nurse yesterday and he thought it was likely that the mood swing were caused by sulfasalazine so we decided to stop.
I can't tell you how relieved I feel. It was very disturbing to not recognise myself in my behaviour any longer. I felt I was turning into someone I didn't like and had no control over.
I am sulfa free for 2 days now so too soon to see changes but a huge mental burden has lifted.
The nurse offered Methotrexate and presented it as the gold standard treatment. I asked for a little time to reflect. I would really like to be drug free for a while just to find myself again. I think I also secretly hope that I won't have any of the RA symptoms anymore which is likely to be at best wishful thinking and at worse being deluded!!!
Anyway, thank you all for the support and for sharing your experiences with me. You have really made a huge difference to my well being and gave me the confidence to ask questions.
Update on stopping sulfasalazine 
Sulfasalazine 
Sulfasalazine 
Hi Greencat. I had bad side effects from SSZ too and I wasn't on them that long so I can understand how you feel but don't let it put you off of trying another treatment. I hope you make the right decision as to whether to try Methotrexate or not, not forgetting that if you do try it and don't get on with it you can again try something else. I also hope you find some peace during your drug free period and that you don't experience any discomfort during that time. Take care. xx
Thank you Springcross. You are right I need to be reasonable about trying other treatments. I think I am still in denial that I am no longer a well person without health issues. I guess it’s a long journey. 😔
The road to acceptance is a long one.
That's how I felt when first diagnosed, I was given a depmedrone shot and that was it, within a couple of yours I felt myself again and seriously thought I wasn't going to need the MTX injection and the Pred tablets - oh if only! xx