I see a LOT of awful side effects - like nausea. It seems to take 3 months to work, but with a fulckationg disease that mut be difficult to evaluate...
UPdate: Thank you all - I fell reassured now and much more positive. I actually now hope to be diagnosed with RA so that I can start medication. Appointment is on tuesday. This time a professor in Arthritis
Sorry for the typos...
Yes Mtx works for me . I had 2 trouble free years until my RA became aggressive. In that time all I got was a bit of bloating which went when I started the injections . I still take it along side Barcitnib.
Yes, it works for me (along with other DMARDS)The nausia passed after a few weeks and the only other side effect I get is a foggy head/hangover feeling the following day which is a small price to pay for comfortable joints.
All DMARDS take time to work but although they say "up to 12 weeks", I saw improvement after a few.
If you put methotrexate into the search box you will find thousands of posts.Some of them will be about the side effects - which is, of course, why many people post. Others will be saying that they have been on it for years and it controls their disease without problems.
Rheumatoid Disease isn't one condition - it looks as if different parts of the immune system are affected in different people. And people are different, some respond well to methotrexate, others including me, had a dire time and had to stop it.
MTX gave me my life back. Yes, there were/are some side effects but manageable and worth it to live a (mostly) normal life whilst accepting there are some things I can't do (don't see me running for a bus anytime soon!!). It took about 14 weeks for me to see some improvement at first and I had to go up to the maximum dose to get to where I am now.
Before MTX my hands looked like scarlet boxing gloves. Hideously painful as if they had been filled with burning broken glass. The fingers were hardly moveable so couldn't dress or wash myself and opening doors hurt. On Tramadol for the pain which made the world look very strange. For the first year there were very few but manageable side effects but unfortunately these built up until I changed to Metoject, the injectable form of MTX. I do get very mild flares maybe one or twice a year but nothing like it was. Does MTX work? It does for me
Works well for me.
Only alongside two other dmards and at maximum dosage. Including naproxen and painkillers. Eventually had a biologic added. No side effects though.
MTX has been used for patients with RA for over 35 years. If it didn’t work they would have noticed by now! 😉
It’s great...put me into remission where I have largely stayed for last 11 years.
Heya there krillemy, a work mate of mine takes a fairly low dose of MTX (5mg I believe) and it keeps her RA under control so I'd say it works for her 🙃 All the best, Christine xx
I can't live without it, set aside feeling weiry next day its a life saver, I would be in a mess without it, my autoimmune disease is shocking so it keeps me on track😉
Yes it does work…it is regarded as Gold Standard treatment around the world.If you are prescribed it …. you have the the choice whether to try it, or not.
Those of us who did really well on it really should have sung it’s praises louder & longer..….but we were all off enjoying the great life it gave us!
If you are contemplating trying it……think positive & give it a go.
I love methotrexate, though it’s not for everyone. Totally personal to your body. But for me as long as I do high dose folic acid, it’s kept me in remission with no side effects. I do injection because I didn’t want more pills in my GI track (family history of IBD). My aunt was in a wheelchair and then died from this disease (immune system crashed after a surgery) in the 1980s so I’m grateful to have a med that works for me like MTX does.
I agree with lots of the above! People tend to post etc when meds aren’t working, they’re experiencing rough side effects and generally feeling low (at least that’s the case with me!) so please don’t worry about all the possible nasty side effects as you may not experience them at all - I certainly never did and it worked so well for me that most of the time I forgot I even had RA. I also particularly liked only having to take the tablets once a week so you don’t feel like you’re constantly having to pop pills to stay well. Good luck, hope it works for you!
It didn’t work for me, tried tablets and the injections, eventually came of it .As far as I am concerned awful drug, for me .
Everyone is different and reacts differently
What you need to remember is that a lot of people only post in forums like this when they are asking for advice or want some reassurance. The vast majority of people who are doing well on methotrexate are off enjoying themselves, living life.
I have been taking methotrexate for around 25 years. I can’t take any of the newer anti TNF’s or biological drugs so this has been a lifesaver for me. Yes, I did have a few side effects to start but those settled and now in all honesty I don’t want to ever be taken off the drug. All yo can do is try but I would advise you to give it time.
Changed my life. I went from scared to be taking it, to I cannot wait for my injection day. It took away my pain, fatigue everything. I take 22.5mg and no side effects since I started it. It’s almost like my body craves it!
I did read somewhere it can help to protect your heart as well.
Ask your GP for an anti-emetic. I take one an hour before my Mx. Works for me (though tastes awful). Suffered for a year or two as no-one mentioned these 🤢 Never used to take any tablets so naive as to what existed..
!!
MTX & bruises
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